A claim by Gerry Adams that he moved “immediately” to get his brother Liam “dumped” out of Sinn Fein has been called into question by photographs of the pair canvassing together for the party.

The canvassing occurred in Dundalk in 1997, 10 years after Mr Adams first learned of child abuse allegations against his brother.

The Sinn Fein president has stated that he believed the accusations, made by his brother's daughter Aine Tyrell, “from the very beginning”.

But the West Belfast MP is continuing to face questions about his handling of the case.

Key questions surround his brother's post-1987 involvement in Sinn Fein and in youth work in Dundalk and west Belfast.

Last week, the Sinn Fein MP said he had blocked his brother becoming a Sinn Fein candidate in Dundalk in 1997.

He stated: “When I heard Liam was in Sinn Fein, and when I heard somebody was putting it about that perhaps he would be a candidate, I moved immediately to stop that and to get him dumped out of Sinn Féin without telling people why. But I moved very, very quickly.”

Yesterday's Sunday Tribune published photographs of Gerry and Liam Adams canvassing in Dundalk, just days before the June 1997 Dail election. In one of the pictures, they were accompanied by the party's Co Louth candidate in that election, Owen Hanratty.

A Sinn Fein spokesman said it saw no conflict with the Sunday Tribune's report and Mr Adams' previous statements on meetings with his brother.

“Gerry Adams has made it clear that he did see his brother on |occasions in the 1990s and made it clear when he discovered he was a member of the party in the Dundalk area he moved to have him expelled in the late 1990s,” the spokesman added.

The west Belfast MP last week said: “I wouldn't say that I handled this perfectly — of course I wouldn't. But I tried to do my best by Aine and I tried to do my best by others in my family and, as far as I could, we tried to ensure that no other child was at risk.”

Liam Adams is wanted by the PSNI on 23 charges involving the alleged abuse of Aine when she was a child. He has been living in the Republic and his solicitor emphasised last week that he “strenuously denied” the allegations.

He walked into a Garda station in Co Sligo a week ago, but was later released because the required arrest warrant had not been issued by the PSNI. His Belfast-based solicitor has questioned how he could “ever get a fair trial” in Northern Ireland, because of “what has been said in the media”.

The case has been in the headlines since Aine waived her right to anonymity to speak to the UTV Insight team.