The former Kincora boys’ home on the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast

Pressure is growing for the Kincora scandal to be included in a major child abuse inquiry after a powerful Westminster committee said the investigation should be extended to Northern Ireland.

The Commons Home Affairs Committee today strongly endorsed the appointment of New Zealand High Court judge Justice Lowell Goddard to head an inquiry into historical child sex abuse.

MPs also called for the scope of the inquiry to be extended to cover Scotland and Northern Ireland - including the allegations of abuse involving prominent public figures at the Kincora Boys' Home in east Belfast in the 1970s and 80s.

On Wednesday Justice Goddard told the committee that she was willing to discuss the inclusion of Kincora in her inquiry with the Home Secretary Theresa May if she felt it appropriate. Ms May previously said the inquiry will be confined to England and Wales.

Three senior care staff at the home were jailed in 1981 for sexually abusing 11 boys. However, there have been constant claims that MI5 allowed the abuse to continue, as it allowed the security service to blackmail powerful political and establishment figures who were paedophiles.

Writing in today's Belfast Telegraph, East Belfast MP Naomi Long said: "Justice Goddard's inquiry offers the only viable option for the victims to receive the justice they deserve, due to its statutory nature."

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