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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
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| MI5 head gives inquiry statement | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The head of MI5 in Northern Ireland is to give evidence to a public inquiry into the murder of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson. | |
| The mother-of-three, 40, died after a booby-trap bomb left by loyalists exploded under her car in March 1999. | The mother-of-three, 40, died after a booby-trap bomb left by loyalists exploded under her car in March 1999. |
| Retired judge Sir Michael Morland is chairing a three-strong panel examining alleged security force collusion. | |
| The solicitor's brother, Eunan Magee, said the family would adopt a "wait and see attitude" to the hearings. | |
| He said the family would wait before making any judgement on whether the security forces were cooperating fully with the inquiry. | |
| Mr Magee said the years since the killing had been horrendous. | Mr Magee said the years since the killing had been horrendous. |
| He said: "We lost our father along the way, and I suppose the hardest thing of the whole lot is to sit and watch your parents having lost a child. | |
| "From that point of view, it is something that we have to do in order to be able to move on with our own lives. | "From that point of view, it is something that we have to do in order to be able to move on with our own lives. |
| "I do believe that an awful lot is going to be relived over the next days and months and it is going to be hard to listen to. | "I do believe that an awful lot is going to be relived over the next days and months and it is going to be hard to listen to. |
| "I do believe that we are just going to have to take a step above it." | "I do believe that we are just going to have to take a step above it." |
| 'Opening statement' | 'Opening statement' |
| Eunan Magee speaking before the enquiry | Eunan Magee speaking before the enquiry |
| Under its remit, the inquiry must determine whether the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Northern Ireland Office (NIO), Army or other state agency facilitated the murder, or blocked attempts to investigate it. | Under its remit, the inquiry must determine whether the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Northern Ireland Office (NIO), Army or other state agency facilitated the murder, or blocked attempts to investigate it. |
| The collusion allegations arose because of Mrs Nelson's role as the legal representative in a number of high profile cases, including that of the nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition in Portadown. | The collusion allegations arose because of Mrs Nelson's role as the legal representative in a number of high profile cases, including that of the nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition in Portadown. |
| Last September, a Police Ombudsman report found that threats made against her months before she was murdered were not properly investigated by the RUC. | |
| The inquiry began with an opening statement on the background to the case by counsel to the inquiry, Rory Phillips QC. | The inquiry began with an opening statement on the background to the case by counsel to the inquiry, Rory Phillips QC. |
| The panel is examining alleged security force collusion | |
| Mr Phillips said: "It will be our task over the months of these hearings to investigate and probe these and other matters which include very troubling suggestions, at their highest of state involvement in the murder of one of the state's own citizens, in a dispassionate and calm way so that the truth is not itself obscured by emotion, preconception or prejudice." | |
| He said witness statements have beentaken from 30 police officers up to the rank of assistant chief constable, 19MI5 intelligence officers and eight senior army intelligence officers. | |
| He revealed the list included the Director and Co-ordinator of Intelligence inNorthern Ireland, the head of police Special Branch and intelligence officersfrom across the security forces involved in handling agents. | |
| He added: "Suffice to say at this point that the striking and possibly unique feature of her murder was that the fact of it, if not the manner of it, had apparently been so clearly foreshadowed, not least by her. | He added: "Suffice to say at this point that the striking and possibly unique feature of her murder was that the fact of it, if not the manner of it, had apparently been so clearly foreshadowed, not least by her. |
| "Unsurprisingly, therefore, after her murder there were many who wanted to know whether more could have been done to protect her and whether her murder could have been prevented." | "Unsurprisingly, therefore, after her murder there were many who wanted to know whether more could have been done to protect her and whether her murder could have been prevented." |
| It is understood his statement could take several days to deliver. | |
| The inquiry, which opened in 2005 to set out its terms of reference, has already gathered tens of thousands of documents. | The inquiry, which opened in 2005 to set out its terms of reference, has already gathered tens of thousands of documents. |
| Established by former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Murphy in November 2004, the hearings could last for at least two years. | Established by former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Paul Murphy in November 2004, the hearings could last for at least two years. |
| The inquiry panel is also comprised of Dame Valerie Strachan, former chairman of the board of Customs and Excise, and Sir Anthony Burden, former chief constable of South Wales Police. | The inquiry panel is also comprised of Dame Valerie Strachan, former chairman of the board of Customs and Excise, and Sir Anthony Burden, former chief constable of South Wales Police. |