Reports obtained from:
(1) Amnesty International, (2) Pat Finucane Centre, (3) Republican News
(4) Irish News, (Belfast), (5) Independant, (England), (6) The Guardian, (England)
(7) Belfast Telegraph, (8) BBC
See also on this webpage: Cory Reports
Tuesday, 30 March, 2004
Thursday, 1 April, 2004
Friday, 2 April, 2004
Saturday, 3 April, 2004
UK: Rights groups call for public inquiries
Joint Statement from: Amnesty International, British Irish Rights Watch, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch
Tomorrow, after an unconscionable delay, the families of Patrick Finucane, Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright will finally receive a copy of the relevant report by Justice Peter Cory in each of the above-mentioned cases of killing involving allegations of state collusion on the part of the UK authorities.
Amnesty International, British Irish Rights Watch, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch strongly believe that the public inquiries which Judge Cory has recommended in each of the above-mentioned case can only be effective in uncovering the truth and finally allaying public concern about allegations of state collusion if they are capable of enlisting the support and cooperation of the families concerned, and the confidence of the general public. In light of this, the five human rights non-governmental organizations call on the UK authorities to ensure that the establishment of each of the four inquiries comply with the following:
the reports of the inquiry should be made public. While in December 2003 the Irish government published the two reports which Justice Cory had submitted to them the previous October, and simultaneously announced, as recommended by the judge, the establishment of a public inquiry under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, into the killing of Royal Ulster Constabulary officers Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan, the UK authorities have so far failed to publish the four reports submitted to them by Justice Cory in October 2003. The families in the Northern Irish cases were forced early in the year to issue judicial review proceedings in the High Court in Belfast on account of the UK authorities' failure to publish their reports.
Furthermore, frustrated by the UK authorities' failure to publish his reports in the Northern Irish cases, Justice Cory publicly confirmed that he had recommended four separate public inquiries into the Northern Irish cases.
Background
Justice Peter Cory, a retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge, was appointed by the UK and Irish governments in May 2002 to investigate the killings of human rights lawyers Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, in 1989 and 1999, respectively; the 1997 sectarian killing of Robert Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic man; the 1989 killing of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, two police officers; those of Lord Justice Maurice and Lady Cecily Gibson in 1987; and the 1997 killing of Billy Wright, a leading Loyalist paramilitary, shot dead in the Maze prison.
Findings of Judge Cory - Summary
By Pat Finucane Centre
Pat Finucane
“They (FRU) were aware that Nelson was a central player within the UDA, and that he had considerable influence in directing targeting operations. They were also aware that Nelson often played a direct and active role in reconnaissance missions. The provision of information to Nelson in these circumstances may be seen as evidence of collusive behaviour that had the potential to facilitate the deadly operations planned by the UDA.” (page 102)
“The documents I have examined disclose that Army handlers and their superiors turned a blind eye to the criminal acts of Nelson. In doing this they established a pattern of behaviour that could be characterised as collusive.” (page 103)
“Similarly, they indicate that SB rarely took any steps to document threats or prevent attacks by the UDA, whereas pro-active steps were routinely taken in connection with PIRA and other Republican threats. The failure to issue warnings to person targeted by the UDA often led to tragic consequences. This is indicative of attitudes with RUC SB.” (page 105)
“If criminal prosecutions are to proceed the practical effect might be to delay the public inquiry for at least two years. The Finucane family will be devastated. A large part of the Northern Ireland community will be frustrated. Myths and misconceptions will proliferate and hopes of peace and understanding will be eroded. This may be one of the rare situations where a public inquiry will of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions.”
Robert Hamill
“Police officers must not act collusively by ignoring or turning a blind eye to the wrongful acts of their officers or of their servants or agents. Nor can the police act collusively by supplying information to assist those committing wrongful acts or by encouraging them to commit wrongful acts.”
“First and foremost the actions of Reserve Constable B, if established, are capable of being found to constitute the most flagrant type of collusion. His actions did not constitute the simple turning of a blind eye. Rather they could be found to be carefully planned and premeditated actions taken to frustrate a murder investigation and to protect or to exonerate an individual who might have been guilty of murder.”
“Steps should have been taken to obtain the clothing of Robert Hamill and those identified as the scene as taking part in the assault…the failure to take steps may indicate a bias in the police force that could amount to institutional collusion.”
