An academic report in has criticised the PSNI's chosen method of investigating unsolved murders, claiming it is fundamentally flawed.

It says there are too many former RUC officers on the "Historical Enquiries Team" and it lacks true independence - particularly when investigating killings carried out by the police and British Army.

Dr Patricia Lundy's interim report questions the HET's neutrality saying some relatives groups accuse it of merely being the police investigating the police.

'Is it right, she asks, that former police officers are asked to re-examine and judge former colleagues' work?'

The Relatives for Justice group which is refusing to co-operate with the HET says it is scandalous that former Special Branch officers and a British soldier are involved and calls it a cynical PR exercise.

Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable, who established the HET, though says it has helped many families come to terms with the past.