Finucane inquiry to probe if state used UDA as proxy

The investigation into the 1989 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane is to examine the possibility that state security forces employed the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) as a proxy to kill a lawyer deemed to have incurred the state's displeasure. This central question was highlighted in opening statements at the inquiry on Tuesday.

Counsel to the inquiry, Matthew Hill, informed chairman Sir Gary Hickinbottom that the investigation would also scrutinise nearly 300 reported instances where members of the security forces provided assistance to loyalist paramilitaries in the two years preceding Mr Finucane's death. These figures, detailed in the 2012 De Silva report, were considered by Sir Desmond de Silva QC to likely represent only a fraction of a wider issue.

Previous Findings and New Evidence

Mr Finucane, 39, was shot dead at his north Belfast home by the UDA. Subsequent investigations have indicated state collusion in the attack. The Finucane family has long sought a public inquiry to ascertain the full extent of security force involvement. A 2012 review by Sir Desmond de Silva QC led then prime minister David Cameron to issue an apology to the family for 'shocking levels of collusion', a statement Mr Hill described as an 'inescapable conclusion'.

The inquiry will also consider material from Operation Kenova, an investigation into the activities of former army agent Stakeknife. Mr Hill suggested this probe may have uncovered information pertinent to Patrick Finucane's case that was not examined in earlier reviews.

Examining Motivations and Actions

Mr Hill stated that the inquiry aims to understand not only how Mr Finucane was murdered but also why. This involves examining the rationale and motivations of the UDA members who planned and carried out the killing. He acknowledged the challenges of investigating events more than 35 years ago, with witnesses deceased, memories faded, and evidence lost or destroyed.

The inquiry will consider evidence suggesting that elements within the security forces supplied the UDA with information and intelligence. It will also assess a 'propaganda initiative' found by the De Silva report to have aimed at unnerving republican figures, but which extended to prominent individuals in the broader nationalist and republican communities. The investigation will determine the extent to which these interactions influenced Mr Finucane's murder.

Mr Hill noted that while the UK government's position in the 1980s was that security forces were upholding democracy against terrorist violence, it is legitimate to apply the standard of the rule of law to the actions of those same forces. He cautioned against retrospective moralising, emphasising the need to examine these matters in the calm environment of a public inquiry.

The inquiry's terms of reference require an examination of these uncomfortable matters to help understand the circumstances and reasons behind the murder. Mr Hill committed to posing the necessary questions and bringing relevant evidence to light, stating that anything less would not serve the public or do justice to Patrick Finucane.