The Irish News
Allison Morris
The British government is to announce within weeks plans to hold a full public inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.
The Irish News understands that a decision has been made at the highest level that an extensive inquiry should be allowed into the 1989 killing, although the exact terms of reference have yet to be established.
It comes seven years after former secretary of state Paul Murphy announced his intention to hold a probe under the controversial Inquiries Act, a move rejected by the Finucane family.
The legislation would have allowed some evidence to be withheld from the public.
Secretary of State Owen Paterson had been due to announce whether he would agree to a full public inquiry in January, saying he would be considering a number of public interest matters including potential cost.
He delayed that decision to allow for further consultation and to avoid any politically damaging announcements ahead of last week's elections.
Senior security figures are believed to have vehemently opposed any plans for a wide-ranging public probe because of the sheer level of security-force collusion involved in the murder.
Mr Finucane was gunned down in front of his wife and three children as he ate Sunday lunch in his north Belfast home.
His family have campaigned tirelessly for a fully independent investigation into the murder by an informer-ridden loyalist gang.
Among those expected to be called to give evidence to an inquiry would be a number of former chief constables including Ronnie Flanagan, who was head of Special Branch when loyalist agents linked to the killing were working for police.
Former Tory minister Douglas Hogg, who claimed in parliament there were solicitors "unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA", is also expected to be called.
Mr Hogg, then a Home Office minister, was given private security briefings by senior mem- bers of the RUC during his time in Margaret Thatcher's government and could be questioned for the first time on the content of those briefings.
Members of the Stevens team who investigated state collusion with loyalist murder gangs would also be key witnesses for the inquiry.
Lord Stevens stated publicly in 2003 that security force members had colluded in the solicitor's murder and that Mr Finucane's life could have been saved.
In 2007 the director of public prosecutions said none of the security force members identified by Stevens as having been involved in collusion would face charges.
However, an inquiry panel could recommend prosecutions and for files to be re-examined by the DPP.
The news comes ahead of the publication on May 23 of the findings of an inquiry into the loyalist murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson on May 23.
TIMELINE
Autumn 1987: British army agent Brian Nelson begins supplying army intelligence with possible UDA targets
November 1988: Criminal charges are dropped against Patrick McGeown, accused of helping to organise the March 1988 killing of two army corporals. Pat Finucane is Mr McGeown's lawyer
January 1989: Home Office minister Douglas Hogg claims in the Commons that there are solicitors in the north who are "unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA"
February 1989: Mr Finucane is shot dead in his Belfast home
September 1989: Sir John Stevens, head of the Metropolitan Police, begins to investigate breaches of security by the security forces
January 1990: The Stevens team identify Brian Nelson as a key suspect and plan to arrest him and others in a dawn raid. Officers return to their secure investigation HQ hours before the planned arrests to find a fire raging. It destroys many of their files
January 1992: UDA intelligence officer and former soldier Brian Nelson, being tried on five counts of conspiracy to murder, is revealed as an army agent who tipped off his handlers about a plan to kill Mr Finucane. He is jailed for 10 years
April 1993: Second Stevens inquiry begins after DPP asks for further probe of matters raised in first inquiry
April 1999: Third inquiry launched into the allegations surrounding Mr Finucane's death
June 1999: RUC Special Branch agent and loyalist quartermaster William Stobie is charged with the murder
November 2001: After admitting having supplied the weapons used, the case against Stobie collapses
December 2001: Stobie is shot dead
April 2002: Retired Canadian judge Peter Cory is appointed by the British government to examine six murders, including Mr Finucane's, where there were allegations of security force collusion
April 2003: Stevens publicly confirms that security force members colluded in the solicitor's murder. The Finucane family reiterates its call for a full, independent, public inquiry
May 2003: Loyalist Ken Barrett is arrested and charged with the murder
April 2004: Judge Cory concludes there is enough evidence of collusion to warrant a public inquiry but Britain rushes through legislation giving ministers power to block evidence. Secretary of State Paul Murphy later announces his intention to hold an inquiry under the new Inquiries Act
September 2004: Barret pleads guilty to murdering Mr Finucane
June 2007: DPP announces that none of the security force members identified by Stevens will face charges
November 2010: Secretary of state Owen Paterson meets the Finucane family and says he will consider public interest matters including potential cost before deciding on an inquiry.
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