Renewed calls for Finucane murder public inquiry

An extensive report calling for an independent public inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has been released by a New York based human rights committee.

The report 'Beyond Collusion: The UK Security Forces and the Murder of Pat Finucane' was released at a press conference in Belfast on Tuesday, February 12 to mark the murdered solicitor's thirteenth anniversary.

The report by the Lawyers Commission for Human Rights, calls for an immediate independent inquiry into Pat Finucane's murder and rejects the proposal, as agreed at Weston Park talks last August, to appoint an international judge to see if a full public inquiry is required.

The Ulster Defence Association gunned down Mr Finucane, a high profile solicitor, at his home in front of his family on February 12, 1989. No one has been convicted for his murder.

The call to establish a public inquiry has been echoed by a group of human rights non-governmental organisations. The list of signatories includes: UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the Finucane family, the House of Representatives of the US Congress, the Irish government, Amnesty International and over two thousand national and international lawyers.

A joint statement released by the group states: "The UK government has steadfastly resisted repeated calls for a public judicial inquiry into all aspects of his killing, including the allegations of collusion and cover-up.

"We continue to urge the UK government to establish immediately such an inquiry because we believe that it is the only mechanism which could provide an effective and public investigation into the serious allegations in this case."

The Law Society of Northern Ireland, the NI Human Rights Committee of the Bar Council, the Law Society (England and Wales) and the Bar Human Rights Committee (England and Wales) have also backed calls for a public inquiry.

(AMcE)