Declassified files from the National Archives in London reveal that the British government moved to remove a BBC Panorama report on the fatal shooting of Daniel Hegarty just days after the incident in Derry in 1972.

Hegarty, 15, was shot twice in the head at close range by a soldier from the Royal Scots during Operation Motorman on July 31, 1972. His cousin Christopher, 17, was wounded in the same incident.

A confidential memorandum dated August 8, 1972, written by RJ Seaman, a senior official in the Northern Ireland Office, details how the government pressed the BBC not to air the footage. Seaman spoke to the press secretary of Prime Minister Edward Heath, who instructed that Panorama be persuaded to drop the item.

The document records that BBC correspondent Alan Hart had told the Army that all evidence indicated the soldiers made a mistake and killed an unarmed boy. Hart interviewed the parents of Daniel Hegarty, neighbours, and residents, all of whom stated the teenager and his cousins were not armed.

The segment was pulled from the August 7 broadcast. Seaman noted Hart was unhappy. Another memo from John Groves of the Ministry of Defence to the office of Defence Secretary Peter Carrington stated: “After a major effort, the NIO managed to get the item removed.” Groves questioned whether any inquiry had occurred.

Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre, which uncovered the files, said the documents show that the Ministry of Defence, the RUC, the Northern Ireland Office, the Prime Minister’s office and the Attorney General were aware of the disputed circumstances. He described the references to late-night phone calls to spike the report as deeply disturbing.

Daniel Hegarty’s sister, Margaret Brady, called for the BBC to locate the original interview footage and for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to make a statement acknowledging the documents as an indictment of the official response to a child’s death.

A UK Government spokesperson expressed sympathy for all victims of the Troubles. The Ministry of Defence said it had cooperated with a new inquest and subsequent criminal proceedings but could not comment on documents more than five decades old. A BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster is examining the matter.