Police are questioning Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in Northern Ireland over the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, his party said.

The killing of the widowed mother of 10 by the IRA is one of the most controversial crimes of Northern Ireland's sectarian violence.

Her body was found on a beach in the Republic of Ireland in 2003.

Adams said in a statement that he was "innocent of any part" in her death.

"I regret very much that anyone was killed as a result of conflict in our country. I was one of a group of people who helped to bring that conflict to an end. Obviously there are legacy issues and we support victims who have been bereaved or have had people injured and there's a lot of work to be done by all of us as part of a healing process in the time ahead."

Three decades of sectarian violence largely ended after a peace deal in 1998.

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