Rosemary Nelson
I am satisfied that there is evidence of collusion by Governmental Agencies in the murder of Rosemary Nelson that warrants holding a public inquiry” (page 71)
“RUC officers are alleged to have made highly demeaning and threatening remarks about Rosemary Nelson while questioning her clients. Among other things, they are said to have questioned her morality, made insulting sexual innuendos, described her facial scarring in cruel and debasing terms, belittled her ability as a lawyer and, perhaps most disturbingly, to have threatened her life. It is for a public inquiry to determine whether or not these remarks were made. If it is found that they were, this could constitute strong evidence of collusion.” (page 66)
“The NIO’s mishandling of documents that were directly pertinent and vitally important to the safety of Rosemary Nelson may also indicate a level of neglect or disregard that could be found to be collusive.” (page 69)
[The NIO’s] failure to take any action to protect Rosemary Nelson could be found to be troubling when it is considered against the background of the earlier murder of Patrick Finucane. By disregarding a significant body of evidence of threats against Rosemary Nelson, it could be found that the NIO engaged in conduct that was collusive in nature.” (page 70)
Billy Wright
This case will turn primarily on the response to these questions. First, and most importantly, did the Northern Ireland Prison Service turn a blind eye to the very dangerous situation they knew or ought to have known would arise from billeting the INLA and LVF prisoners in the same H block in the Maze? Similarly, did another Governmental agency fail to advise or supply to the Prison Service information they had received and considered reasonably reliable which indicated that a dangerous situation had arisen or was arising in the prison? (Page 78)
One or two of the incidents that occurred on the day of the murder may, in themselves, have little significance. On the other hand when they are all considered together the resulting effect may be sufficient to take them out of the realm of coincidence and make them components of a plan to murder Billy Wright that was collusive in nature. (page 89)
There is, in my view, sufficient evidence of acts or omissions that could, after hearing the testimony of witnesses, coupled with a review of the relevant documents result in a finding that there had been acts of collusion by Prison Services, their directors, officers or employees. (page 89)
British government announce three public inquiries
By Republican News
The British government has given the go ahead for inquiries into three controversial killings, but has postponed an inquiry into the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane.
Public inquiries are to be set up immediately into the cases of alleged British collusion in the murders of Catholic father of two Robert Hamill, human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson and unionist paramilitary Billy Wright.
British Direct Ruler Paul Murphy announced today that an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane would get under way once criminal prosecutions finish later this year.
The retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory, examined allegations of British security force collusion in the killings and recommended public inquiries into all four.
The public inquiries have been set up under the 1998 Police Act which appears to give all of the powers to the inquiries which are available to Lord Saville in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. The terms of the inquiry, their composition and other details have yet to be confirmed, however.
Mr Murphy was speaking as the publication of the actual reports into the four killings by Judge Cory was delayed once again.
Ten pages of the Cory Report have been edited, ``for privacy and protection'', according to the British government.
Barra McGrory, acting for the Nelson and Hamill families, speaking in response to today's announcement, said: ``First of all, we would wish to express our gratitude to his honour, Judge Cory and his team for the time and effort they have clearly devotoed to the researching and preparation of this report.
``We are both horrified and saddened, if not entirely surprised, by the graphic descrition of the abuse and vilification of Rosemary Nelson by members of the RUC contained within this report.
``We are deeply affected by the apparent abject failure of the Northern Ireland Office and of the chief constable at the time [Ronnie Flanagan] to take seriously the death threats issued to Rosemary shortly before her murder.
``Had Rosemary been treated with the respect and diginity her professional position deserved, she might well be alive today.
``We are, however disappointed that Judge Cory has felt unable to comment in any great detail on certain aspects of the Colin Port investigation which we feel merit futher examination.
``There are matters, however, which we hope and expect will be adressed in the forthcoming public inquiry.
``As Rosemary campaigned herself for a public inquiry into the murder of her colleague Pat Finucane, we share the disaappointment of Geraldine and family that an immediate inquiry has not been given. They have our continued support.''
Billy Wright's father David welcomed the inquiry and Judge Cory's recommendations.
``Judge Cory has raised a number of serious questions about the conduct and actions of the Prison Authorities and Intelligence Agencies,'' he said.
Diane Hamill, sister of Robert Hamill, said her family was pleased the British government followed on Judge Cory's recommendation in her case.
``For the last seven years this is all we have tried to get from the night that my brother was attacked and allowed to be murdered,'' she said.
``Judge Cory, a man of great integrity, has obviously agreed with us after his exhaustive research and now the British Government has acknowledged the need to establish one.''
Unionists responded cynically. Democratic Unionist Jim Allister said it was ``outrageous'' that ``the taxpayer is going for years to come to be subjected to a series of Saville-type inquiries, costing further hundreds of millions.''
Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said before today's announcement that there would be considerable anger if the British government delayed an inquiry into the 1989 murder of Pat Finucane.
The North Belfast Assembly member said: ``It is now 15 years since the murder of Pat Finucane and if the briefings are to be believed, it could be at least 17 years before his family could even start to get to the bottom of what happened.
``That is unacceptable. The British government gave a commitment after the Weston Park talks in 2001 that it would act on Judge Cory's recommendations.
``The families and Sinn Fein were sceptical about Judge Cory examining whether there should be public inquiries but, to be fair to him, he has been rigorous.
``However, our suspicion that this was merely a long-fingering exercise by the British government will be confirmed if, as people are being told, there is a delay to an inquiry on the Finucane case.''
Government's failure to immediately establish public inquiry into killing of Patrick Finucane is shameful
By Amnesty International
UK: Government's failure to immediately establish public inquiry into killing of Patrick Finucane is shameful. In failing to establish an immediate public inquiry into the killing of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, the UK government is making a mockery of its commitment to ascertaining the truth and to the rule of law, said Amnesty International today. Using one outstanding prosecution as the excuse further undermines the government 's credibility and raises more questions as to its real intention.
"This is a major opportunity to establish the truth behind Patrick Finucane's killing and justice for his family. The UK government's refusal to establish an immediate public inquiry is shameful," Amnesty International said.
