FINUCANES OUTRAGED AT FURTHER INQUIRY DELAY

04/01/04 09:32 EST

By The Irish American Information Service

The British government is continuing to cover up the truth about the death of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane, his family said today.

In a statement the family said today's statement from Britain's Northern Secretary Paul Murphy was "very disappointing but expected."

Murphy said the British government would be pressing ahead with inquiries into three controversial killings, following the publication of the Cory reports.

Public inquiries are to be set up immediately into the murders of loyalist terror boss Billy Wright, Catholic father of two Robert Hamill and human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson.

However, an inquiry into the fourth and most controversial case of all, the murder of Finucane, will only get under way once criminal prosecutions finish later this year.

"The British Government continue to cover up the truth about the death of my husband with their delaying tactics," Mrs. Geraldine Finucane said.

"We did not ask for the Stevens investigation. We did not ask for Justice Cory to prepare a report and we certainly have never asked for prosecutions. We have always said that these were delaying tactics and the delay continues."

"But the campaign for a public inquiry will also continue. Justice Cory's report confirms that there was a State policy of targeting and assassination. The public should read the details in his report. It is unbelievable but the official documents that he examined show that it is all true."

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Cowen, welcomed the three inquiries being set up immediately but said he was "very disappointed with the decision of the British government to delay action on the Judge's recommendation that a public inquiry be established quickly into the circumstances of the murder of Pat Finucane."

In his report on Mr. Finucane, Judge Cory warned against delaying an inquiry and said it might be one of the "rare situations" where a public inquiry "will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions."

He said evidence he had considered from a mass of official documents "clearly indicate to me that there is strong evidence that collusive acts were committed by the army (Force Research Unit), the RUC Special Branch and the Security Service."

"Without proper scrutiny, doubts based solely on myth and suspicion will linger long, fester and spread their malignant infection throughout the Northern Ireland community."

It was for the Attorney General to decide on prosecution, but it was extremely difficult to hold a public inquiry at the same time as a prosecution, said the judge.

Delaying the inquiry would be a bitter disappointment to the Finucane family and a large segment of the community, he added.

"The Finucane family will be devastated. A large part of the Northern Ireland community will be frustrated."

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr. David Trimble has been attacked for implying that Mr. Finucane had paramilitary links.

Speaking in the House of Commons in London, Mr. Trimble, said he was opposed to inquiries but added: "If as a result of this, the truth about Finucane and Nelson comes into the public domain incontrovertibly, there will be some side effect."

"I mention those two in particular because in the case of Wright a lot of his background and his terrorist activities are in the public domain and I leave out Hamill because there's no reason whatsoever to link him with others who have a clear terrorist connection."

Mrs. Geraldine Finucane said the statement was "very hurtful and untrue" and he should be ashamed of it.

"His accusations were designed to signal to a small section of the public that my husband's murder was justified," she said.

Mrs. Finucane said that a public inquiry would give the Ulster Unionist leader the opportunity to repeat those statements and she looked forward to the day when he was forced to publicly retract them. Justice Cory stated that it was my husband's role as a solicitor which led to his murder. Trimble's statement in parliament today was not only false but it is also something that was contradicted by Justice Cory himself and by the RUC files which he examined."

The RUC has itself accepted that Mr. Finucane was never involved in the IRA.

Diane Hamill, sister of Robert Hamill, said her family was pleased the British government would act on Judge Cory's recommendation.

"For the last seven years this is all we have tried to get from the night that my brother was attacked and allowed to be murdered," she said.

The family of Rosemary Nelson said in a statement that she might be alive today if she had been treated with the "respect and dignity her professional position deserved."

They said: "We are both horrified and saddened, if not entirely surprised, by the graphic description of the abuse and vilification of Rosemary by members of the RUC contained within this report."

The family of the late Billy Wright has welcomed Judge Cory's recommendations.

In a statement they said: "Judge Cory has raised a number of serious questions about the conduct and actions of the Prison Authorities and Intelligence Agencies."

Earlier today, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "It is important that we do try in Northern Ireland to move beyond the past. I don't know whether necessarily a truth and reconciliation commission is the right way to do it, but there needs to be some way of trying to both allow people to express their grief, their pain and indeed their anger in respect of what has happened in Northern Ireland without the past continually dominating the present and the future."

Commenting on the publication of the Cory Reports, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Policing and Justice Gerry Kelly said it sets out much of what has been known publicly but not acted upon.

"Judge Cory's conclusion is that some of the acts in themselves, as well as the cumulative effect of the documents and the statements, 'clearly indicate to me that there is strong evidence that collusive acts were committed by the army (FRU), the RUC Special Branch and the security services'."

"Sinn Féin supports the family demands for full independent, international inquiries. The Cory cases are but the tip of the iceberg. At least 80 people listed on the files of just one agent, Brian Nelson, the unionist paramilitary and British Intelligence agent, were attacked. 29 were shot dead. The British securocrats ran many more Brian Nelson's. They still do," Kelly said.

