DETECTIVES FROM THE PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch have made an arrest in England in relation to the murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan in Co Armagh.

O’Hagan, 51, was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries as he walked home from a night out with his wife in Lurgan in September 2001.

O’Hagan worked for the Sunday World and no-one has ever been successfully prosecuted for his murder.

Funeral procession of Martin O'Hagan, in his home town of Lurgan, Co Armagh Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

A PSNI spokesperson said that detectives from Legacy Investigation Branch arrested a 42-year-old man as part of the overall investigation into O’Hagan’s murder.

The arrest was made yesterday morning in the Sheffield area and with the assistance of Counter Terrorism Policing North East and South Yorkshire Police.

He had taken to Northern Ireland for questioning in the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave police station in Belfast.

The PSNI spokesperson added that detectives also conducted a search of a property in the Sheffield area as part of the operation.

Séamus Dooley, the assistant general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said his thoughts are with Martin’s daughters and the wider O’Hagan family circle at this time.

“The NUJ has long advocated that the murder should be properly investigated and given the priority it deserves.”