Terror claims against two murdered lawyers under fire

ULSTER Unionist leader David Trimble was challenged yesterday to produce evidence to support his claim that murdered solicitors Rosemary Nelson and Pat Finucane had terrorist links.

Eunan Magee, the brother of Rosemary Nelson, said the comments by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in the House of Commons on Thursday were a “disgrace.”

The government announced public inquiries would be set up into the murders of Mrs Nelson; Mr Finucane; Portadown Catholic Robert Hamill and loyalist terror boss Billy Wright as “soon as possible.”

But the inquiry into Mr Finucane’s killing in February 1989 would take longer to set up and will have to wait until criminal proceedings are completed later this year. Loyalist Ken Barrett is currently awaiting trial in September in connection with Mr Finucane’s murder.

Mr Trimble told MPs that while he was opposed to public inquiries, they could help uncover the truth about Mr Finucane and Mrs Nelson’s links to terrorism.

The Upper Bann MP said: “I mention those two (Finucane and Nelson) 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 is no reason whatsoever to link him with others who have a clear terrorist connection.”

Mr Finucane was hit 14 times in his Belfast home in a loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters gun attack while he and his family ate dinner.

Members of the police and army intelligence are accused of assisting the loyalist hitmen who targeted him. Mrs Nelson, who came to prominence when she represented nationalist residents in Portadown during the Orange Order marching dispute at Drumcree, was killed when a loyalist bomb detonated under her car outside her Lurgan home in March 1999.

In the months before her death, she was told by clients that members of the police had threatened she was going to be killed.

Both solicitors represented republicans in court.

Mr Finucane’s widow Geraldine attacked Mr Trimble, saying he would have to withdraw them after a public inquiry was carried out into her husband’s murder.

She added that Judge Cory had access to RUC files which stated that allegations that her husband had been a member of the Provisional IRA were false. Mr Magee also challenged Mr Trimble to support his claims when the inquiry into Rosemary Nelson’s murder was held.

“Whenever the inquiry into Rosemary’s death takes place, it is up to David Trimble to put his evidence on the table,” she said.

“I suspect this is a case of David Trimble fishing for a more hardline blue vote,” she said.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan also called on Mr Trimble to withdraw the allegations, describing them as “deeply offensive”.