Background
As early as October 1999, following a request from the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam, Amnesty International obtained a legal opinion in respect of the inter-relationship of ongoing criminal proceedings and setting up a judicial inquiry. The opinion stated incontrovertibly that there was ample justification to establish a judicial inquiry in the case of Patrick Finucane and that outstanding prosecutions were not bar to it.
In April 2003, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, confirmed widespread collusion between state agents and Loyalist paramilitaries, including the extreme of state agents being involved in his killing. In July 2003, the European Court of Human Rights held that the UK authorities had violated Patrick Finucane's right to life by failing to provide a prompt and effective investigation into the allegations of security personnel collusion in his murder.
Justice Peter Cory, a retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge, was appointed by the UK and Irish governments in May 2002 to investigate the killings of human rights lawyers Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, in 1989 and 1999, respectively; the 1997 sectarian killing of Robert Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic man; the 1989 killing of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, two police officers; those of Lord Justice Maurice and Lady Cecily Gibson in 1987; and the 1997 killing of Billy Wright, a leading Loyalist paramilitary, shot dead in the Maze prison.
Finucane family responds to Paul Murphy’s statement today in Parliament
By Pat Finucane Centre
This is a very disappointing but expected statement. The British Government continue to cover up the truth about the death of my husband with their delaying tactics. We did not ask for the Stevens investigation. We did not ask for Justice Cory to prepare a report and we certainly have never asked for prosecutions. We have always said that these were delaying tactics and the delay continues.
But the campaign for a public inquiry will also continue.
Paul Murphy quoted Justice Cory as saying “... Society must be assured that those who commit a crime will be prosecuted and if found guilty punished…”. However he did not refer to the fact that Justice Cory also said in his report that “this may be one of the rare situations where a public inquiry will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions.”
Justice Cory’s report confirms that there was a State policy of targeting and assassination. The public should read the details in his report. It is unbelievable but the official documents that he examined show that it is all true.
David Trimble made very hurtful and untrue statements today which he should be ashamed of. He must prove what he says. His accusations were designed to signal to a small section of the public that my husband’s murder was justified but David Trimble thinks that the public are naïve and they will believe his unfounded, unproved, and cowardly accusations. He knows that my husband is not here to refute these allegations. I have heard these lies before. A public inquiry will give him the opportunity to repeat the statements he made today and I look forward to the day when he is forced to publicly retract them.
Justice Cory stated that it was my husband’s role as a solicitor which led to his murder. Trimble’s statement in Parliament today was not only false but it is also something which was contradicted by Justice Cory himself and by the RUC files which he examined.
Justice Cory specifically emphasised the statement of the presiding Coroner at Pat’s Inquest who said:
‘The police refute the claim that Mr Finucane was a member of PIRA. He was just another law-abiding citizen going about his professional duties in a professional manner. He was well known both inside and outside the legal profession. He was regarded in police circles as very professional and he discharged his duties with vigour and professionalism.”
As Justice Cory said as a result of the cowardly actions of Pat’s murderers I have been deprived of the love and companionship of a good husband, his children of his care and guidance and Northern Ireland of his courage and skill as a lawyer.
Pat Finucane Centre Press Release
The Pat Finucane Centre condemns the failure of the British Government to establish an independent inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. The Cory Collusion Inquiry Report makes clear that the need for such an inquiry in Pat Finucane’s case. The British and Irish governments guaranteed at the Weston Park talks that a public inquiry would be established if Cory recommended this.
The Pat Finucane Centre welcomes in principle the announcement of public inquiries into the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright. The announcement is recognition of the longstanding efforts of all the families and their supporters in human rights organisations and different political parties for truth and justice in each of these cases.
Spokesperson for the Pat Finucane Centre said:
It is important that these inquiries are now established immediately and in a manner with which the families are satisfied. It is vital that these inquiries are independent in nature and that the commitment to time-limit and cost-limit the inquiries is not used as an excuse to continue to cover-up the crimes of commission and omission involved in the different cases. It is important that we learn the lessons of the two Bloody Sunday inquiries in particular are learned before any new inquiries are established. The inquiries must establish the truth of each case whatever embarrassment this causes to the British state, the British Army, the RUC/PSNI and the British security services. The future of the Irish peace process and the Good Friday Agreement depends on a successful resolution to the profound concerns that exist in each of these cases.
The PFC endorses Judge Cory’s analysis that if criminal prosecutions are to proceed the practical effect might be to delay the public inquiry for at least two years. The Finucane family will be devastated. A large part of the Northern Ireland community will be frustrated. Myths and misconceptions will proliferate and hopes of peace and understanding will be eroded. This may be one of the rare situations where a public inquiry will be of greater benefit to a community than prosecutions.
The spokesperson went on to say:
We recognise a specific obligation for justice in the cases of our friends Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson. While any murder has terrible consequences for the individuals and families involved, the murder of leading human rights defenders has additional and specific implications for the defence of human rights – a concern that is at the very heart of democracy, peace and the rule of law. It is poignantly ironic that Rosemary Nelson was one of those human rights defenders who had campaigned most actively for a public inquiry into the murder of her colleague Pat Finucane. The widespread concern in the international human rights community around the deaths of Pat and Rosemary was testament to how important these tragic events were – both nationally and internationally. The British Government must deliver justice to these human rights defenders if it is to have any credibility in its stated support for human rights and democracy. If they wish to maintain any credibility in the international human rights community at all, they should establish an independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucance immediately.
