Britain orders public inquiry into 1989 murder of Northern Irish rights lawyer

By Amanda Ferguson

BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain announced on Wednesday a public inquiry into the 1989 murder in Northern Ireland of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, whose death remains a lightning rod for anger over state collusion with pro-British paramilitaries.

Finucane, who had represented leading Irish nationalists, among others, was shot dead at his home in front of his wife and three children by pro-British "loyalist" militants. An independent review in 2012 found the militants had colluded with British security forces.

Britain's Northern Ireland minister Hilary Benn told parliament that a statutory public inquiry was the "only appropriate way forward", given the unique circumstances of the case and previous government commitments to take such a step.

In an announcement welcomed by Finucane's family and the Irish government, Benn said it was important "to seek transparency, to help provide answers to families and to work together for a better future for Northern Ireland".

A statutory public inquiry is a major investigation that has special powers to compel testimony and the release of other forms of evidence.

Finucane's son John, a member of the British parliament for the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein who do not take up their seats, said the family welcomed news of the inquiry.

"Led by my mother Geraldine, we have campaigned for decades to uncover the truth behind my father's murder," Finucane wrote on X. "After 35 years of cover-ups, it is now time for truth."

During three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, the Protestant-dominated security forces were dogged by accusations of collusion with pro-British paramilitaries. A series of separate reports confirmed some of those accusations.

PUBLIC INQUIRY

A judge-led review in 2004 had concluded that a public inquiry was required. Britain's Northern Ireland minister at the time said such an inquiry would be held.

However, Britain decided in 2011 to only hold an independent review. In 2012 then-prime minister David Cameron said this review had shown "shocking" levels of state collusion in the murder.

The UK Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that Finucane's wife had the legitimate expectation of a public inquiry but Britain said this would risk prejudicing a review of the case by Northern Irish police.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris welcomed Wednesday's announcement on "an issue that has been going on far too long".

However Gavin Robinson, leader of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said the decision was unfair to the many other grieving families in Northern Ireland whose murdered loved ones had not received the same degree of attention.

A 1998 peace deal largely ended bloodshed in the British-controlled region between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists seeking union with Ireland and predominantly Protestant unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson; Writing by Conor Humphries and Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Gareth Jones)