A Belfast court has directed that published reports by the Police Ombudsman must carry a notice stating the watchdog exceeded its legal powers when reaching certain conclusions.

Mr Justice Scoffield ruled that a strengthened form of notice should accompany the documents to reflect prior court findings on the former Ombudsman's authority.

The decision follows legal action by the Northern Ireland Retired Police Officers Association challenging three reports into historical killings.

One report examined police handling of loyalist paramilitary murders in south Belfast between 1990 and 1998, including the Sean Graham betting shop attack on the Ormeau Road.

Another addressed killings in the northwest region from 1989 to 1993.

A third dealt with the case of four men who were wrongly accused of murdering a British soldier in Londonderry in 1979.

The court found that former Ombudsman Marie Anderson reached conclusions beyond her statutory remit by making determinations on misconduct.