Detectives have recovered the gun used to murder journalist Lyra McKee

29-year-old Lyra McKee

Detectives have descried the discovery as a significant breakthrough.

The gun used to murder journalist Lyra McKee in Derry last year has been recovered by Northern Ireland Police, Sky News reports.

The weapon has been identified as a Hammerli X-Esse, a .22 German-made pistol.

Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy described the recovery as "a significant milestone" in his investigation.

He said: "It enables us to protect the public away from the use of that firearm and enables us to protect our officers away from terrorist attacks using that gun.

"But we've always been clear that the most important investigative avenue that comes from the gun is the forensic value that it may contain," he added.

He added: "I'm confident that I know the identity of the gunman, I'm confident that I know the identity of the New IRA that were on the ground that night.

"I'm confident at this stage that I can piece together the roles each of those individuals played.

"The work for me and my team arising now from the recovery of the gun is to establish the evidence that proves the story that I've been able to tell over the last 15 months," he added.