Reacting to the outcome of the meeting this afternoon with British Prime Minister David Cameron the PFC shares the shock and concern of the Finucane family at the news that no Public Inquiry is to be held into the 1989 murder.
The family have campaigned long and hard for an inquiry into the murder of Pat. They were told that a Public Inquiry would be set up by the British Government. The Irish Government was told that a Public Inquiry would be set up.
Instead the PM has told the family that a QC, Sir Desmond da Silva, will be asked to ‘review’ the available papers and then brief the family. This is an extraordinary turnaround which we find incomprehensible and unacceptable. We understand that the family will not cooperate in any shape or fashion with this ‘review’.
At the meeting they were told that this was the “best way forward”. This may be true for the security forces and agencies who wish to conceal the truth. It is certainly not the best way forward for the family.
It was claimed that witnesses are not ‘available’ and that this would negate the effectiveness of any inquiry. This is a shabby and scandalous excuse.
It is absolutely vital that any inquiry be allowed to delve into the involvement of the British Army Force Research Unit, RUC Special Branch and the Security Service MI5 in the murder. Britain is failing to honour the commitment it made at Weston Park to implement the recommendations of Judge Cory, the Canadian judge appointed by the two governments to evaluate the evidence in a number of contentious cases. He recommended a Public Inquiry into the murder.
Pat Finucane received death threats from members of the RUC. Using parliamentary privilege only weeks before the murder a Conservative Government minister accused members of the legal profession of being close to the IRA thus setting the scene for loyalist attacks on lawyers. Both RUC and FRU agents were involved in the murder of Pat Finucane. On February 12 1989 Pat was murdered in front of his family.
Those who would argue that the above facts are not a matter for Public Inquiry should consider the words of Geraldine Finucane,
I believe that it is a mistake to ignore cases of serious concern just because they are in the past. I believe the only way our society can move forward into a peaceful future is by examining the controversies of our past and exposing them fully for all to see. I believe this creates foundations of confidence, upon which a lasting peace can be built.