Collusion Investigation fails to deliver
Widgery repeated with no prosecutions arising from Stevens III
28.6.2007
Tuesday-Monday, 19-25 June, 2007
Monday, 25 June, 2007
Wednesday, 27 June, 2007
Tuesday-Monday, 19-25 June, 2007
Collusion Killers go free
By Irish Republican News
A decision taken by the Crown Public Prosecution Service that no members of the British Crown forces are to be charged over collusion investigations has been condemned in the strongest terms by human rights groups and families of the victims.
After almost two decades of investigations, estimated to have cost up to 20 million pounds, not one member of the RUC/PSNI or British Army is to face prosecution, despite former London police chief John Stevens publicly stating that he had uncovered evidence of Crown force collusion in multiple murders.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced on Monday that no serving or retired member of the Crown forces is to face charges arising out of the three separate investigations carried out by Mr Stevens.
It is four years since Stevens confirmed he had uncovered evidence of collusion in the murder of Protestant teenager Adam Lambert, who was shot dead by the UDA in mistake for a Catholic while working on a building site in north Belfast in November 1987.
Crown force collusion was also acknowledged in the murder of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane in 1989.
The decision means senior members in the RUC/PSNI police and MI5 military intelligence will not stand trial for their involvement in the Finucane or Lambert murders or any other case investigated by Stevens.
Mr Finucane's eldest son, Michael, said his family was "extremely angry and disappointed".
Mr Finucane said the announcement "sinks like a heavy stone into the mire of collusion and cover-up, taking with it any hope that the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland will deliver for victims where the State's own agents and agencies are concerned."
Mr Finucane said his family would not be deterred by the decision but would "continue to press for a fully independent public inquiry into the murder and all of the surrounding circumstances."
"We look to Gordon Brown to deliver on the commitment made by the British Government to hold an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Pat Finucane"
"Only an independent public inquiry can satisfy the concerns of my family and the wider public about the existence of collusion between the British army, the RUC and security services in the murder of Pat Finucane and many others."
INDICTMENT
Amnesty International, said the decision "represents an indictment of the administration of criminal justice in Northern Ireland and the prosecutorial authorities, in particular."
The Human Rights Commission, which is seeking an "urgent meeting" with the prosecution service, said the decision "will further undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system."
"The accountability and transparency of the State in its ability to investigate itself is now in question," it added.
The 39-year-old lawyer was shot dead in February 1989 in front of his family when gunmen burst into his north Belfast home. All of the members of the UDA paramilitary death squad which carried out the attack were later revealed as British agents.
Amid demands for incoming British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to draw a line under the affair by announcing a fully independent tribunal, the SDLP MLA Alban Maginness branded it a bad day for justice.
He claimed: "This decision is frankly and literally outrageous, it is the mother of all cover-ups."
Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey called the decision an "absolute scandal".
"People are being told that while the State was involved in the murders of their loved ones, no prosecution will be taken.
"It shows the British Government is incapable of facing up to their own responsibilities in all of this."
GUNS RECYCLED
Meanwhile, it was revealed that weapons supposedly deactivated after being received by RUC handlers following the 1989 killing were used in further paramilitary murders.
One of the guns, a Browning pistol, was later used to shoot dead Catholic man Aidan Wallace in west Belfast's Devenish Arms bar in December 1991.
Less than three months later, in south Belfast, the same weapon was used in the Sean Graham's bookmakers massacre, when UDA gunmen shot dead five people.
The PSNI has confirmed one of its members involved in the scandal was still with the force, although currently suspended.
The Crown prosecutors said no senior police officer should face prosecution over the handing over of weapons because they could not be identified.
VICTIMS SICKENED
Maria Sykes, whose 18-year-old brother Peter was among those killed at Sean Graham bookmakers, said she was "sick with anger" at the decisions.
Ms Sykes said the victims' families would now take civil actions.
"We are so angry that the RUC is just allowed to get away with handing guns to loyalists who go out and kill six people and the RUC officers who allowed it don't even get as much as a slap on the wrist," she said.
"It's as if my brother's life or the lives of the other men killed don't matter.
"If this was anywhere else in the world the chief constable of the day would have gone to jail and the government would have resigned in disgrace.
"But here just because it's a few Catholics they think it doesn't count.
"Well I'm telling them my brother and those other men did count and if we have to go to the ends of the earth we will get proper justice for them."
Pat Finucane's son John described the PPS decisions as "weak" and "cowardly".
