Finucane inquiry 'must be made public'
The British government was warned today that an inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane must be held in public.
After Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy indicated he would be making a public statement soon on the British government’s handling of the case, SDLP leader Mark Durkan said there needed to be a full public investigation into the level of RUC and British Army intelligence involvement in the 1989 shooting.
He said: “At every meeting we have had with Tony Blair, I and my colleagues have consistently argued for a public inquiry.
“We made it very clear after Judge Cory’s report (on the Finucane case) recommending an inquiry that there should be one.
“Now with the prosecution of Ken Barrett last week for the Finucane murder, the last stone in the British government’s stonewall on this issue has been dislodged.
“It was made very clear to Mr Blair at Leeds Castle that there has to be an inquiry which meets the standards set out in Judge Cory’s report. Any attempt to turn it into a private inquiry with secret hearings or secret documents would not be acceptable. We cannot have a ‘now you see it, now you don’t’ Finucane inquiry or a ‘now you hear it, now you don’t’ one either.”
Mr Finucane, who represented republican terror suspects in court, but also had Protestant clients, was gunned down in front of his family in his north Belfast home.
The loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters claimed responsibility but the murder has also been dogged by allegations that members of British Army intelligence and the RUC were also involved in targeting him.
Last week, Ken Barrett, 41. was jailed for life at Belfast Crown Court after admitting his role in the solicitor’s murder. However, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, he could be freed within months.
Following last weekend’s peace process talks in Leeds Castle, the British government is expected to outline within days how it will handle calls for a public inquiry.
