Abuse victim gets settlement after claims MI5 agent protected

A victim of abuse at Kincora Boys' Home has received an undisclosed settlement after claims a paedophile housemaster was protected from being prosecuted due to being an MI5 agent.

Gary Hoy, 63, sought damages from the home secretary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for the abuse he endured at the now demolished children's home in east Belfast in the 1970s.

The legal action was resolved on confidential terms at the High Court in Belfast on Monday.

No admission of liability was made as part of the resolution.

At least 29 boys were abused at the site on the Newtownards Road from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The former housemaster William McGrath, who was known as the "Beast of Kincora", was imprisoned in 1981 for abusing boys as part of a paedophile ring which operated in the home.

McGrath held a leading role in the far-right loyalist movement Tara.

He died in the early 1990s.

Mr Hoy's lawyers claimed authorities enabled McGrath to target vulnerable young victims so more information about the group could be obtained.

It was alleged that Royal Ulster Constabulary officers were prevented from investigating McGrath due to his role as an MI5 agent.

Claims for negligence and misfeasance in public office were advanced as part of wider actions against the PSNI, Home Office and Department of Health.

Defendants have disputed responsibility for any violation in the duty of care to the victims of the Kincora Boys' Home.

A three-day trial was due to begin on Monday but counsel for Mr Hoy announced proceedings had been settled on confidential terms.

No further details were disclosed.

Speaking to the media outside court, Mr Hoy said: "This case was never about the money, it was about holding them to account."

The judge, Mr Justice Simpson, commended the parties for reaching the outcome in a difficult case.