Timeline: The events that led up to the inquiry

1995-1997 : Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson begins developing a high media profile because she represents the nationalist Garvaghy…

1995-1997: Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson begins developing a high media profile because she represents the nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition during the annual bitter and frequently violent Drumcree standoffs. The coalition opposed Orangemen making their return parade from Drumcree Church past Garvaghy Road.

Early 1998:Nelson formally complains of RUC intimidation against her. She represented several republican clients, a number of whom in 1997 claimed that RUC officers interviewing them expressed hostility towards her. One client claimed an officer warned him he would be killed and that Nelson is "going to die too".

July 1998: The Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC) raised "serious concerns" about the RUC's handling of the complaints. Officers from the Metropolitan Police are called in to replace RUC officers conducting the inquiry.

August 1998: Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) warns of loyalist paramilitary threats against Nelson. It officially notifies the Northern Ireland Office of the threats.

READ MORE

September 1998: Nelson travels to Washington to tell a congressional hearing about alleged police harassment of her.

March 15th, 1999: Nelson is killed when a car bomb detonates beneath her car outside her home in Lurgan. The murder is claimed by a group calling itself the Red Hand Defenders.

Calls for an independent inquiry are ignored. Chief constable of Kent David Philips called in to oversee an RUC murder investigation. Police say they will seek assistance from the FBI.

March 18th:Several thousand mourners attend Nelson's funeral.

March 24th: There are renewed calls for an independent murder investigation after The Irish Timesreports how the ICPC detailed a "catalogue" of complaints about how the RUC handled an investigation into allegations of constabulary death threats against Nelson.

The ICPC reported: “The ill-disguised hostility to Mrs Nelson on the part of some police officers was indicative of a mindset which could be viewed as bordering on the obstructive.”

March 28th:Deputy chief constable of Norfolk Colin Port is brought in to head the murder inquiry instead of David Philips. He assembles his own investigative team but says he needs the RUC involved because of its local expertise.

April 12th: UN special rapporteur Param Cumaraswamy, who had met Nelson, says the RUC showed "complete indifference" to solicitors who alleged intimidation.

April 15th: The European Parliament, and later the United States Congress, supports calls for a full inquiry into Nelson's case.

June 16th: It emerges that the FBI role in the RUC-led murder inquiry ended within weeks.

December 23rd: The North's director of public prosecutions says officers accused of threatening Nelson will not be prosecuted.

March 15th, 2000: On the anniversary of her murder by the loyalist paramilitary group a 100,000-strong petition is presented to 10 Downing Street demanding a full inquiry.

November 22nd: First police ombudsman Nuala O'Loan is asked to investigate the handling of the CAJ complaint.

February 20th, 2001: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern calls for an inquiry into the killing.

July 13th: At Weston Park peace process talks in Shropshire, England, the British and Irish governments announce a plan to review six controversial murder cases, including Nelson's killing.

May 29th, 2002:Retired Canadian supreme court judge Peter Cory is appointed to examine whether these cases merit inquiries.

November 30th: It emerges that Colin Port is to step down as lead murder investigator, creating concern that the inquiry is to wind down.

October 7th, 2003:Judge Cory tells British and Irish governments of his recommendations.

2004:Judge Cory tells the families of Rosmary Nelson, Pat Finucane, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright that he has recommended public inquiries into their cases after the British government failed to release his findings.

November 16th: The British government establishes a public inquiry into Nelson's murder as well as into Hamill's death. He was killed by a loyalist mob in Portadown.

The inquiry will also deal with Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright who was killed in the Maze prison by the INLA.

March 24th, 2005: Terms of inquiry are to be extended to cover role of British army and intelligence service MI5, as well as the RUC and Northern Ireland Office.

April 19th: The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry opens in Craigavon, Co Armagh with full public hearings scheduled to begin in spring 2006.

December 14th:Public hearings delayed until January 2007, but there are even further delays.

September 19th, 2007:Police Ombudsman finds that the RUC failed to properly investigate the threats against Nelson raised by the CAJ.

April 15th, 2008: The Nelson inquiry begins its public hearings. Those giving evidence include former RUC chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and Mr Cumaraswamy.

Yesterday: Report of the inquiry published.