"This is an insult to my family and proves that we were right all along in refusing to have anything to do with what has been proven to be a charade from start to finish," he said.
"It is notable that the DPP feels himself unable to use certain intelligence records as evidence, a clear indication that the interests of [British] national security remain more important than the human lives.
"We have fought for nearly 20 years for a proper independent, judicial inquiry into my father's murder and we will not accept anything less now."
Copyright © Irish Republican News 2007
Statement by Michael Finucane
(Michael Finucane is a practising solicitor based in Dublin and the eldest son of Patrick Finucane)
Family of Pat Finucane respond to the decision by the DPP for Northern Ireland that there will be no prosecutions arising from Stevens III
Speaking on behalf of the Finucane family Michael Finucane said:
“My family and I are extremely angry and disappointed at the decision of the DPP not to prosecute anyone arising from the report of the Stevens III Investigation and especially the manner in which it has been delivered. Once again, we are expected to respond at a moment’s notice to important events that the authorities have had years to consider.”
“It is difficult to square the unequivocal nature of the conclusions reached by Lord Stevens four years ago with the submissive, timid, unconvincing reasons advanced by the DPP for not instituting a single prosecution. It is notable that the DPP feels himself unable to use “certain intelligence records as evidence”, a clear indication that the interests of national security remain more important than the human lives. The announcement by Lord Stevens in Belfast four years ago sent shockwaves through the British establishment that reverberated around the world. The announcement today by the DPP for Northern Ireland sinks like a heavy stone into the mire of collusion and cover-up, taking with it any hope that the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland will deliver for victims where the State’s own agents and agencies are concerned.”
“The family of Pat Finucane will not be deterred by the decision of the DPP. We will continue to press for a fully independent public inquiry into the murder and all of the surrounding circumstances. We sought such an inquiry from the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair and were blocked and frustrated in our efforts by him. We now look to his successor to show that the era of secrecy, cover-up and collusion is truly over. We look to Gordon Brown to deliver on the commitment made by the British Government to hold an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Pat Finucane.
“Only an independent public inquiry can satisfy the concerns of my family and the wider public about the existence of collusion between the British army, the RUC and security services in the murder of Pat Finucane and many others.”
Statement by Amnesty International
United Kingdom: Amnesty International's response to the announcement by the Northern Irish prosecuting authorities that no prosecutions are to follow from the Stevens III investigation
Today (25 June 2007), after an unconscionable and inordinate delay -- more than four years after receipt of many individual files from the Stevens III investigation into matters of collusion in Northern Ireland -- the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for Northern Ireland has announced that no-one is to be charged following the review of the material submitted by the Stevens III investigation.
The DPP explained that prosecutions could not be brought mainly because the evidence would not satisfy the “Test for Prosecution”, namely, that “the available and admissible evidence is sufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction and prosecution is required in the public interest”.
Amnesty International considers that this announcement represents an indictment of the administration of criminal justice in Northern Ireland and the prosecutorial authorities, in particular.
The fact that much of the DPP's decision appears to hinge on the absence of evidence simply reinforces concern about the extent to which state officials have been involved in a cover-up in respect of their collusion with paramilitary organizations in the perpetration of serious human rights abuses.
Amnesty International considers that rather than reassuring the victims, their families and the public at large that that the rule of law has been respected, this decision actually reinforces concern that there has been a complete failure on the part of state authorities to ensure accountability for serious human rights abuses.
In light of today’s announcement, Amnesty International reiterates its call on the UK authorities to immediately institute a properly independent judicial inquiry, held in public, into the 1989 killing of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane.
Human Rights Commission RESPONSE TO Collusion prosecution failure
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission regrets that no prosecutions will be brought in connection with Lord Stevens’ most recent investigation into alleged collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries.
The Commission has, since its creation, closely followed the allegations of collusion arising from the murders of Pat Finucane and Brian Adam Lambert and the three investigations carried out by Lord Stevens. The third report published by Lord Stevens in 2003 referred to “collusion, the wilful failure to keep records, the absence of accountability, the withholding of intelligence and evidence, and the extreme of agents being involved in murder.” The Commission believes that the matters identified by the three Stevens inquiries raise serious human rights concerns.
