Finucane probe delay despite warning

THE British Government has put off a public inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane despite Judge Peter Cory’s assertion that public confidence would be badly damaged if it did not go ahead immediately.

Judge Cory said evidence he had considered from a mass of official documents "clearly indicate to me that there is strong evidence that collusive acts were committed by the army (Force Research Unit), the RUC Special Branch and the Security Service".

He warned in his report that the practical effect could be a delay of at least two years in the establishment of an inquiry and said it might be one of the "rare situations" where a public inquiry "will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions".