Finucane rejects ‘sham’ of new British inquiry

THE son of the murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane said yesterday that his family would refuse to participate into a new British Government inquiry into his death because it was a sham.

Michael Finucane, a solicitor based in Dublin, told the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs that new legislation introduced to facilitate the inquiry would give the right to British government ministers - and not the inquiry judges - to determine what evidence and witnesses could, and could not, be made available to the inquiry.

In an outspoken criticism of the new Inquiries Act, he said that the Northern Secretary Peter Hain had confirmed to him this week that the British Government would have the powers to restrict the evidence available to the inquiry or decide that evidence be heard in camera.

“If the (presiding) judge did not agree, there were two stark options,” said Mr Finucane.

“He would preside over an inquiry where he disagreed with the rules and would frankly look like a fool. Or else he could walk. It was my way or the highway.”

He contended the British government would retain ultimate control over the proceedings, and as they were the executive in government, their decisions would be immune from challenge.

“It will be a government- controlled intelligence services inquiry. (It could be) the only people in the room talking to each other are the people who created the collusion monster in the first places. We will not participate in such a sham,” he said.

Mr Finucane appeared before the committee along with his late father’s legal partner, Peter Madden, and Pat Finucane’s brother, Dermot.

Mr Madden said that the main issue was whether the families will be given a full independent inquiry into Mr Finucane’s murder

“The position is that is not going to be the case after meeting with Peter Hain,” he said.

Pat Finucane, 39, was murdered by loyalist gunmen outside his north Belfast home in 1989. There has been compelling evidence of collusion between the paramilitaries and the security services.

Michael Finucane said: “The case has been particularly controversial because it has reached the stage where concrete evidence of collusion between British security services and loyalists has gone beyond the point of doubt.”

He said when the family met Peter Hain it was not a question of if, but how much collusion. Mr Hain said the inquiry would determine how far up the chain collusion went.

Politicians from all parties including Paul Bradford (FG), Pat Carey (FF), Michael D Higgins (Lab) and Senator Paschal Mooney (FF) expressed their support for the Finucane family at the hearing.