Get evidence secured now says relative
By Seamus McKinney, Irish News
A brother of one of Derry's Bloody Sunday victims has warned the families preparing for the new inquiries arising out of the Cory Report to immediately seek to have all available evidence secured.
John Kelly offered to meet offered to meet victims' relatives, saying he would share his experiences of inquiries with anyone preparing for a judicial tribunal. He said he was sure that other Bloody Sunday families would also be willing to share their experiences.
Mr Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael was shot dead on Bloody Sunday, said the families affected by Cory should learn from the experiences of the Bloody Sunday families.
"I am delighted for them but they should know they will now face obstacles at every turn," he said.
He warned that they should seek to have all available evidence secured as soon as possible.
He said rifles used on Bloody Sunday were destroyed within days of the Saville Inquiry being announced. Even after Lord Saville had been given assurances by the Ministry of Defence, other rifles were also destroyed.
"They (the Cory families) must act immediately," he said.
On an emotional level, Mr Kelly said the families must prepare for what would be a detailed, traumatic and stressful examination of their loved one's deaths.
"We have had it for the last six years... when the security forces are involved obstacles will be placed before them."
He said the families should also remember at all times that they had a right to justice and a right and duty to question every aspect of the inquiries.
"They should look at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and see how things developed," he said.
Wishing the families well, Mr Kelly condemned the further delay in establishing an inquiry into the death of solicitor Pat Finucane.
He said he saw no reason why such an inquiry should not run parallel to legal proceedings.
Copyright © 2004 Irish News
MI5 'knew of plot to kill Finucane'
By David McKittrick, Independant Newspaper, England
MI5, army intelligence and Special Branch all knew of loyalist plots to kill Pat Finucane, the Belfast lawyer, but failed either to warn him or prevent his murder, an independent report concluded yesterday.
Four new public inquiries were announced by the Government yesterday into four killings in the province's "dirty war" following the publication of separate reports into the deaths by a retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory. Three will begin this year but the investigation into the 1989 Finucane case will be delayed until after the trial of a Belfast man who is charged with his murder.
The announcement of the inquiries was welcomed by the families of three people who died in controversial circumstances - Robert Hamill, who was killed by loyalists, loyalist leader Billy Wright and human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson.
But the outcome was described as very disappointing by Mr Finucane's widow Geraldine, who accused the authorities of continuing to cover up with truth about her husband's death with "delaying tactics."
Her complaints were echoed by, Brian Cowan, the Irish foreign minister, who said he was very disappointed by the timing.
The new inquiries will have the same powers as the long-running investigation into Bloody Sunday, though the authorities will seek to restrict their duration and cost.
The recommendations for the new inquiries were attacked by David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, who accused Judge Cory of of displaying "astonishing naivety."
The Finucane report provided a wealth of damning detail on the operations of the intelligence services, with the judge saying MI5, the army and the police had all separately been told by agents that loyalists were targeting Pat Finucane.
The judge found that MI5 had been told by one of its agents that the loyalist Ulster Defence Association was keen to kill Mr Finucane. A meeting between MI5 and Special Branch concluded the threat was "very real and imminent", but decided no action would be taken because intervention would compromise the security of the agent.
Four years later, when a similar report was received, the same decision was made.
Two months before the Finucane assassination in 1989, an MI5 agent reported that UDA leaders had discussed killing three solicitors, one of whom was identified as Mr Finucane. The judge noted: "Once again, no action was taken to warn Patrick Finucane or to intervene in any way."
Judge Cory was also critical of the RUC Special Branch, which he said failed in its duty, concentratingon the IRA and paying little attention to loyalists. He concluded: "The documents indicate that in some instances Special Branch failed to take any steps to prevent actual or planned attacks on persons targeted by Loyalist terrorist groups.
"UDA threats appear to have been ignored. This discrepancy in the treatment of IRA and UDA targets may be indicative of a selective, perhaps subconscious, bias on the part of the Special Branch. It may well be that only a portion of the population was receiving effective protection against the threat of terrorist violence."
The judge said army intelligence appeared to tolerate the commission of crimes by its agents, "perhaps perceiving this to be a necessary evil in the fight against terrorism."
One agent, he concluded, often requested and received information from his handlers. He commented: "They considered the normal rules - including the rule of law - to be suspended and the gathering of intelligence to be an end that was capable of justifying questionable means."
Copyright © 2004 The Independent Newspaper
Judge reveals Ulster's one-sided dirty war
By Angelique Chrisafis and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian
Sections of the security forces in Northern Ireland saw themselves as above the law and conducted a one-sided dirty war in which solicitors representing republicans were apparently seen as legitimate targets, according to a series of damning reports published yesterday.
They paint a picture of agents allowed to set up murders and loyalists given army intelligence which may have been used to kill nationalists.
