The UK government has ordered a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the Belfast solicitor shot dead in 1989 by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) in collusion with British forces.
Hilary Benn, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, who met Mr Finucane’s family in Belfast on Tuesday night, announced the inquiry on Wednesday afternoon in the House of Commons.
Mr Finucane (39) was shot dead in his family home in north Belfast in February 1989 by the UDA in an attack found by a series of inquiries to have involved collusion with the state.
For decades, successive UK governments had resisted a campaign by the Finucane family for a full public inquiry into the killing. However, former prime minister David Cameron apologised to the family in 2012 for British collusion in the shooting.
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[ Timeline of Pat Finucane caseOpens in new window ]
His widow Geraldine - who was injured in the attack - and the couple’s three children have been campaigning for decades for a public inquiry to establish the extent of security force involvement.
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane said his family “very much welcomed” the decision to establish an inquiry.
“Led by my mother Geraldine, we have campaigned for decades to uncover the truth behind my father’s murder,” he said on X. “I want to thank every person who has supported our campaign throughout those years. Today belongs to us all. After 35 years of cover-ups, it is now time for truth.”
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Benn said the UK government had previously promised twice to hold the inquiry, first in 2001 in an agreement with the Irish Government, and again in 2004, when a UDA gunman was convicted.
“The plain fact is that for two decades that commitment has been unfulfilled. It is for that reason that I have decided to establish an inquiry,” he said.
In 2019, Britain’s supreme court said all previous examinations of the murder had not been compliant with human rights standards.
The court acknowledged Mrs Finucane had been given an “unequivocal undertaking” by the UK government following the 2001 Weston Park agreement that there would be a public inquiry into the murder. However, the supreme court judges found that the government had been justified in later deciding against holding one.
[ Secrecy and Northern Ireland’s Dirty War: the murder of Pat FinucaneOpens in new window ]
The court said it was up to the government to decide what form of investigation was now required.
The following year, London pushed back a decision on a public inquiry, insisting outstanding issues concerning the original police investigation needed to be first examined by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
In the years since, Mrs Finucane has pursued further legal proceedings challenging the ongoing delays on a decision.
During the summer, the Court of Appeal in Belfast gave the UK government a September deadline to confirm what form of human rights-compliant investigation it intended to undertake into the murder.
Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the decision to establish a public inquiry.
“Today is a vindication of Geraldine Finucane and her family who have campaigned over decades for truth and justice. I spoke to John Finucane by phone yesterday evening to underline the enduring importance that I, as Taoiseach, and the Government attach to progress in his father’s case,” he said.
“This is the beginning of a process and it will be important that, as details are confirmed, there is confidence that it can meet the standards and independence thresholds essential to an inquiry of this nature.
“I want to acknowledge the leadership of prime minister Keir Starmer and secretary of state Hilary Benn in coming to this decision.”
Mr Harris said he spoke to Mr Starmer about the case, including last Saturday when they met in Dublin, and in follow up to a previous discussion in Chequers in July.
“I know that the prime minister is committed to finding a new approach to legacy issues in Northern Ireland, and today’s decision by the British government is in keeping with the spirit of that commitment,” he said. “I have indicated to the prime minister that we stand ready to work with him and his Government on legacy issues.”
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern also welcomed the inquiry.
The death of Mr Finucane had been “a very sad case” and the truth needed to be found, he told RTÉ radio’s News at One.
Access to British secret service records would be crucial to any inquiry to get to the truth of what happened, he added.
The former Fianna Fáil leader said it was not a secret that an RUC patrol at the estate where the Finucane family lived had been withdrawn and that this had allowed two paramilitaries to enter their home and shoot Mr Finucane 14 times.
Mr Ahern said he believed - “and it’s something I hold dearly” - that there had been involvement by MI5.
“MI5 were all over this. So if it’s an inquiry, it will have to, in the terms of reference, get co-operation from MI5 which ... is something we didn’t get in the end in the Dublin Monaghan bombings. And so we’ll see whether it comes out.”
There would be no point in having an inquiry unless MI5 participated “because their hands are all over this”, he claimed. “It leads to very murky questions, not just allegations about the police, who was on whose payroll, where was the collusion and who were the people involved.”
Mr Ahern said that former UK prime minister Tony Blair had wanted to help in the establishment of an inquiry, but he “couldn’t get MI5 to play ball.”
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