Sam McBride: How one small act of mercy could lead to finally locating the body of Robert Nairac

Lying bleeding on the Crossmaglen ground after being shot by a Royal Marine Commando, the IRA man thought he was dying. The soldiers he’d attacked were now attacking him and continued to do so after a shot brought him to the ground. As death loomed, a soldier saved his life.

That one moral act now might be central to solving a mystery stemming from one of the most immoral acts of the Troubles. That former IRA man has now spoken not just about how he escaped death, but to reveal a secret personal crusade to find the body of Captain Robert Nairac, the undercover soldier who was abducted, killed and secretly buried by republicans in 1977..