The investigation by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory into four of the most controversial killings of the 30-year Troubles makes disturbing reading, even with 10 pages blanked out by the government, which had already caused fury by delaying publication of the reports for nearly six months. But yesterday four full public inquiries into the murders were ordered.
Judge Cory said the army, MI5 and police special branch knew of the plot to assassinate the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane - who was shot 14 times as he ate dinner with his family - but they failed to warn him or do anything to prevent it. One of the murder weapons, an army pistol sold by a drunk soldier to loyalist paramilitaries, may have been hidden later by an agent.
The judge said documents showed death threats by loyalist groups like the UDA, who shot Mr Finucane, were often disregarded, in contrast to IRA activity. Special branch may have failed to take any steps to stop planned attacks it knew about.
The security services regarded human rights solicitors like Mr Finucane and Rosemary Nelson - whose death in a car bomb eight years later also showed signs of collusion, Judge Cory said - who defended prominent republicans as close "associates" of the IRA. This failure to make a distinction between "law-abiding" solicitors and their clients went right to the top of the police and included the former chief constable, Ronnie Flanagan.
Judge Cory said the security services, and particularly the crack army intelligence squad, the Force Research Unit, were more concerned with safeguarding their loyalist para military informers than stopping murders.
He described how security services frustrated the Stevens inquiry into army and police collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. "The wilful concealment of pertinent evidence and the failure to cooperate with the Stevens inquiry can be seen as further evidence of the unfortunate attitude that then persisted _ Namely that they were not bound by the law and were above and beyond its reach." He said there was also evidence that army and police were "prepared to participate jointly in collusive acts in order to protect their perceived interests".
Ms Nelson, a mother of three, had complained to the police of death threats from loyalists and told visiting American lawyers that RUC officers had "conveyed threats to her through her clients during interrogations". Judge Cory said questions had to be asked about whether officers had incited others to kill her. Furthermore, he said Mr Flanagan's attitude to lawyers who defended republicans showed how "there might have been a reluctance to either protect or to thoroughly investigate threats to a troublesome solicitor".
Copyright © 2004 The Guardian
Focus on victims of a 30-year dirty war
By Angelique Crisafis, The Guardian
Pat Finucane, killed 12 February, 1989
On February 12 1989, the solicitor Pat Finucane sat down to dinner at his Belfast home with his wife, Geraldine, and their three children. At 7.25pm a masked gunman from the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association broke down the front door. Fourteen shots were fired into Finucane's head, neck and torso, killing him instantly.
Judge Cory said there was documentary proof that MI5, the army and Special Branch knew about a plot to kill Finucane before his murder. They failed to act to save him because they preferred to protect their loyalist paramilitary informers.
Finucane, 39, had appeared in high-profile legal cases, defending alleged IRA or Provisional IRA members, and had represented the hunger striker Bobby Sands. He also acted for protestants. Judge Cory said Finucane was a "law-abiding citizen" who was killed because he was a solicitor.
A few weeks before Finucane was murdered, the Home Office minister Douglas Hogg stated in parliament: "Some lawyers are unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA." Judge Cory said statements made by the ex-chief constable of the RUC had belittled Finucane's integrity and that the police tended "to identify a solicitor with his clients". The RUC kept a file on Finucane and his alleged Republican background, and recorded his "legitimate activities" as a lawyer and supporter of human rights.
Judge Cory said the police investigation into his murder was thwarted by Special Branch, which was "controlling the situation" and withheld vital information. Two agents were being protected: Brian Nelson, a key player in the UDA and an informer for the army's crack intelligence squad, the Force Research Unit, and William Stobie, a former soldier in the British army and a UDA quartermaster who turned Special Branch informer. Both are now dead.
Nelson had compiled detailed index cards - known as "personality cards" - on intended UDA victims, including Finucane. Another loyalist paramilitary had told him that Finucane was "someone really big... the brains behind the provisional IRA". Judge Cory said a public inquiry would determine how much his handlers knew about the targeting of the lawyer.
Stobie claimed he twice informed Special Branch about the threats to Finucane, but they did nothing. MI5 was first told about threats in 1981, but took no action on the "very real and imminent" threat because it would compromise its agent. Just two months before the murder, security services were told Finucane was a "shoot to kill" target but nothing was done.
Judge Cory said a public inquiry should investigate whether British security forces gave "tacit encouragement or even active facilitation" of UDA operations and targeting of victims that led to murder. He described a "cumulative picture" of possible army, MI5 and Special Branch collusion. Nelson - whom the army knew was involved in protection rackets and planning murders - was given information by his handlers that may have helped in UDA murders.
Judge Cory also raised the question of security of army weapons. One member of the Ulster Defence Regiment - "a man all too fond of alcohol, a loner" - had stolen weapons and sold them to loyalist paramilitaries. They were later used in Finucane's murder. One of the murder weapons was a 99m Browning pistol. Stobie told Special Branch that he had given the UDA paramilitary a 99m Browning pistol and the target was almost certainly Finucane. He later told one journalist he couldn't sleep a wink that night and that he was sure the murder would be foiled. He "could not believe it" when he heard Finucane was dead.
