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FOUR PARTIES OF STORMONT have asked the British government to reconsider its decision not to conduct a public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Pat Finucane.
The failure of an immediate investigation has been called an insult by the family of the late Belfast lawyer, who was shot to death by loyalist paramilitaries in collusion with the state.
Yesterday, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said he was not ruling out a public inquiry, but said further examinations of the case by police and a police watchdog should conclude first.
Finucane (39), who represented the Republican and loyalist paramilitaries during the conflict, was shot dead at his family home in North Belfast in February 1989 by the Ulster Defense Association (UDA) in an attack that it involved collusion with the state.
All four parties wrote to Lewis when Finucane’s son John signaled his intention to win the support of President-elect Joe Biden.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who has criticized the failure to order an investigation, also indicated that he would raise the issue with Biden.
The letter signed by Michelle O’Neill from Sinn Féin, Colum Eastwood from SDLP, Alliance Deputy Leader Stephen Farry, and Clare Bailey from the Green Party urged rethinking.
They said the British government’s decision “was not a credible or sustainable position.”
“It was an insult to the Finucane family,” added senior party figures.
Your approach to this matter is now a matter of great public concern.
“To avoid a public investigation, he has clearly made a calculated decision to embark on a high-risk distraction strategy that now puts the Police Ombudsman Office and the PSNI in the middle of a historic murder investigation at one point. in that the intention is to eliminate the legacy of surveillance.
“His suggested approach potentially jeopardizes increased trust in the rule of law and the administration of justice.”
Opinions divided
The issue has divided political opinion in Northern Ireland and several unionist politicians have welcomed the government’s decision, arguing that a public inquiry is not justifiable when so many other grieving families are waiting for answers.
DUP MLA Paul Givan told the Stormont Assembly today that the pain the Finucane family felt was also felt by many other families.
“Of course the murder of Pat Finucane was wrong,” he said.
I recognize the barbaric nature of this as he was murdered in front of his family. One can only imagine the trauma that has caused and it is clearly evident to this day, 31 years later.
“That pain is felt by thousands of people across Northern Ireland. I think of La Mon. I think of Bloody Friday. I think of Enniskillen and Narrow Water (all the IRA atrocities). The list of thousands of people who suffer as a result of the terrorist campaign of more than 30 years in this country continues.
“Many of those families have had a simple desk exercise done by the Historical Investigations Team.”
Givan said there have been multiple investigations into the circumstances of Finucane’s murder.
“Thousands of victims of terrorism could only wish that the same level of questioning had taken place about the murder of their loved ones,” he said.
“The victims have heard aloud the special status accorded to the Finucane family by a number of political parties in this House and, indeed, by other international political figures.”
Michelle O’Neill said yesterday that the British government’s decision is a “shameful denial of the truth for the family and a bad day for justice.”
I spoke to British Secretary of State Brandon Lewis tonight to make it very clear that his blocking of a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane is a cover up, a shameful denial of the truth for the family and a bad day for the Justice.
– Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) November 30, 2020
Family anger
Finucane’s widow, Geraldine, and the couple’s three children were furious after the government said no to an immediate investigation.
John Finucane, Sinn Fein’s lawyer and MP for North Belfast, said that Biden had previously expressed support for his family’s campaign.
“I appreciate that he is going to play possibly the busiest role on the planet so we are not blind to that, but President-elect Biden has already shown a clear interest in Irish affairs, he has a history supporting our campaign,” he said. he told the BBC.
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The Taoiseach told the Dáil today that it was important to maintain international support for an investigation.
“We can continue to work at the international and European level and also in terms of international opinion, and indeed the support that we have in the United States from people like (Democratic Congressman) Richie Neal and others,” he said.
And, of course, have the commitment of President-elect Joe Biden.
Explaining why the British government had decided not to conduct a public inquiry at this stage, Brandon Lewis told Parliament on Monday that outstanding issues before the Police Ombudsman’s office regarding the original police inquiries must be addressed first.
He said there could also be a review of the case by police officers early next year, possibly carried out by a force from outside Northern Ireland.
Following Monday’s announcement, PSNI Police Chief Simon Byrne made it clear that there were no new lines of investigation in the case.
The Police Ombudsman has said that the Finucane case is not currently central to his workload and resources would dictate when he could shift the focus to that investigation.
Last year, the Supreme Court said that all previous death examinations had not met human rights standards.
The High Court recognized that the British government had given Geraldine Finucane an “unequivocal commitment” following the 2001 Weston Park agreement with the Irish government that a public inquiry into the murder would take place.
But the judges found that the British government had been justified in later deciding not to keep one.
The court said it was up to the government to decide what form of investigation was required now, if feasible.
In the midst of a government delay of almost two years in responding to the sentence, Geraldine Finucane initiated a new judicial review process against the state.
Lewis’s announcement Monday represented the government’s formal response to the Supreme Court ruling.
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