Trimble calls for private inquiry

THE British parliament should hold an inquiry into how widespread collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and security forces in Northern Ireland was allowed to take place, David Trimble said yesterday.

The Ulster Unionist Party leader rejected calls for a full judicial investigation following publication of John Stevens’ report on Thursday.

But he said the all-party Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, which sits in private, could examine what happened.

The SDLP and the widow of Pat Finucane, the Catholic solicitor murdered as a result of the collusion, have called for a full inquiry to see how high up the chain of command it went.

“The last thing we want is another full judicial inquiry when we see what is happening in terms of the time and money that has been expended elsewhere,” Mr Trimble told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“Yes there has been investigation, a lot of that investigation necessarily has been kept as it were private.

“There are still paramilitary organisations in existence, there are still informants.

“Are the SDLP suggesting that we should now bring all that into the open?”

He said a parliamentary inquiry would be more suitable: “I think one should now look towards that intelligence committee, which is an all-party committee in Parliament.

“If there are any further inquiries, any further matters to be looked at, that is the best way to proceed.”