According to Professor Monica McWilliams, Chief Commissioner:
“The Human Rights Commission has noted the many human rights violations acknowledged by the Stevens investigation to have been carried out by forces of the State and loyalist paramilitaries. The limited number of prosecutions that have resulted from the three Stevens inquiries have almost all involved possession of documents, as opposed to the role of State agents in passing on that information, collusion in planning acts of terrorism, or otherwise breaking the law. We are disappointed that, following this third investigation, there has been no effective remedy to address these through the public prosecution system. Moreover, we believe that this will further undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system especially amongst victims’ families who have been left to deal with these issues for so long.
It is our view that the statement released today by the Prosecution Service raises as many questions as answers. Although we welcome the fact that the reasons for non-prosecution have been disclosed, it is clear that additional information is required particularly as to what factors were taken into account in determining what constitutes the public interest aspect of this case. There is certainly no public interest in concealing the truth.
The accountability and transparency of the State in its ability to investigate itself is now in question. There is a clear responsibility on government to state how an effective independent investigation into this period of our past can be mounted when even the Prosecution Service is unable to proceed with cases after such an extensive investigation.”
The Human Rights Commission is requesting an urgent meeting with the Public Prosecution Service to seek further information on its use of the public interest test.
Public Prosecution Service must be made accountable
By Susan McKay from the Irish News
At half seven yesterday (Monday) morning, 75-year-old Clara Magee was woken by someone knocking at the door of her home in Belfast. When she opened it, two men in suits were there. They said they were from the PSNI, handed her an envelope and left.
Mrs Magee's 18-year-old son, Peter, was one of five people who were shot dead by UDA gunmen outside a bookies shop on the Ormeau Road in 1992.
The letter was from the Public Prosecution Service. It told her the following – that guns had been given to the RUC in 1989 by William Stobie, who was a special branch agent as well as a UDA quartermaster. That the guns were given back to Stobie.
That one of them was used by the UDA in a fatal gun attack on a pub in 1991 and in the attack which killed her son.
The letter also said that Sir John Stevens had sent a file to the PPS about these and other similar matters but the PPS had decided – four years later – that it was not going to prosecute anybody. No police, no agents, no UDA men.
"There is no offence of collusion," it stated, airily.
There was insufficient evidence of "manslaughter by gross negligence". There was no evidence Stobie was supervised in relation to the guns and no means of identifying the senior officers who gave orders in relation to them. Nobody was on hand to help the elderly woman to deal with this bolt from the blue.
Her son-in-law, Mark Sykes, who was critically injured in the bookies massacre, also got the letter, as did relatives of all of those killed or injured in the incidents which were referred to the PPS by Stevens as a result of his last inquiry into collusion between members of the security forces and loyalist killers.
Twenty-five files were sent, after Stevens had been advised by lawyers that he had established sufficient evidence for prosecutions. They included files relating to the murders of solicitor Pat Finucane by a gang, most of whom were security force agents of one kind or another, and of Gerard Slane and other nationalist victims of UDA gangs.
In all cases, the PPS decided otherwise.
"I am livid," said Sykes.
"This is a total disgrace. The then chief constable, Sir Hugh Annesley, stood outside the bookies in 1992 and said that this was 'murder madness' but that it was not out of control. Now we know who was controlling it."
Don't forget that some of the guns the UDA was using were provided by the UDR. That one of the Finucane killers revealed that it was special branch officers who proposed the murder to the UDA. That a former police officer taped a confession to the murder and that special branch destroyed the tape. That agent Brian Nelson was going to reveal that he had told his handlers that some of the murders were planned – but the murder charges against him were dropped so the evidence wasn't given.
When Stevens launched the tiny bit of his report that we were allowed to see in 2001, he said he had found evidence of collusion. He also said that he had been obstructed by the authorities during all three of his inquiries. During one of them his offices were burnt down. The DUP said his work was a "waste of taxpayers money".
Yesterday's letter gives us a glimpse of the horrors that Stevens uncovered.
We need to know the full sordid story.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP, along with human rights organisations like British and Irish Rights Watch, Relatives for Justice (RFJ) and the Pat Finucane Centre, expressed outrage at the PPS decision and called, again, for a full independent inquiry into collusion.
Mark Thompson, of RFJ, pointed out that it is six years since the European Court of Human Rights found that British investigative mechanisms, including the PPS, did not meet international standards of impartiality, accountability and transparency.
The PPS has made a great many disquieting decisions over the years in relation to cases involving loyalist paramilitaries but protests have been ignored. It must be made accountable. Clara Magee is trying to come to terms with the fact that the police armed the killers of her innocent teenage son and that the state has decided to do nothing about it.
What have all the venerable men who say the past must be left alone got to say now?
Copyright © Irish News 2007