Police chief 'pressed over Finucane murder probe'

The British government tried to pressurise the UK’s top police officer in a bid to halt a public inquiry into the assassination of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, a court heard today.

Scotland Yard chief Sir John Stevens was allegedly urged to declare his probe into the controversial killing could lead to a clutch of prosecutions which would block any such tribunal, Northern Ireland High Court was told.

Even though retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory found enough evidence of security force collusion to call for a hearing into the February 1989 Finucane murder, Secretary of State Paul Murphy has so far resisted the growing demands.

Mr Murphy insists any decision must be delayed until after the trial of Belfast man Ken Barrett who is charged with killing the lawyer.

But as Mr Finucane’s widow Geraldine today continued her legal battle with the British government in a bid to force a judicial review, it was claimed attempts were made to use Mr Stevens and his officers.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner was consulted after the Cory report - which recommended public inquiries into four killings examined – was handed to the authorities last year, the court heard.

When the Stevens team met the Finucane family for the first time in Belfast in February, the senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cox, allegedly disclosed he was being urged to declare “a whole string” of arrests and charges were imminent.

Seamus Treacey QC, for Mrs Finucane, said: “The court has been told nothing at all about this post-Corey consultation exercise where the government have been attempting to lean on the Stevens team to get them to say that future prosecutions would be an obstacle to a public inquiry.”

Although files on 20 soldiers and police officers have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions as part of the Stevens investigation, Mr Treacey insisted the family were told all of these were “marginal” to their demands.

Referring to the meeting with Met officers, Mr Treacey said: “Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Cox replied that they could quite confidently say that the only impediment to a public inquiry is the Barrett case.”

Mr Stevens also allegedly informed the family that that obstacle could be removed by September when the accused is due to go on trial.

With pressure allegedly being exerted on the detectives, Mr Cox also revealed letters had been sent to the authorities stressing they would not be used to hold up a public inquiry, the court was told.