Shropshire Star

Delay an extension of policy of collusion, says son of murdered solicitor

Pat Finucane’s son John claimed ministers hoped those who lost loved ones during the Troubles would die off.

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Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane

Delay has replaced collusion as the British Government’s chief weapon against victims, the son of a solicitor murdered by loyalists during the Northern Ireland conflict said.

In February, the Supreme Court ruled that investigations into the shooting dead of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane have not been effective and fell short of international human rights standards.

Ten months later, his son John said ministers were still “digesting” the judgment and claimed they hoped those who lost loved ones during the Troubles would die off.

He said: “They are continuing the policy, the only policy that they do have, and it is an extension of the policy of collusion – which is delay.

“We see this being carried out with so many families, families who lost loved ones well before 1989.”

Mr Finucane was a high-profile solicitor shot by paramilitaries in front of his family in north Belfast in 1989.

Members of the IRA had been among his clients.

His widow Geraldine Finucane has challenged former prime minister David Cameron’s decision not to hold a public inquiry.

A separate review commissioned by the prime minister declared his killers colluded with the state in a “shocking” fashion.

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has written a book about the case, based upon a conference marking the anniversary of one of the most controversial deaths of the conflict.

The former West Belfast MP said: “Geraldine Finucane and the family and Pat’s friends have fought a determined campaign for truth and justice since then.

“His voice haunts the corridors of power and his voice haunts those who did what they did here.”

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