Special Branch knew that, three days after the murder, Stobie had been ordered to pick up and hide a 99m Browning pistol. Judge Cory found no indication that they took steps to recover the weapon. The police were said to have a "selective bias" in which they perceived threats by Republican terrorist groups to be more dangerous and deserving of attention than those made by loyalist terrorist groups.
Rosemary Nelson, killed 15 March, 1999
The murder of the human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson is inextricably linked to the violent standoffs which came to be known as Drumcree - the right or otherwise of thousands of Orangemen to march down the nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, County Armagh, in the marching season.
Nelson, 40, a mother of three, was the first female solicitor to open a practice in nearby Lurgan, and was proud of her record of serving clients from both sides of the community.
But in the few years before her death she became a focus of Loyalist fury by acting for Catholic Garvaghy Road residents who were seeking to reroute the marches. She also appeared to have made enemies in the local RUC by representing a Republican acquitted of killing two colleagues, and by agreeing to act for Hamill's family, who claimed that officers in the town stood idly by while he was kicked to death by a Protestant mob after leaving a dance.
Several other clients told her that during police interrogations officers repeatedly made "demeaning" remarks about her childhood facial scarring, calling her a "terrorist with a deformed face" . A number, it was alleged, also hinted darkly that her days were numbered.
One allegedly said, "Tell Rosemary that she's going to die too." Another: "She won't be here that long, she'll be dead."
Nelson made official complaints about the comments, and later alleged that she was directly threatened and assaulted by the police during a disturbance on the Garvaghy Road.
By then she had also been the victim of anonymous threatening calls to her home and office, had been labelled a "bomber" in loyalist leaflets, and nine months before her death had received a death threat. Despite pleas by various legal and human rights groups to the RUC and the Northern Ireland Office for protection, none was forthcoming.
It is another indication of how tight the mesh of murder can be in Northern Ireland that the car bomb that killed her was planted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force, the murder of whose former leader Billy Wright in the Maze prison has also been investigated by Judge Cory.
The judge said a neighbour who had tried to console Nelson as she waited, still conscious, for the ambulance claimed that as he drove away his own car a soldier who stopped him taunted him with, "Jesus, the one we put underneath that car has fell [sic] off."
The judge criticised the then RUC chief constable Ronnie Flanagan for identifying lawyers with the causes of their clients. "This together with the demeaning remarks alleged to have been made about Rosemary Nelson by other RUC officers, could be taken as an indication that neither her complaints nor her protection would be taken seriously by the RUC and as well may have encouraged others to attack her."
Robert Hamill, killed 27 April, 1997
Robert Hamill's only crime was going for a drink with his family in Portadown at a time when the town was at its most dangerously divided. Even at that, it was still weeks away from the marching season, and the terror that gripped the town's Catholic community after the stand-off began over the Orange Order demonstration at Drumcree.
Hamill, 25, was a builder with two sons, Shane, who was six, and Ryan, aged four. His fiancée was expecting their third child.
Saturday-night sectarian brawling was common in Portadown. Locals knew how to sidestep trouble as the pubs and clubs emptied out. But that night there had been a full-blown riot at the corner of Thomas Street and Market Street.
As Hamill left St Patrick's Hall with his cousins and one of their wives, he unwittingly walked into the aftermath of a confrontation involving 10 or 12 Catholics and about 40 Protestants. A police Land Rover was parked nearby.
Suddenly, according to two survivors, a mob "appeared out of nowhere", having broken away from the main phalanx of Protestant rioters, and attacked Hamill and his cousin Gregory Girvan. Both were beaten unconscious, but some of the 20 or 30 gathered around Hamill continued to kick him in the head, crying "Kill the Fenian bastard".
Siobhan Girvan tried to protect her cousin, then ran to the police Land Rover and banged on the sides for help. There was no response. Only after an ambulance arrived did officers leave the vehicle, Hamill's family claimed. Other eyewitnesses confirmed that police did not try to intervene during the 10-minute attack. One man in a Rangers scarf, seen kicking Hamill, was taken to the Land Rover and later allowed out.
A constable in the Land Rover that night, who knew one of the alleged assailants from a local club, did not mention him in any of his statements for five months and is alleged to have telephoned the suspect's family and warned them to get rid of his clothes.
Judge Cory said that if this was established, "it would constitute the most flagrant collusion... If the shouts and screams could be heard and were ignored, that could constitute an act of collusion that encouraged the rioters."
Billy Wright, killed 27 December, 1997
Billy Wright, 37, known as King Rat, was one of the most enigmatic and notorious loyalist paramilitary leaders of the Troubles. The founder of the renegade Loyalist Volunteer Force, implicated in the random sectarian murder of several Catholics, he came to prominence during the Drumcree crisis.
In 1997, having got himself embroiled in a feud with his old comrades in the Ulster Volunteer Force, he asked the courts to revoke his bail on a charge of making threats to kill so he could be committed to the safety of jail.
But Judge Cory found that "prison was anything but a safe haven for Billy Wright". Two days after Christmas 1997 Billy Wright was brought out of his H-block in the Maze prison and escorted to a minibus that was to take him and an LVF comrade to see their Saturday morning visitors. Two prisoners housed in the INLA wing of the same block escaped over a roof and shot him dead with a pistol smuggled into the jail, supposedly the most secure in western Europe.
