Dáil slams British refusal to probe Finucane murder

THE Dáil united last night to condemn the refusal of the British government to hold a full public inquiry into allegations of collusion surrounding the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989.

In an all-party motion calling on the British government to honour its commitments to grant a full inquiry, a succession of TDs castigated the British decision to enact a new Inquiries Act, specifically to deal with the Finucane case.

The new legislation will allow evidence deriving from the security and intelligence services to be heard in secret.

However, shortly before the debate commenced, the Northern Ireland office criticised the motion. A spokesperson described it as flawed and misleading in its suggestions that the investigation would be limited.

Opening the debate, the Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said Geraldine Finucane and her family have campaigned for 17 years to obtain the full truth behind the brutal murder.

He said that the inquiry set up by the British was not acceptable as it did not meet the standard of the understanding reached in the Weston Park talks.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also said there was clear evidence of collusion.

Labour’s Michael D Higgins concluded that the British were indulging in a “major cover-up” to disguise the true nature of the collusion between the RUC and his loyalist killers.