When state forces use terror tactics, terrorism is the inevitable winner

NOTWITHSTANDING the hype, the latest report of Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Stevens may be short on specifics, but it is still a damning indictment of the British authorities.

At the outset Stevens emphasises his conclusions that there was an absence of accountability, because the relevant authorities not only failed to keep records, but also withheld intelligence information as well as evidence that British agents were involved in collusion with the murderers of Patrick Finucane and Brian Adam Lambert.

The conspiracy involved not only the Royal Ulster Constabulary and its agents, but also the British Ministry of Defence, which engaged in the "late disclosure" of documents during all three of Stevens' investigations stretching back over the past 14 years. Pat Finucane's family refused to co-operate with the investigations. Their lack of faith in the Stevens team is understandable on the evidence of this report, which is not only a damning indictment of the behaviour of the police and military, but also conclusive evidence of the need for a full judicial inquiry into the murders.