Republican News · Thursday 14 March 2002

Finucane family reject pay-off attempt

Lawyers acting on behalf of the family of Pat Finucane, the Belfast defence lawyer shot dead in February 1989, have dismissed an offer of a financial 'settlement' by the British government as a "disingenuous" attempt to foreclose court proceedings.

A letter from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the section registrar at the European Court of Human Rights detailing the proposal was dated early last month. In the proposal, the British government offered Geraldine Finucane £10,000 together with legal costs and expenses "by way of friendly settlement" in relation to her husband's death.

The offer referred to recent landmark rulings by the Human Rights Court that ordered the British government to pay compensation to the families of 12 men killed by state sponsored or state forces in controversial circumstances. The court ruled that investigations into the killings had been woefully inadequate and had been in direct violation of Article 2 of the Human Rights Convention that guarantees the right to life.

In 1995, the dead man's widow took the British government to the European Court of Human Rights as part of an ongoing campaign by the family for an independent international public inquiry into the killing.

Dismissing the offer as cynical and insulting, Finucane's brother Martin said the case was never about money. "The application to the European Court was not to seek compensation. We want the truth surrounding Pat's murder and to see the establishment of a fully independent judicial inquiry," said Martin Finucane.

Sinn Fein Chief Whip Alex Maskey said that the case and the centrality to it of the Special Branch and Special Branch Agents is at the heart of what continues to be wrong with policing.

"Patten required that human rights abusers be dealt with and was categoric in making accountability the primary function of the Policing Board. Neither of these key requirements have been met," he said.

"The Policing Board now has responsibility for the RUC human rights abusers they have inherited but no control or accountability over them. They have inherited the Special Branch members involved in collusion, shoot to kill and cover-ups. They have inherited the Special Branch Agents who are also members of the loyalist death squads. Common sense and the interests of peace require that they be dealt with. This is not happening.

"The Policing Board does not have the powers to do this. The British government has refused to give them the power to perform their primary function, The news that they are attempting to prevent the Finucane case reaching the European Court confirms what many believe, that the cover-ups and the attempted cover-ups are still going on, and will continue to go on until we have democratic accountability at the centre of policing here."