Twenty three years ago, Pat Finucane was brutally murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in front of his wife Geraldine and his three children Michael, Catherine and John.
Since then, Geraldine has campaigned tirelessly for the truth about her husband’s murder. Along the way she has had to endure the frustration of seeing evidence destroyed, justice obstructed and her husband’s reputation impugned.
Though a very private person, she has taken on a public role and has played that role with dignity and integrity. With quiet determination she has focussed not only on the two men who broke into their house that Sunday evening to murder her husband but also on those behind them who orchestrated the murder.
Officials from the Irish Embassy assisted Geraldine Finucane and her family in London today as they heard Prime Minister Cameron acknowledge the extent of collusion by the British security forces in her husband’s murder and apologise to her and her family.
Pat Finucane was one of over three and a half thousand people to die during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
But his murder stands out from most other cases in one particular and important respect. It was one of a number of cases which gave rise to allegations of collusion by the security forces in each jurisdiction and which therefore had profound implications for public confidence and, consequently, for the wider peace process.
It was not the only such case. The murder of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, Lord Justice and Lady Gibson, Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright all gave rise to concerns about collusion.
It was because of their wider implications for confidence that these cases were a particular concern for the British and Irish governments at Weston Park in 2001. Arising from those discussions the two governments agreed to appoint a judge of international standing from outside both jurisdictions to undertake a thorough investigation of these cases and, in the event that a Public Inquiry was recommended in any case, to implement that recommendation.
Following a thorough investigation of these allegations, Judge Peter Cory recommended a public inquiry into five of the six cases. On foot of his recommendation, the Smithwick Tribunal was established by resolutions of Dáil and Seanad Eireann in 2005 and is continuing its work.
Prime Minister David Cameron has shown commendable determination to get to the truth behind what happened in the past and, in doing so, to hold the state to the highest account and judge its officers by the highest standards.
I believe that his apology to Mrs Finucane this afternoon continues the process of healing that the Prime Minister set in train so memorably with his statement to Parliament on publication of the Saville Report into Bloody Sunday in June 2010.
This report published today is a lengthy one and bears close reading and serious study. The picture revealed to parliament today by Prime Minister Cameron is, as he has said, truly shocking. Let me say that I respect the frankness and honesty with which he has today confronted grievous failures by the British Army, the RUC and Government ministries. This is not an easy task for the leader of a country which takes great pride in its security forces and its civil service.
He acknowledged the systematic leaking by the security services to the UDA and paramilitary groups; failure by the RUC to act on threat intelligence; of involvement by paid agents of the state in the murder of Pat Finucane; systematic failure to investigate and arrest West Belfast UDA agents involved in the murder; systematic attempts by police and army to disrupt and thwart investigations; and the deliberate misleading of Government ministers by officials.
It is a matter of public record that the Irish government disagreed strongly with the decision by the British government last year to conduct a review rather than an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane and, indeed, with the lack of consultation in advance of that decision.
Our disagreement was born of a belief that public confidence is best served by a public inquiry where the process of getting to the truth is open to scrutiny and the findings placed beyond doubt. In that, we were mindful of Judge Cory’s concern that where doubts persist, myths and misconceptions might only proliferate.
I believe we can build on the progress made today. I believe the work undertaken by Desmond Da Silva QC can facilitate this, helping ensure that an inquiry need not be lengthy, open-ended and inordinately expensive.
Confidence is fundamental to the Northern Ireland peace process. As we have seen in recent days, significant challenges have yet to be tackled. We can only tackle these successfully when we do so together. Close partnership between the British and Irish Governments throughout the process has been critical to sustaining confidence and supporting progress. That partnership, visible and collaborative is needed today, perhaps more so than at any time in the recent past.
Occasions arise where we disagree but we do so respectfully. This is one such occasion. While we study the report carefully, we will continue to set out why we believe that the agreements matter and that public confidence is best served by a public inquiry. The Irish Government will continue therefore to seek a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane as committed to in the agreements.
And we will continue to ensure that we work closely with the British government in supporting the Executive and Assembly as it seeks to address the difficult and polarising debate about flags.
Over three and a half thousand people died during the troubles. Every man, woman and child who died left behind relatives and friends who mourn the loss of their loved ones to this day. I have met many such relatives. I know the pain they endure, the accommodation they have been asked to make for peace.
The great majority of victims in the troubles were murdered by republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. We should not lose sight of that. But there is no hierarchy of loss or of grief.
No acknowledgment or apology by those responsible for the loss can undo the wrong that was done to them. On a day when the murder of Pat Finucane has been recalled so vividly for Geraldine, Michael, Catherine and John, we should be mindful too of the many thousands of relatives across Ireland, North and South, who grieve the loss of a loved one. As President Higgins has noted, none have done more to bring about the benefits we have all gained from the peace process.
But as I have said, certain cases raised specific concerns about collusion and therefore about confidence in the administration of justice. The murder of Pat Finucane was one of those cases.
The Government’s view in favour of an inquiry is underpinned by an all-party motion of this House, agreed in 2006, which recalled the agreement under Weston Park; took note of Judge Cory’s findings on collusion; commended the Finucane family for their courageous campaign and called for the immediate establishment of a full, independent, public judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, as recommended by Judge Cory, which would enjoy the full co-operation of the family and the wider community throughout Ireland and abroad.
The government will continue to set out the case for an inquiry, mindful of the progress that has been made today and mindful too of the responsibilities that both governments share in support of the peace process.