Judge Cory said members of the INLA, a dissident Republican group, were the most bitter of Wright's many enemies. He questioned the wisdom of housing the INLA and LVF in the same block and found that the authorities had turned "a blind eye" to the warnings of prison officers that this would lead to trouble. Despite intelligence warnings, "no steps were taken to avert what had become a clearly foreseeable risk of violence".
The prison authorities were aware that Wright had been the target of a murder attempt by the INLA in Maghaberry prison in the spring of the same year. "They therefore knew that they would be putting Billy Wright close to those who they knew had attempted to kill him and who they knew had expressed a continuing intention to kill him."
Christopher "Crip" McWilliams, who led the attack on Wright, had been transferred to the Maze a few days after Wright. Just before the transfer he had orchestrated a hostage-taking incident at Maghaberry designed to culminate in an assassination attempt on Wright.
Copyright © 2004 The Guardian
Finucane haunts them still
British support for loyalist death squads is finally coming to light
By John Ware, The Guardian
For those of us who have dug away at the murky business of collusion between the intelligence services and Loyalist murder gangs in Northern Ireland over the past 15 years, it has been one brick at a time. This has not been satisfactory for the public or for the relatives of the victims, of whom there are many.
But yesterday, with the simultaneous publication of the reports by the retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory, into four alleged cases of collusion, a sizeable chunk of the wall came down. I am referring especially to his account of the murder of the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, shot 12 times in the head, neck and torso in front of his wife and children as they sat down to a family dinner in 1989.
Cory's is the first official and detailed account of the British security and intelligence establishment's attempts to withhold the truth about the scale of collusion during the Troubles, either because they did not understand what collusion was, or because they did not wish to know.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Paul Murphy, seemed himself yesterday to be speaking through gritted teeth. Although there will now be an inquiry - presumably in public - into Finucane's murder, yet again it has been put on the long finger.
Murphy said only that "the way ahead" would be set out at the conclusion of current, and possibly future, prosecutions arising from the inquiry into Finucane's murder by Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan police commissioner. The government has therefore rejected the advice of Judge Cory, who believes that the public interest would be better served by a public inquiry as soon as possible, rather than further criminal prosecutions. The Northern Ireland secretary seemed also to bridle at Cory's definition of collusion: anything from the security services turning a blind eye to wrongful acts of their servants, to active assistance.
Yet both definitions apply to the military intelligence agent, the late Brian Nelson, who helped target Finucane, and to his military intelligence handlers, who, he claimed, knew this. They also apply to the then RUC Special Branch, which knew that a target was going to be hit and who didn't help their CID colleagues catch his killers.
Thanks to Cory, we know that MI5 knew of three threats to Finucane's life. But, like military intelligence and the Special Branch, MI5 seems to have stayed silent. What Cory makes shockingly clear is that a blind eye was turnedin other cases, particularly by the Special Branch who gave "disproportionate attention" to saving the lives of those targeted by republican terrorists - usually members of the security forces - compared with those under threat from loyalists - nationalists and republicans.
Cory says one of the questions a public inquiry needs to address is whether MI5 was aware of Nelson's criminal activities. After all, MI5 had a liaison officer sitting with the army unit who ran Nelson, and access to the army's files which recorded in detail how Nelson was assisting murder gangs to target republican terrorist suspects, often initiating the targeting himself.
Cory believes the questions raised by MI5's successive blind eyes alone warrant a public inquiry. But he provides no shortage of other reasons, too. Cory reveals, for example, that just before Stevens arrived in Belfast in 1989 the chief constable, Sir Hugh Annesley, having called him to investigate collusion, seems to have had second thoughts. Stevens was given the run-around before Annesley relented and allowed access to intelligence.
Nelson was charged, though there was never a proper trial because, in exchange for pleading guilty to some charges, others - including murder - were dropped. Colonel Gordon Kerr, commanding officer of the unit that ran Nelson, implied to the court that although his agent had strayed, he had saved hundreds of lives. Cory reveals that prior to the trial the attorney general, Sir Patrick Mayhew, had told MoD officials and the defence secretary, Tom King, that such a claim was untrue. None the less the colonel persisted with this fabrication in court and Nelson's counsel drew heavily on it. The judge said he gave "considerable weight" to this, and sentenced Nelson to only 10 years. In the newspapers he was portrayed as a hero.
Listening to this nonsense in court was an up-and-coming QC representing the attorney general, Brian Kerr. Why did Gordon Kerr (no relation) make the claim, and why did Brian Kerr allow it to go unchallenged? Of course, neither man may have been told that the attorney knew it was nonsense, although Cory reveals that the Northern Ireland DPP knew. But it's just one of many important questions that only a public inquiry can address. Gordon Kerr is today a brigadier and our defence attache in Beijing. Sir Brian Kerr QC is today the Northern Ireland lord chief justice.
· John Ware is a BBC Panorama reporter, who has investigated collusion in Northern Ireland since 1989
Copyright © 2004 The Guardian
Orde's Cory fears 'Damage will be done to confidence levels in policing'
By Noel McAdam and Chris Thornton, Belfast Telegraph
CHIEF Constable Hugh Orde warned today that public confidence in the PSNI could be undermined by the Government's new public inquiries into collusion.
