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| Pat Finucane's son says family's expectations of report are low | Pat Finucane's son says family's expectations of report are low |
| (25 days later) | |
| The son of Pat Finucane, the Belfast solicitor murdered by a loyalist gang that included state agents, has said the family's expectations are low ahead of the publication of a report into the killing and repeated calls for a full public inquiry. | The son of Pat Finucane, the Belfast solicitor murdered by a loyalist gang that included state agents, has said the family's expectations are low ahead of the publication of a report into the killing and repeated calls for a full public inquiry. |
| John Finucane said that the review by Sir Desmond de Silva QC, which will be published at lunchtime on Wednesday, had been "flawed" and so was unlikely to get to the bottom of the 1989 murder of his father, a high-profile defence lawyer whose clients included many prominent IRA suspects. | John Finucane said that the review by Sir Desmond de Silva QC, which will be published at lunchtime on Wednesday, had been "flawed" and so was unlikely to get to the bottom of the 1989 murder of his father, a high-profile defence lawyer whose clients included many prominent IRA suspects. |
| The government last year admitted "state collusion" in the murder and apologised for it but appointed De Silva to conduct a review rather than granting the public inquiry demanded by the family. | The government last year admitted "state collusion" in the murder and apologised for it but appointed De Silva to conduct a review rather than granting the public inquiry demanded by the family. |
| John Finucane told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We will be reading the [De Silva] report with an open mind. Unfortunately, our past record does not fill us with hope. If it's a review that puts our concerns to bed there will be no one happier than me … [but] you fear that the process that has led to this report is flawed." | John Finucane told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We will be reading the [De Silva] report with an open mind. Unfortunately, our past record does not fill us with hope. If it's a review that puts our concerns to bed there will be no one happier than me … [but] you fear that the process that has led to this report is flawed." |
| He said it was wrong to describe De Silva's report as an inquiry because his remit was merely to review the case files and the public and Finucane's family had been excluded from the process. "This review we feel is the embodiment of a broken promise by the British government … They need to deal with it in a credible fashion," he said. | He said it was wrong to describe De Silva's report as an inquiry because his remit was merely to review the case files and the public and Finucane's family had been excluded from the process. "This review we feel is the embodiment of a broken promise by the British government … They need to deal with it in a credible fashion," he said. |
| When he was prime minister, Tony Blair agreed to set up an inquiry but a fresh investigation was never established. John Finucane said that the failure to hold an inquiry had diminished the government's apology in the eyes of his family. "You don't apologise for something but then not admit what you are apologising for," he said. | When he was prime minister, Tony Blair agreed to set up an inquiry but a fresh investigation was never established. John Finucane said that the failure to hold an inquiry had diminished the government's apology in the eyes of his family. "You don't apologise for something but then not admit what you are apologising for," he said. |
| Up to 28 members of the Ulster Defence Association mainly from the Greater Shankill area who were involved in the 1989 murder plot against the prominent solicitor were revealed later to be working for one or other branch of the security forces at the time. John Finucane was eight when loyalists burst into the family home and gunned down his father while they were eating Sunday dinner. He said: "No matter what the circumstances, it's not easy for anyone to lose their father at a very young age, never mind in such a violent fashion … In the case of my father we see that those [state] agencies not just failed to protect him but instigated the murder and then covered the matter up … That's quite shocking and remains so for me and my family." | Up to 28 members of the Ulster Defence Association mainly from the Greater Shankill area who were involved in the 1989 murder plot against the prominent solicitor were revealed later to be working for one or other branch of the security forces at the time. John Finucane was eight when loyalists burst into the family home and gunned down his father while they were eating Sunday dinner. He said: "No matter what the circumstances, it's not easy for anyone to lose their father at a very young age, never mind in such a violent fashion … In the case of my father we see that those [state] agencies not just failed to protect him but instigated the murder and then covered the matter up … That's quite shocking and remains so for me and my family." |
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