British Government suppressed BBC Hegarty exposé days after the schoolboy was shot dead during Operation Motorman in Derry

Damning documents show that in the immediate aftermath of the killing the upper echelons of the British State sought to suppress the truth.

“We could have been spared decades of hurt and heartbreak if they had admitted what they knew, that Daniel was innocent, unarmed and shot at close range.

"He wasn’t on the other side of the street, he wasn’t shouting at them or running towards them in a threatening way. No warning was given and neither he nor his cousins posed any threat whatsoever,” said his sister Margaret Brady.

Daniel (15) was shot twice in the head at close range by Soldier B, a now deceased member of the Royal Scots, during Operation Motorman, July 31, 1972.

His cousin Christopher (17) was wounded and on the same day Seamus Bradley (19) was shot dead close to the Bishop’s Field.

Declassified files show respected correspondent Alan Hart had been in Derry filming for BBC Panorama during the British Army’s attempt to break the ‘no go’ areas.

RJ Seaman, a senior official within Secretary of State Willie Whitelaw’s Northern Ireland Office, in a confidential communiqué dated August 8, 1972, acknowledged he was made aware of the Panorama team’s presence by a 'Col. Jeffcoate’.

Mr. Hart had asked the British Army in Derry for a statement. This 'filtered through to London Ministry of Defence (MoD) who had consulted the Prime Minister's Office', the file reveals.

In the missive Mr. Seaman reveals he spoke to the Prime Minister Edward Heath’s Press Secretary Donald Maitland who told him to ‘seek to persuade Panorama not to include this tragic incident in the projected programme’.

The document shows the senior NIO official received a call from Mr. Hart who told him that he had advised the Royal Scots that 'all the evidence he had in his possession indicated that the soldiers had made a mistake and shot an unarmed boy at point blank range'.

"Mr. Hart told me he had filmed an interview with Mr. and Mrs. Hegarty, neighbours and other local residents who knew the family. He claims that everybody he spoke to emphasised that it was impossible that the lad or his cousin and another friend who were with Daniel were carrying arms or explosives,” the memorandum divulges.

It goes on: “Alan Hart genuinely believes the Army made the mistake in shooting Daniel. He said there was an incident 3-400 yards up the road where a petrol bomber was hit but his body was not found.

"The soldiers then saw these three young men walking outside 114 Creggan Heights. They were challenged but kept walking because, according to Hart, there was so much noise from the siren and military vehicles, they did not hear the challenge. They were shot at point blank range of six to nine feet.”

The file shows the segment was pulled from the programme on Monday, August 7, 1972, after pressure was exerted on the BBC.

Mr. Seaman discloses details of his conversation with Mr. Hart, who was unhappy with the decision.

But he writes: “It is perhaps best if I do not recall subsequent telephone conversations on Sunday with other people in the BBC."

Upon receipt of this correspondence, John Groves, Chief Information Officer at the MoD, informed Defence Secretary Peter Carrington’s office.

"On Friday last, August 4, we heard of an item filmed for Monday's Panorama by Alan Hart designed to show that two men killed when the Army went into the no-go areas in Londonderry the previous weekend were innocent by-standers.

“After a major effort, the NIO managed to get the item removed from Monday's programme.

“I agree with him that we have not heard the last of this case - and it looks as though it could be a difficult one. I do not know whether any inquiry into the shooting of these two has taken place or whether any of the allegations can be refuted,” it states.

Fifty four years after the British Army killed Daniel his sister Margaret reflects: “We had to fight for over 50 years to get to the truth. I want two things now. I want the BBC to search for the footage of the interviews that were done with my mammy and daddy.

"This is very important for my family. And I want the new Secretary of State [Chris Bryant] whenever Parliament returns, to make a statement acknowledging that these documents are an appalling indictment of the official response to the death of a 15 year child. Our Daniel.”

Paul O’Connor, of the Pat Finucane Centre, which uncovered the files in the National Archives in London said they ‘are a clear indication that the MoD, RUC, NIO, Prime Minister’s office and the Attorney General were all aware of the disputed circumstances of the shooting’.

"There was complicity within the senior levels of Government. The BBC itself has serious questions to answer since it self-censored an item that should have rung alarm bells.

"The admission that the NIO ‘managed to get the item removed’ is clear evidence of a concerted effort to hide the truth.

"The NIO was aware from early August that Daniel had been shot at almost point blank range and that he was unarmed. This is not speculation.

"It is stated in black and white in the correspondence.”

Mr. O’Connor described references to late night phone calls aimed at getting the item spiked as ‘deeply disturbing’.

"These new documents reveal that the authorities were fully aware within days that the British Army version was a lie,” he said.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "The Government has enormous sympathy for all of those killed, and injured as a result of the Troubles, and the many families who have lost loved ones, including the family of Daniel Hegarty."

The MoD said it recognised many individuals and families experienced profound loss during the Trouble. It indicated it had cooperated fully with a new inquest and subsequent criminal proceedings into Daniel Hegarty’s death.

It said it could not comment on the detail of documents from over 50 years ago.

A spokesperson for the BBC, responding to Mrs. Brady’s request for the 1972 interview to be salvaged, said: “We fully understand the importance of this interview to Mr Hegarty’s family and, following this request, we will make every effort to locate the footage in our archives, although at this point we cannot say if it still exists.”

On dropping Panorama, the spokesperson said: “We have made some initial searches of BBC archive records from 1972 but have been unable to establish a definitive account of the decision making about this report.”