LAST UPDATE | 11 Sep
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT has announced a public inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, who was killed in 1989.
Finucane was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association, in an attack found to have involved collusion with the State, in February 1989. He was 39 years old.
The family of the murdered solicitor have long called for a public inquiry to be established and demands were intensified following a 2019 British Supreme Court ruling found the investigation had a number of shortcomings.
A Supreme Court judge also said that the initial investigations had fallen short of the international human rights of Finucane and his family.
Despite this, in November 2020, the UK Government again refused a public inquiry into the circumstances of Finucane’s killing but a Belfast Appeal Court in July this year ruled that the Government must establish a formal, public inquiry.
This timeline was extended as the new Labour Government considers its response. Today, the British Government announced that it would indeed be launching an investigation into his killing.
This follows a meeting between Finucane’s family and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn in Belfast yesterday.
Benn said the current Government takes human rights and its responsibility to the victims of the Troubles “extremely seriously” and that it wanted to fulfil a commitment made to survivors by previous Governments to carry out an inquiry.
“It is for this exceptional reason that I have decided to establish an independent inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane under the 2005 Inquiries Act,” he added.
Benn told the House of Commons that the British public may never forget the trauma caused by the Troubles in Northern Ireland and that it is difficult for many to understand the pain felt by many in the region who lost a loved one during that time.
He added: “What we can do is to seek transparency, to help provide answers to families and to work together for a better future for Northern Ireland, which has made so much progress since these terrible events.”
Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, Geraldine Finucane, the widow of Pat Finucane, welcomed the announcement of a public inquiry into her husband’s murder.
“After 35 years of campaigning for such an inquiry, I believe this announcement represents a significant step forward for my family in our fight to uncover all of the circumstances behind Pat’s murder,” she said.
“It has been a long journey to get to the point where the establishment of an independent public inquiry has finally become a reality.”
I look forward to having the opportunity to participate in a statutory inquiry and expose publicly the whole truth behind the murder of my husband.
Geraldine said that uncovering the truth has always been the objective of the family’s campaign for the last three-and-a-half decades.
“We have only ever been concerned with uncovering the truth.
“It is this that has kept us going. It is the thing that has been missing, all these years.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris has welcomed the decision and claimed it is one part of the “new approach” to Irish and British engagement over Legacy issues moving forward. He described the decision as a “vindication” for the family who have campaigned for decades.
Today is a vindication of Geraldine Finucane and her family who have campaigned over decades for truth and justice for Pat. https://t.co/mAIp2Hn4Lv
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) September 11, 2024
He said: “I spoke to John Finucane by phone yesterday evening to underline the enduring importance that I, as Taoiseach, and the Government attach to progress in his father’s case.
“This is the beginning of a process and it will be important that, as details are confirmed, there is confidence that it can meet the standards and independence thresholds essential to an inquiry of this nature,” he added.
The Taoiseach acknowledged the work done to reach this decision by Benn and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, adding that it was one of the many issues that he and Starmer discussed in meetings, including in Dublin last week.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the Finucane family have followed “a long and challenging road” since Pat’s murder in 1989 and since a public inquiry was recommended by Judge Peter Cory in 2004.
“It also matters to all of those, on all sides, working for justice in Northern Ireland,” Martin said.
“This significant decision shows that the voices of those most affected, Pat Finucane’s family, have been heard and that the rule of law is being respected.”
He said that those are two “fundamental principles that must guide our approach to the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland”.
President Michael D Higgins said the establishment of a public inquiry is “an important recognition of the heartbreak that has been carried by Geraldine Finucane and her family for so many years, and of their continuous campaigning for the truth”.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said an independent, statutory public inquiry “is the only way to achieve the whole truth behind the murder of Pat Finucane”.
“For 35 years, Mrs Geraldine Finucane and her family have led a dignified and determined campaign for truth and justice, seeking a public inquiry into Pat’s murder, efforts Sinn Féin have strongly supported throughout this time,” McDonald said.
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane, Pat’s son, dedicated today to his late father. “The announcement that there will now be a public inquiry into his murder is very much welcomed by our family,” he wrote on X.
Today is for my father, Pat Finucane.
— John Finucane MP (@johnfinucane) September 11, 2024
The announcement that there will now be a public inquiry into his murder is very much welcomed by our family.
Led by my mother Geraldine, we have campaigned for decades to uncover the truth behind my father’s murder.
I want to thank… pic.twitter.com/NWl3ikaSF6
He wrote that, led by his mother Geraldine, he and his family have campaigned for decades to “uncover the truth behind my father’s murder” and thanked those who supported their campaign.
“After 35 years of cover-ups, it is now time for truth,” he added.
Several unionist parties have questioned why the Finucane family has secured a potentially expensive public inquiry into their loved one’s killing, while hundreds of other families bereaved during the Troubles have failed to obtain similar investigations in their cases.
John Finucane, also a solicitor, said the treatment of his family over the 35 years since his father’s death could not be described as preferential.
“I have to say I hear the term preferential treatment, and if you can indulge me on this, it’s very difficult to square that with the experience that my family have been through for over 35 years,” he said.
“First of all, the state targeted and set in place, set in motion events that meant my father was murdered in front of all of us as we had our dinner.
“The term collusion was dismissed, not just dismissed when I was growing up, but to utter those words you were viewed in a certain light and, to be quite frank about it, it was dangerous at times to make allegations of collusion against the state in the aftermath of my father’s murder.”
He said that every bit of progress his family has had “has had to be fought for”.
My mother has not only had to deal with being a widow and raising three young children, but she has had to travel the world to gain support, which we were lucky enough to have.
He also said his family would support other bereaved relatives who were striving for truth and justice.
“I will also say that throughout 35 years, it began with my mum, and it’s carried on through all of us, we have always been clear that truth and justice applies to every single person who was unfortunate enough to be hit by our conflict and our past, and that is without partiality, without any equivocation, we have been consistent in that,” he said.
“So, any other family that continues to fight for truth and justice will have our support and we know what it’s like when the system is put in place to frustrate you and prevent you from getting answers.”
Outgoing SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has welcomed the decision, adding that it is “long overdue”. He added that the Finucane family have been “badly let down by successive Government that have reneged on promises”.
“It is a story that is far too familiar to victims and survivors from every community,” Eastwood said.
He added: “This must be a turning point for legacy investigations. It should be the moment where we agree to deal with the past comprehensively and ethically.”
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said the granting of a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane “perpetuates a hierarchy” of victims in Northern Ireland.
He added that the inquiry “sends the message that this murder was more deserving of investigation than others” and reasoned that up to 1,000 other families have “not had a fraction of the resource poured into the murder of their loved one”.
Robinson said: “The murder of Pat Finucane, like all murders in the Troubles, was wrong.”
He added: “We stand for truth and justice for every victim in the Troubles. On days like today, we must remember that 60% of Troubles deaths were by republican terrorists and 30% by loyalists.”
Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the announcement as a “landmark” decision, welcoming the investigation and congratulating the Finucane family on their fight for justice.
“Today is a testament to the unwavering spirit and resolve of Pat’s wife, Geraldine, and their children, Katherine, Michael, and John,” she wrote on X.
Includes reporting by Press Association
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