Finucane probe 'not effective'

Pat Finucane was a high profile Belfast solicitor

The investigation into the murder of a Belfast solicitor failed to effectively examine collusion allegations, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.

Pat Finucane, a high-profile Catholic solicitor, was shot dead by the UDA in front of his family at his home in 1989.

The court in Strasbourg upheld the action taken by Mr Finucane's widow, Geraldine, that there was no effective investigation by the then Royal Ulster Constabulary into the killing by loyalist paramilitaries.

The court said this was a violation of the European Convention of Human Right's principle that "everyone's right to life shall be protected by law".

The British Government was ordered to pay Mrs Finucane 43,000 euro for costs and expenses.

In a statement released later on Tuesday, the Northern Ireland Office said: "The government takes European Court decisions very seriously and will want to give careful consideration to this decision."

The UK have been found wanting because they did not properly protect his life nor investigate his death

Michael Finucane

Security forces aided killers

Michael Finucane, the son of the murdered solicitor, said: "My family have never been afraid to put our case forward to be tested.

"Now we have a judgment from the highest court in Europe that his right to life was violated.

"The UK have been found wanting because they did not properly protect his life nor investigate his death."

Human rights groups Amnesty International, British Irish Rights Watch and the Committee on the Administration of Justice welcomed the court's decision.

A spokesperson for the three groups said: "This judgment confirms that there has been no effective investigation of the collusion in this murder."

Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin called on the government to "end the stalling and set up the independent judicial inquiry necessary to find the truth".

SDLP justice spokesman Alban Maginness said the verdict came as no surprise.

He said: "Today's decision only confirms and further strengthens the case for a full judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane - a case the SDLP will continue to pursue."

Report

In April, the UK's most senior police officer, Sir John Stevens, found members of the RUC and Army colluded with the UDA in Mr Finucane's murder.

Mr Finucane was shot at his north Belfast home in 1989

Sir John's interim report claimed Mr Finucane's death could have been prevented.

"I also believe that the RUC investigation of Pat Finucane's murder should have resulted in the early arrest and detection of his killers," he said.

Retired Canadian judge Peter Cory, appointed by London and Dublin to examine six of Northern Ireland's most controversial murders, has finished his investigation of collusion allegations surrounding Mr Finucane's murder.

The judge will reveal in the autumn whether he has decided the claims merit a full judicial inquiry.

Several loyalists have been at the centre of the Finucane murder inquiry:

• UDA man Brian Nelson, who worked as a British military intelligence agent, first revealed the collusion allegations investigated by Sir John Stevens.
• UDA double agent William Stobie, once charged with Mr Finucane's murder after allegedly supplying the weapons, was shot dead by former associates in December 2001
• Former UDA member Ken Barrett, arrested in England in May and charged with Mr Finucane's murder, is in custody and awaiting trial.