The London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, has produced a damning report on collusion between the Northern Ireland security forces and loyalist paramilitary organisations during the 1980s and 1990s.
The interim report, which has taken 14 years to compile, found that secret co-operation by the RUC Special Branch and British military intelligence ranged from a wilful failure to keep records, to the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, through to the extreme of agents being involved in murder. The Commissioner concluded there had been collusion in the murders of Pat Finucane and Brian Adam Lambert and that their deaths could have been prevented.
The findings provide a firm basis for the public view that a "dirty war" was conducted by the security forces in Northern Ireland against members of the Catholic community, many of whom had no involvement with the IRA. Sir John reported that during the course of three inquiries he had experienced a culture of obstruction throughout the British army and the RUC in Northern Ireland.
The burning of his own inquiry room, near Belfast, had never been adequately investigated, he said, and he concluded the fire had resulted from an arson attack.
As a result of these inquiries - certain major lines of investigation are continuing - 57 files have been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions with a view to prosecutions being initiated. Sir John declined to identify the individuals concerned on the basis that this might prejudice their right to a fair trial.
A similar reason was advanced for not publishing the details of his 3,000-page report and, instead, an 18-page overview was released.
After 18 years of investigation, the absence of a single criminal prosecution and the withholding of details of the Stevens report must be regarded with disappointment. However, an official acknowledgement that there was collusion between the security forces and loyalist murder gangs, along with the supply of a copy of the report to the Policing Board, represents an advance.
The next step will require implementation of the report's 21 recommendations on administrative reform within the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The PSNI Chief Constable, Mr Hugh Orde, who directed the Stevens inquiry for two years, has expressed a determination to establish mechanisms that will prevent future allegations. In the present fraught climate, such a development is vital.
The Finucane family has criticised the report and its handling by the authorities as a "whitewash" and demanded the establishment of a public, sworn inquiry. Support for the family has come from a number of internationally respected human rights organisations.
A decision in that matter will, in the first instance, be influenced by retired Canadian judge, Mr Peter Cory, who has been asked to look at six controversial murders from that period and to say whether they should be subjected to a judicial inquiry.