British must come clean on Finucane cover-up, says McGuinness

BRITISH ministers were urged yesterday to get to the truth about the controversial murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

In a fresh attack on the British Government’s handling of an inquiry into allegations of security force collusion in the murder, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness said most people believed Britain was anxious to cover up the facts around the murder.

He called on the Government to publish immediately the terms of reference for the inquiry to allay people’s concerns.

Mr McGuinness told the Ulster Fry breakfast fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Brighton: “The British Government’s record on the issue of collusion between its agencies and unionist paramilitaries has been one of denial, concealment and cover-up.

“The announcement of the British Government’s proposed inquiry into the Finucane murder has only served to reinforce the fear that its cover-up of the issue of collusion is set to continue.

“It is vital that the terms of reference for this inquiry are published immediately in order to address the doubts and concerns of the Finucane family and all those who support their demand for a full independent judicial public inquiry.”

Mr Finucane was gunned down in front of his family in his north Belfast home by the Ulster Freedom Fighters in February 1989.

There have long been allegations that he was targeted by loyalists, directed by Army intelligence officers and members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

An investigation by Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Stevens concluded last year there was evidence of collusion in the murder of Mr Finucane and student, Adam Lambert.

Retired Canadian judge Peter Cory, who was appointed in 2001 by the Irish and British Governments to examine the case for an inquiry, also recommended a fresh probe.

The Finucane family, human rights activists and nationalist politicians have been alarmed by the British Government’s handling of the inquiry - noting that several pages of Judge Cory’s report were withheld from the public view.

Last week, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy confirmed an inquiry would go ahead after loyalist Ken Barrett admitted at Belfast Crown Court to his role in the Finucane murder. Barrett received life imprisonment but is expected to be released early under the Good Friday Agreement.

The inquiry into Mr Finucane’s killing is expected to be presided over by a High Court judge. Mr Murphy said it would be independent but also confirmed much of the proceedings would take place behind closed doors because they would deal with sensitive issues of national security.

Mr McGuinness yesterday said Mr Murphy’s remarks were an “incredible acknowledgement that the British state itself was intimately involved in the killing of Pat Finucane specifically and that the policy of collusion with loyalist death squads was a British Government policy pursued in their national interest.”

The Mid Ulster MP added: “In short, the British state killed citizens in Ireland for national security reasons. This is a scandal of enormous proportions and it is as much in the interests of British democracy as it is of Irish freedom that this scandal is exposed to public scrutiny.”