The family of Pat Finucane will not co-operate with a British government inquiry into the solicitor's murder, they said last night.
New draft legislation which provides the framework for an inquiry, some of which will be carried out in private, was published yesterday in London. The Finucanes say the Bill does not comply with the recommendations of Judge Cory who recommended that the murder be investigated.
Following talks at Weston Park in 2001, the British government agreed that "in the event that a public inquiry is recommended (by Judge Cory) in any case, the relevant government will implement that recommendation".
In a statement last night, the family said: "Judge Cory recommended a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Pat's murder and identified the 'basic requirements' for a public inquiry." One of these requirements, they said, was that a tribunal should have full power to subpoena witnesses and documents together with all the powers usually exercised by a commissioner in a public inquiry.
"Clause 17 of the Bill is a wholesale departure from the Weston Park agreement and the Cory recommendation in that an inquiry established under this draft legislation will not have all the powers usually exercised by a commissioner in a public inquiry, since it gives the minister the power to determine when the inquiry sits in private and what material is to be withheld," the Finucanes allege.
They further claimed: "This provision in the Bill attacks the very independence of any such inquiry since it will not be vested with exclusive jurisdiction and control which is the very hallmark of independence." They said that for an inquiry to be truly independent the tribunal will have to be international in character and be composed of judges of standing equivalent to Judge Cory.
"The Finucane family cannot take part in any inquiry established under these conditions," they said. "We call upon all those who signed up to the Weston Park principles to ensure that they are fulfilled and that Judge Cory's recommendation is implemented in full."
Mr Alex Attwood expressed what he called the SDLP's outright opposition to the new legislation on inquiries.
He said: "This legislation confirms the SDLP's worst fears. It allows a minister at any time before or during an inquiry to force the inquiry to hold hearings in private or treat information as confidential." He said if the minister does this, the information must be blacked out for 30 years.
Mr Gerry Kelly, of Sinn Féin, said there was widespread concern it wouldn't meet the needs of the Finucane family. "Today, this appears to be the case." The Northern Ireland Office, however, insisted the inquiry will have full powers to compel witnesses and the disclosure of documents; nothing can be withheld from the inquiry.