The Northern Secretary, Peter Hain, has said a report on the police handling of a loyalist murder is likely to prove 'extremely uncomfortable' for the British government.
The report on the circumstances surrounding the death of Raymond McCord Junior is due to be published shortly.
The 22-year-old from north Belfast was a former member of the British Royal Air Force.
He was beaten to death in 1997 by loyalist paramilitaries from the UVF and his body dumped in a quarry in north Belfast.
No-one has ever been charged with the murder and his father, Raymond McCord, claimed those responsible for the killing were PSNI informers and were being protected by the police.
The Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, subsequently launched an investigation into the handling of the case and her report is due out later this year.
At Stormont this morning Mr Hain indicated the report could be damaging for the authorities, saying its contents were likely to be extremely uncomfortable for the British state.
