Yet no public inquiry has yet been commenced into allegations of collusion in Finucane’s death.

An inquiry into this murder that is truly public and independent, and carries the full confidence of the public, would contribute to the Northern Ireland peace process and should commence as soon as possible.

In testimony today, Human Rights First is renewing its call for an independent, public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Finucane’s murder. Please join us and take action.

Human Rights First testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee

Tell Me More

On February 12, 1989, Patrick Finucane was shot 14 times in front of his wife and children in his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by loyalist paramilitaries, apparently acting in collusion with official British security agencies. In the aftermath of his killing, substantial and credible evidence of state collusion began to emerge almost immediately. This information is summarized in our report: Beyond Collusion: The U.K. Security Forces and the Murder of Patrick Finucane. In addition, different government agencies and government authorities, including the police, the British Army, MI5 (the U.K. security service) and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland are implicated in an apparent attempt to cover-up official involvement in the killing.

In 2001, the British and Irish governments agreed at Weston Park that preliminary investigations should take place into the killings of eight individuals where official collusion had been alleged. They appointed Justice Peter Cory - a former Canadian Supreme Court Judge - to conduct these investigations.

Justice Cory submitted his reports in October 2003, but it was not until six months later that the U.K. authorities finally published them. In November 2004, the terms of reference for the public inquiries in three of the four cases that were referred to the British government, along with the names of the panel members who would hold the hearings, were announced. At the time, the British government claimed that no inquiry into Finucane’s death could be announced until the outcome of pending prosecutions in the case.

On September 16, 2004, Kenneth Barrett, a former paramilitary, was convicted of the murder of Patrick Finucane after entering a guilty plea on the first day of his trial. Observers at his trial confirmed that “Kenneth Barrett's guilty plea led to no significant information being made public during the court case; criminal proceedings have clearly been insufficient in getting at the full truth of the Finucane case.”
The Inquiries Act brings about a fundamental shift in the manner in which the actions of government and public bodies can be subjected to scrutiny in the United Kingdom. The powers of independent inquiry chairs to control inquiries have been usurped and those powers have been placed in the hands of government ministers. Under the Act, the minister: decides whether there should be an inquiry; sets its terms of reference; can amend its terms of reference; appoints its members; can restrict public access to hearings; can prevent the publication of evidence placed before an inquiry; can prevent the publication of the inquiry’s report; can suspend or terminate an inquiry; and can withhold the costs of any part of an inquiry which strays beyond the terms of reference set by the minister.

Compared to inquiries established under the 1921 Act, parliament’s role in overseeing public inquiries is now dramatically reduced. Under the new law, not only is there no guarantee that inquiries will be public, but because of the near complete control of inquiries by government ministers, it is hard to see how such inquiries can be viewed in any way as structurally “independent.” This is particularly troubling where the actions of a government minister or those of his or her department, or those of the government, are in question. In effect, this creates a situation in which the executive branch will be investigating itself.

Simply put, an inquiry held under the Inquiries Act will not meet the standard set for independent public inquiries by Judge Cory in October 2003. Further, Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires that the investigation have a sufficient element of public scrutiny to secure practical accountability. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also requires an open and accountable investigation. Inquiries held under this law will therefore not satisfy the Weston Park Agreement between the British and Irish governments in 2001.

Sample Letter:

Prime Minister Tony Blair
10 Downing Street
London SW1A 2AA
United Kingdom

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

I understand that there has still been no public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Belfast human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane. I write to ask that an independent, public inquiry be commenced into his murder as soon as possible.

Evidence gathered by Human Rights First and others strongly suggests that elements of both the U.K. police and army were implicated in Mr. Finucane’s murder. This information is summarized in Human Rights First’s report Beyond Collusion: The U.K. Security Forces and the Murder of Patrick Finucane. Judge Peter Cory, appointed by the British and Irish governments pursuant to the Weston Park Agreements to review the allegations of official collusion in six prominent political killings in Northern Ireland, recommended a public inquiry in Mr. Finucane’s case without delay.

It is critical to the peace process that independent, public inquiries are carried out in cases where there is evidence of government collusion in serious violations of human rights. Only if such inquiries are fair and transparent will there be public faith in their conclusions.

I believe that only an independent, public inquiry can determine the full scope of security force involvement in the murder of Patrick Finucane. Furthermore, an inquiry established under the 2005 Inquiries Act will not satisfy the recommendations made by Judge Cory, nor the Weston Park Agreements. I hope that you will do everything in your power to prevent further delays in the initiation of such an inquiry.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

cc.

Sir David Manning
British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Avenue,
Washington DC, 20008
Fax: (202) 588 7870

Peter Hain MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
39 Windsor Road
Neath
SA11 1NB