The BBC has said it will make every effort to locate an interview with Daniel Hegarty’s parents that was recorded after the schoolboy was shot dead by a British soldier during Operation Motorman.

The broadcaster said it was unable to say, however, whether the footage still exists.

Last week the ‘Journal’ revealed how reporter Alan Hart had been in Derry filming for BBC Panorama during the British Army’s attempt to break the ‘no go’ areas in Creggan and the Bogside on July 31, 1972.

Declassified files show he had interviewed Daniel’s parents and neighbours and was due to air a package on Monday, August 7, reporting that the 15-year-old had been unarmed when he was shot at point blank range by a member of the Royal Scots Regiment.

Daniel Hegarty who was shot dead by a British soldier in 1972.

placeholder image — Daniel Hegarty who was shot dead by a British soldier in 1972.

The documents show the piece was dropped after the British Government exerted pressure on the BBC.

Daniel’s sister Margaret Brady has called on the BBC to locate the footage.

"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,” she said.

On the interview footage of Mr and Mrs Hegarty, a spokesperson for the BBC 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.”

And on dropping Panorama, the broadcaster stated: “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.”

The files unearthed by the Pat Finucane Centre from the British National Archives show 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’.

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’.

Mr. Hart’s package was not aired.