A journalist who reported on the Birmingham Six for a daily newspaper has died aged 54.

Tributes have been paid to Seamus Kelters, left, who began his career on Belfast-based daily the Irish News and more recently worked for the BBC.

While on the News, Seamus worked on a number of high-profile investigations – including the wrongful convictions of six Irishmen over the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.

He moved to the BBC in the early 1990s and most recently served as assistant editor of its Newsline programme in Northern Ireland, before a short illness prior to his death on Wednesday.

Kathleen Carragher, head of BBC News NI, said: “I’m so saddened by this news. Seamus was a highly valued colleague and friend, and a huge part of the newsroom.

“He will be sadly missed by us all and we send our deepest sympathies to (his wife) Camilla and his sons.”

As a co-author of Lost Lives, a reference book which examined every death caused by the Troubles, Seamus was awarded the Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize for the promotion of peace and reconciliation in Ireland.

John Campbell, BBC NI’s economics and business editor, said: “Seamus was a man with vast knowledge and journalistic experience. But most important was his compassion.”