The British Government must honour a deal to hold a full sworn public inquiry into the killing of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.
In a move that significantly increases the pressure on the British government, President George Bush is now to raise Irish objections to British plans to hold a limited inquiry into the killing with Tony Blair.
Meanwhile, Canadian judge Peter Cory, who carried out the inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane and seven others in Northern Ireland, said the British proposal would result only in an "Alice in Wonderland" investigation.
Mr Bush's special adviser on Northern Ireland Mitchell Reiss, insisted that the Finucane inquiry had to be held in public and had to command the respect of the people of Northern Ireland.
Laying down a clear marker for Mr Blair, Mr Reiss said: "The chair, and other members of the inquiry, should be fully satisfied that the terms of reference will provide them with the authority necessary to establish the truth and to examine thoroughly the allegations of collusion highlighted by Judge Cory."
Speaking after his White House meeting with President Bush, the Taoiseach said that although he and Mr Blair were "very good friends", the Finucane issue could not be fudged.
"We work very closely, but we made an agreement, a solemn agreement, in Weston Park in 2001. That agreement was that Judge Cory, a very distinguished member of the Canadian Supreme Court, would make a report and whatever that report stated be implemented.
"His report was that there should be a full sworn public inquiry. I have asked the president to raise that issue with Prime Minister Blair at an early date. It is an issue that cannot be swept under the carpet.
"It is important for us to see that justice is done in every way and this is an outstanding issue since 1989. It has to be dealt with. It did not happen under the watch of Tony Blair but we believe that it should be brought to an end under the watch of Tony Blair.
"The president understands the significance of it, that it is an issue where people have a strong belief about what happened and it is important that this is clarified," he told The Irish Times.
"It can't be fudged. That is why I am raising it here, an inquiry for Geraldine Finucane and the family. We made an agreement. An international judge of high repute came to a judgment.
"It is more of a question that a deal is a deal. This was a deal and it is not going to be swept under the carpet," said Mr Ahern, who briefly met with Mrs Finucane during the American-Ireland Fund dinner in Washington.
The new British legislation to limit the scope of some inquiries has already passed through the House of Lords and began its passage through the House of Commons last Tuesday.
If passed into law, British ministers would have the power to order inquiry judges to hear some evidence in public, and to bar the presentation of some evidence altogether.
In a letter to a congressional hearing into the Finucane hearing, Judge Cory said an inquiry set up with such limited powers and open to so much political interference would "be meaningless" and lead to an "Alice in Wonderland" situation.
The judge also examined the evidence surrounding allegations of collusion between British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries into the killings of solicitor Rosemary Nelson, LVF leader Billy Wright, and Portadown Catholic Robert Hamill.
The Finucane family, who want a Bloody Sunday-style inquiry, have welcomed Judge Cory's remarks and the intervention of Ambassador Reiss.
In his letter to Congressman Chris Smith, who is leading the congressional hearing, Judge Cory said the new Inquiries' Bill would impose impossible terms on any international judge asked to chair it.
He wrote: "It seems to me that the proposed new Act would make a meaningful inquiry impossible. The commissions would be working in an impossible situation. For example, the minister, the actions of whose ministry was to be reviewed by the public inquiry, would have the authority to thwart the efforts of the inquiry at every step.
"It really creates an intolerable Alice in Wonderland situation. If the new Act were to become law, I would advise all Canadian judges to decline an appointment in light of the impossible situation they would be facing.
"In fact, I cannot contemplate any self-respecting Canadian judge accepting an appointment to an inquiry constituted under the new proposed act."