Finucane Murder Report Due To Be Published

By Vicki Hawthorne, Ireland Correspondent

A report investigating allegations of collusion in the murder of a prominent solicitor in Northern Ireland will be published later.

The killing of Pat Finucane is one of the most controversial in Northern Ireland's history.

He was shot 14 times by loyalist paramilitary gunmen on February 12, 1989, as he sat eating Sunday dinner at home in Belfast with his family.

When he was killed, Mr Finucane was at the peak of his career. He represented high profile republicans including IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.

He was also known for fighting human rights cases but his work with republicans made him a target.

Since his death, there have been widespread claims that the security forces colluded with loyalist terrorists to carry out the murder.

There have been a series of reports over the years which have indicated that collusion did take place.

Canadian judge Peter Cory reviewed a number of controversial killings in Northern Ireland and in 2004 recommended that the Government should hold an inquiry into the Finucane case.

The Finucane family, including his wife Geraldine, have always believed the security forces were involved in his murder and have long campaigned for an independent public inquiry.

Instead, last year, David Cameron ordered for a review of the case by QC Desmond de Silva.

The Finucane family await its findings with interest but are still pressing for a public inquiry.

Mr Finucane's son John said they would read the report "with an open mind" but criticised the move to have a "behind-closed-doors" review.

He told Sky News: "Today represents what we feel is an embodiment of a broken promise by the British Government.

"We have always been very clear - this represents more than just the case of my father. There are people on all sides of the community who we feel have been allowed to die to protect intelligence and we think that is wrong and should never have happened.

"To ensure it never happens again and restore public confidence in rule of law then there needs to be a public examination of what went wrong. Failing to do that will only lead to further myths and suspicion which will allow this wound to fester."

Gagal Coba