Brighton bomber Patrick Magee should have his criminal record wiped out, according to Sinn Fein.

The republicans have demanded the criminal records of all 15,000 IRA members convicted during the troubles should be erased to "reintegrate" them into society.

The request has been condemned by Unionists as an attempt by republicans to airbrush their crimes out of history.

Magee was convicted of planting the 25lb bomb which killed five people and injured 34 in October 1984, at the time of the annual Conservative Party conference.

Many leading Tory figures were staying in the hotel at the time including former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Magee was sentenced to life in prison when convicted of murder 20 months after the bombing but was released in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement.

He has since met several of the victims' relatives to discuss what he did and why.

Sinn Fein is now arguing many of the ex-prisoners are having trouble finding jobs and would not have been convicted if not for the Northern Ireland conflict.

That would apply to an estimated 11,000 IRA members who served time in Northern Ireland and mainland Britain, along with 4,000 in the Republic of Ireland.