“The peelers wanted him whacked. We whacked him and that is the end of the story.”
Ken Barrett — UDA gunmen
February 12 2021 –Patrick Finucane (March 21 1949 – February 12 1989) was an Irish human rights lawyer killed by loyalist paramilitaries acting in collusion with the British government intelligence service MI5. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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“After a seven-month legal battle the prime minister has finally been forced to publish her secret order but we are a long way from having transparency. The public and parliament are still being denied the guidance that says when British spies can commit criminal offences and how far they can go. Authorised criminality is the most intrusive power a state can wield. Theresa May must publish this guidance without delay.”
Maya Foa — Director of the human rights group Reprieve (May 2018)
UPDATE (February 12 2021) — This era is the golden age of conspiracy theories. All over the world, governments warn us about the many dangers of these conspiracy theories and, in particular, their corrosive effect on fragile democratic institutions.
Perhaps, the same governments should reflect on their very own responsibilities. Is it too much to ask? Is it not the minimum we should expect?
In 2019, the UK Supreme Court found there had never been an adequate investigation, but stopped short of ordering a public inquiry, ruling it was for the state “to decide what form of investigation is required.”
A year passed, prompting another court case, aimed at forcing the government to address the Supreme Court’s findings.
In October 2020, a lawyer for Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, told a court that a decision would be made before the end of November on whether or not to hold a public inquiry.
On 30 November 2020, NI Secretary Brandon Lewis announced that a public inquiry would not be held at this time and that other review processes by the PSNI and Police Ombudsman had to run their course.
END of UPDATE
To this day, not a single member of the British security services has been prosecuted.
In 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron met with Pat Finucane’s family and admitted the collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and the British government intelligence service MI5.
Hundreds of people join with the family of murdered human rights lawyer Pat Finucane at the 2019 annual lecture named in his honour and delivered by Gerry Adams.
“If you report a crime that happened within the organisation, then the whistle-blower is the one accountable and not the person who committed the crime.”
Annie Machon — Former MI5 Officer
Champion in the fight for Justice Pat Finucane remembered
UPDATE (February 12 2020) — John Finucane (Patrick Finucane’s son) is a Sinn Féin councillor. John Finucane became Lord Mayor of Belfast in 2019.
In September 2019, the Finucane family launched legal action in an attempt to force the government to hold a public inquiry.
In October 2019, it was reported that the security service MI5 had wiped secret information from computer hard drives.
REFERENCES
Pat Finucane — Wikipedia
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Remembering Irish Human Rights Lawyer Patrick Finucane (March 21 1949 – February 12 1989)
Remembering Irish Human Rights Lawyer Patrick Finucane (March 21, 1949 – February 12, 1989) [2021]
Intel Today 