"MI5 recruited Nelson. MI5 reports directly to the British Prime Minister in Downing Street. That is where political clearance was given for the policy of collusion. That is where the responsibility lies. That is why a British Secretary of State for Defence sought to persuade the British Attorney General not to prosecute Nelson. That is why senior British officials were involved in the attempted cover up."

"The Cory Report is a damning indictment of British rule in Ireland. It reports on the British government killing of citizens with impunity. This is a scenario usually associated with repressive dictatorships. In any democracy in Europe the government would have fallen."

"The structures which implemented this policy still exist. The agents are still being run. The handlers are still in place. We need to know where these people are now for many former members of Special Branch have since been placed into senior positions throughout the PSNI. They continue to have a malign influence over policing in the north," continued Kelly.

"Sinn Féin is calling on the Irish government and on political and civic opinion throughout the island to pursue these matters with the utmost vigor to ensure that the wishes of the victims families are delivered and so that Irish citizens are never again subjected to such a campaign."

"The British government must take up it responsibilities. They must put an end to the cover up and to the ethos and structures in which this killing campaign flourished," Kelly said.

AHERN DISAPPOINTED AT BRITISH FOR FURTHER DELAY

04/01/04 13:48 EST

The Irish Government has expressed its disappointment at the delay by the British government in establishing a public inquiry into the murder of Belfast human rights lawyer Pat Finucane.

Following the publication of edited versions of four reports by retired Canadian judge Mr. Peter Cory, the British government said it would move to immediately establish inquiries into three controversial cases involving alleged collusion.

The cases of loyalist paramilitary boss Billy Wright, Catholic father of two Robert Hamill and human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson will receive immediate attention but an inquiry into the fourth and most controversial case of all, the murder of Mr. Finucane, will get only under way once criminal prosecutions finish later this year.

The family of Mr. Finucane, who was gunned down in front of them by loyalists in 1989, said the British government was seeking to cover up the truth behind the killing.

In his report, Judge Cory warned against delaying an inquiry and said it might be one of the "rare situations" where a public inquiry "will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions."

He said evidence he had considered from a mass of official documents "clearly indicate to me that there is strong evidence that collusive acts were committed by the army (Force Research Unit), the RUC Special Branch and the Security Service."

"Without proper scrutiny, doubts based solely on myth and suspicion will linger long, fester and spread their malignant infection throughout the Northern Ireland community."

In a statement this evening, Irish premier Bertie Ahern said it was "disappointing" that the British government was delaying in "responding to the recommendation by Judge Cory for a public inquiry."

"It conflicts with the views of Judge Cory that a public inquiry is more important in this case than prosecutions. I am deeply conscious of the impact that this postponement will have on Geraldine Finucane and her family who have been waiting for the truth since the murder of Pat Finucane in 1989."

"He was cynically gunned down for no other reason than representing his clients and advancing the cause of human rights through the courts. We need to ensure that the delay in establishing a public inquiry in the Finucane case is not prolonged and that such an inquiry...is established as quickly as possible," Mr. Ahern added.

Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs echoed the Taoiseach's sentiments saying he was "very disappointed."

OUTRAGE FOLLOWING TRIMBLE COMMENTS

04/02/04 07:18 EST

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has been accused of making "dangerous and irresponsible" comments linking two murdered human rights attorneys to terrorism.

He made the remarks in parliament about Rosemary Nelson, who was killed in a booby-trap bomb in Lurgan in 1999 and Pat Finucane, shot by loyalists in Belfast in 1989.

Trimble later said he stood by his comments saying "offense" was "unavoidable," despite calls by both families for him to retract the remarks.

However, the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association in Northern Ireland accused Trimble of "putting certain solicitors lives at risk." Pearse Mcdermott added: "The comments are deeply offensive, dangerous and irresponsible."

Both Finucane and Nelson came to prominence while representing some high-profile republican clients.

Chief Executive of the Law Society of Northern Ireland John Bailie said there were real concerns amongst lawyers in the North following Mr. Trimble's remarks.

"The clear implication is that Mr. Trimble might be making the mistake of judging the lawyers by the clients that he or she represents," he added.

"The fact of the matter is that this society is concerned about this kind of association of lawyers with their clients."

Mr. Trimble's comments came after the government announced inquiries yesterday into Mrs. Nelson's murder and that of two others, all of which involved allegations of British security force collusion.

However, the British government has refused to order an immediate independent public inquiry into the Finucane murder claiming current legal proceedings into the murder must take precedence. A man has been charged with the Finucane murder and he is due to go on trial in September.

During his speech to the House of Commons, Mr. Trimble talked about those who "have a clear terrorist connection."

He said he was opposed to such inquiries, but added: "If as a result of this, the truth about Finucane and Nelson comes into the public domain incontrovertibly, there will be some side effect."

Today, Mr. Trimble said he stood by his comments.

"I don't think anybody thought he (Mr. Finucane) was simply a lawyer," he said.

"I'm not saying he was (an IRA member), I'm just saying there's very, clear evidence of a close relationship."