Mr Orde, who has pledged to co-operate with the inquires which are expected to begin in the autumn, said: "Confidence in current policing is damaged by historic cases."
Publication of the Cory Reports yesterday indicated elements of collusion in the murders of Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson, Billy Wright and Robert Hamill.
After the reports revealed scathing criticisms of RUC officers, Mr Orde tried to stress that the reports do not reflect the current state of policing in the province.
Much of the criticism from the retired Canadian Supreme Court judge centred on allegations that RUC Special Branch showed "selective bias" in how it dealt with loyalist threats.
Mr Orde said: "My job is to police 2004 onwards. Communities will judge us on what we do currently. There is a clear need to understand the past."
Meanwhile, David Trimble was coming under increasing pressure today to withdraw accusations that Mr Finucane and Mrs Nelson had terrorist links.
Using parliamentary privilege, Mr Trimble inferred that the two solicitors had "clear terrorist connections".
The former First Minister also said he was totally opposed to the type of inquiries announced by the Government which he believed were contrary to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
He said there would be "some side effects" if the truth about Finucane and Nelson "comes incontrovertibly into the public domain . . . I mention those two cases particularly because a lot of (loyalist paramilitary leader Billy) Wright's background and terrorist activities are in the public domain, and I leave out (Portadown Catholic Robert) Hamill because there is no reason whatever to link him with others who have a clear terrorist connection."
Mr Trimble also launched an attack on the Cory Reports which he said displayed "astonishing naivete" in relation to Mr Finucane.
"His comments about Finucane ignore facts that were known to everyone in Northern Ireland. What steps were taken to give Justice Cory information about the nature of the situation in Northern Ireland?" he asked.
The Finucane and Nelson families today urged Mr Trimble to retract his claims. The Ulster Unionist leader was not immediately available for comment.
Mrs Nelson's brother, Eunan Magee, said: "It beggars belief that a member of the legal profession can make outrageous comments like these. As someone who was Rosemary's lecturer at university, he should know the distinction between lawyers and those they represent.
"I suspect this is a case of David Trimble fishing for a more hardline blue vote. Unfortunately it is the type of view that was also prevalent in all levels of the RUC before her death."
SDLP leader Mark Durkan said Mr Trimble's comments were "deeply offensive".
Justice Cory criticised the police and Army for failing to distinguish between a solicitor and the clients they represent.
Copyright © 2004 Belfast Telegraph
'Immediate' inquiry call
A former senior United Nations representative has criticised the government's decision to delay an inquiry into the murder of the solicitor, Pat Finucane.
Param Cumaraswamy first called for a public inquiry into the killing of Mr Finucane in a report issued in 1998. The Malaysian lawyer said the government should follow the recommendations of the Cory Report immediately. Legal proceedings are set to delay the Finucane case.
The government confirmed on Thursday that inquiries into three other murders which involved allegations of security force collusion would be held. Secretary of State Paul Murphy said inquiries into the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright would be held as soon as possible.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme on Saturday, Mr Cumaraswamy said the victims of those concerned had suffered enough. "Judge Cory was correct in saying that if we wait for this prosecution it could continue and be delayed for another two or three years," he said. "That is unreasonable, and as I mentioned before, justice delayed is justice denied. "A great deal of injustice would be done to the victims in this whole thing. "The family of Pat Finucane have had this crusade going on for the last 14 years or so for this initial inquiry."
'Delaying tactics'
Mr Finucane was shot by members of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association at his north Belfast home in 1989. His widow Geraldine accused the government of using delaying tactics. "This is a very disappointing, but expected statement," she said. "The British Government continue to cover up the truth about the death of my husband with their delaying tactics." However, Mr Murphy denied the government was involved in a cover-up of allegations of collusion.
The human rights organisation Amnesty International described the government's failure to establish an immediate public inquiry into Mr Finucane's murder as "shameful".
Mr Murphy announced the inquiries in parliament on Thursday, to coincide with publication of the reports by retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory. He has examined claims of security force collusion in the killings. Rosemary Nelson, also a solicitor, was killed in an under-car booby-trap bomb explosion in Lurgan in 1999. The LVF leader, Billy Wright, was targeted and murdered inside the Maze Prison by jailed members of the Irish National Liberation Army in 1997.
'Serious concern'
Robert Hamill, a Catholic, died in hospital after being attacked by a loyalist mob in his home town of Portadown in 1997. A man has been charged with the Finucane murder and he is due to go on trial in September.
On Thursday, Mr Murphy said Cory's reports raised matters that would cause "serious concern". He told the BBC that he would look at the wider issue of truth and justice in murders over the past 30 years.
The family of Rosemary Nelson said in a statement that she might be alive today if she had been treated with the "respect and dignity her professional position deserved".
Diane Hamill, sister of Robert Hamill, said her family was pleased the government would act on Judge Cory's recommendation.
The family of the late Billy Wright has welcomed Judge Cory's recommendations.
Last October, Judge Cory delivered six reports to the London and Dublin administrations about a total of eight killings on both sides of the border. The retired Canadian judge was appointed by the British and Irish Governments in 2001.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3594869.stm
Copyright © 2004 BBC