A human rights investigation says it has found evidence of RUC and British Army collusion in 74 sectarian murders in Northern Ireland.
The study by an international panel of human rights experts revealed it was told during its investigation that the Garda failed to co-operate in bringing republicans to justice for the murders of Protestants in the Republic.
An investigation of 25 loyalist atrocities during the 1970s by the panel said senior RUC officers were aware and approved of collusion while officials in London had enough information to intervene.
The panel, whose members include a law lecturer with the University of Notre Dame in the United States and a former investigator for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, called on the British government to appoint an independent inquiry to examine how high up the chain of command collusion went.
They also urged the Government to investigate the claims made about the gardaí.
The group was asked by Derry-based human rights organisation the Pat Finucane Centre to investigate the 25 incidents. Among the controversial murders they investigated were the murder of three members of the Miami Showband in July 1975 and the shooting dead of six men in separate UVF gun attacks on two families in Co Armagh in January 1976.
In their 115-page report, the panel said today: "Credible evidence indicates that superiors of violent extremist officers and agents, at least within the RUC, were aware of their sectarian crimes yet failed to act to prevent, investigate or punish them. On the contrary, they allegedly made statements that appeared to condone participation in these crimes.
The report also said gardaí seized on technicalities to deny extradition and "known criminals were allowed to roam freely on the other side of the Border".