"The French spy who planted the bombs that sank the Rainbow Warrior has been unmasked.

More than 30 years on from the terrorist outrage in the Waitemata Harbour, Jean-Luc Kister has confessed to planting both bombs on the hull of the ship.

The former secret service agent was tracked down by journalists from TVNZ's Sunday programme and he told them the mission was "a big, big failure".

The bombing, which killed photographer Fernando Pereira, rocked New Zealand and shocked the world. It was state-sponsored terrorism and those who carried it out were never properly held to account."

Phil Taylor reports for the New Zealand Herald September 6, 2015. [2]