The man jailed in 2004 for the murder of Pat Finucane has been freed under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
Ken Barrett was sentenced to at least 22 years after he pleaded guilty to the murder of the Belfast solicitor who was shot dead in front of his family as they sat down to Sunday dinner.
Jailing Barrett after he had pleaded guilty, Mr Justice Weir described the "cruel and callous" murder as a "terrorist killing carefully planned and mercilessly executed". He accepted that Barrett could apply for early release under the terms of the agreement but this was "entirely outside the control of the criminal courts".
He was transferred from an English prison to Maghaberry jail in Co Antrim in February 2005, making him eligible for early release under the terms of the agreement.
It is understood that Barrett (43) was released yesterday and will not stay in Northern Ireland.
His case was considered last week by the Sentence Review Commission which examines the cases of prisoners convicted of paramilitary offences committed before the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998.
Barrett is free on licence which means he will automatically serve the rest of his sentence if he reoffends and is convicted.
The Finucane family said last night they would continue to fight for a full inquiry into the killing and to oppose the holding of what they term a limited investigation under the terms of the Inquiries Act which allows government ministers to rule on what findings are made public.
Pat Finucane's son, Michael, told The Irish Times last night the release was not a significant event and that the holding of a proper inquiry is more important.
"The release of Ken Barrett was inevitable and although the timing is perhaps a little surprising, the event itself is not," he said.
"The real focus for my family is to succeed in our campaign to have a fully independent, public judicial inquiry into the murder as agreed by the two governments at Weston Park in 2001.
"This is what we must achieve and it is also what successive British governments have refused to allow, including the present administration of Tony Blair with the help of his Secretary of State, Peter Hain."
He said they could only get the truth behind the murder of Pat Finucane and the policy of collusion that facilitated it if the process of inquiry is properly and verifiably independent. "The British government has run out of excuses for delaying the establishment of such an inquiry," he said.