Mrs. Nelson's brother Eunan Magee described the comments as "totally wrong" and demanded that the Ulster Unionist leader withdraw them immediately.

He said: "Rosemary provided legal representation for her clients. To try and suggest that Rosemary herself was involved in terrorism in some way, it beggars belief."

The Finucane family also expressed anger about the comments.

Alex Attwood of the SDLP, who is also a lawyer, said Mr. Trimble's comments were "outrageous" and "offensive."

Announcement of the inquiries coincided with publication of the reports by retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory who has examined claims of security force collusion in the killings.

A number of former soldiers named in Judge Cory's report on the murder of Pat Finucane have now said they want to face a public inquiry.

In the statement, issued by their London solicitors, the soldiers said they had faced years of criticism without being given the opportunity to state their case openly.

They said the inquiry would let them "correct years of inaccurate press reporting" and claims of collusion.

Chief Constable Hugh Orde has warned that public inquiries into controversial murders risked undermining confidence in his force.

He said communities must not assume the cases reflected the current state of policing in the North.

He said: "Communities will judge us on what we do currently. There is a clear need to understand the past."

He pledged his force would co-operate with the inquiries, but he said there were more than 1,800 other unsolved murders in Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the publication of the Cory Report and the British government reaction to it, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Policing and Justice Gerry Kelly said it set out much of what has been known publicly but not acted upon.

"Judge Cory's conclusion is that some of the acts in themselves, as well as the cumulative effect of the documents and the statements, 'clearly indicate to me that there is strong evidence that collusive acts were committed by the army (FRU), the RUC Special Branch and the security services'," said Kelly.

" Sinn Féin supports the family demands for full independent, international inquiries. The Cory cases are but the tip of the iceberg. At least 80 people listed on the files of just one agent, Brian Nelson, the unionist paramilitary and British Intelligence agent, were attacked. 29 were shot dead. The British securocrats ran many more Brian Nelson's. They still do."

"MI5 recruited Nelson. MI5 reports directly to the British Prime Minister in Downing Street. That is where political clearance was given for the policy of collusion. That is where the responsibility lies. That is why a British Secretary of State for Defence sought to persuade the British Attorney General not to prosecute Nelson. That is why senior British officials were involved in the attempted cover up," he said.

"The Cory Report is a damning indictment of British rule in Ireland. It reports on the British government killing of citizens with impunity. This is a scenario usually associated with repressive dictatorships. In any democracy in Europe the government would have fallen."

"The structures which implemented this policy still exist. The agents are still being run. The handlers are still in place. We need to know where these people are now for many former members of Special Branch have since been placed into senior positions throughout the PSNI. They continue to have a malign influence over policing in the north."

"Sinn Féin is calling on the Irish government and on political and civic opinion throughout the island to pursue these matters with the utmost vigor to ensure that the wishes of the victims families are delivered and so that Irish citizens are never again subjected to such a campaign," Kelly continued"

"The British government must take up it responsibilities. They must put an end to the cover up and to the ethos and structures in which this killing campaign flourished."

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin has challenged the British government to come clean on its policy with regard to the murders and "tell us where the people who operate this policy are now."

McLaughlin said: "Yesterday, Judge Cory in his report set out in very clear terms the different agencies of the British state which operated the policy of state sanctioned murder. The Cory cases are however only the tip of the iceberg."

"The involvement of the Special Branch, FRU and MI5 in the murder of citizens leads directly to Downing Street. These agencies and structures still exist. They are still operating and still controlling and manipulating the various unionist paramilitary organizations."

"The British government need to come clean on collusion. They need to spell out where the individuals who operate this policy now are. What role do these individuals have within the PSNI and the current policing structures. These are fundamental questions and cannot continue to be dodged by the British government."

BLAIR AGAIN REJECTS IMMEDIATE FINUCANE INQUIRY

04/28/04 11:32 EST

By the Irish American Information Service

Calls for an immediate public inquiry into the murder of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane were rejected by the British Prime Minister today.

Tony Blair stuck to his insistence that all criminal proceedings must be concluded before a probe can be launched despite mounting pressure to speed the inquiry.

Former SDLP leader John Hume demanded swifter action when he raised the issue at Commons question time.

He asked: "Following the death of Pat Finucane and the enormous suffering of his family and given their consistent request for a public inquiry, do you agree that the time has now come for such an inquiry?"

The British Government promised to hold any inquiry recommended by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory who was asked to investigate claims of British security service collusion in four high-profile killings.

But when his report was published, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said Mr Finucane`s death would only be investigated after a prosecution was concluded.

Loyalist Ken Barrett is due to stand trial in September for Mr Finucane`s murder. He has denied all charges.

Blair told MPs: "We have announced inquiries into certain of these cases. We stand by the commitments that we gave at Weston Park. There are inquiries proceeding now because of the prosecution in respect of Finucane. We believe it is important that that is taken through its proper process."

In one of the most controversial killings during the Troubles, Pat Finucane was hit 14 times when gunmen opened fire on him in his north Belfast home in February 1989 as he ate an evening meal with his family.