Independent inquiry into solicitor's murder demanded

The family of a Belfast solicitor shot dead a decade ago will today present the British and Irish governments with a report alleging…

The family of a Belfast solicitor shot dead a decade ago will today present the British and Irish governments with a report alleging that the security forces colluded in his murder.

The family is demanding an independent inquiry into the death of Mr Pat Finucane, who was killed 10 years ago today. The Catholic lawyer was shot by the UDA at his home off the Antrim Road in north Belfast.

The Finucanes' demand for a public investigation has been supported by 1,100 lawyers in Britain, Ireland and across the world, who have signed a petition which is published in today's newspapers.

They are calling for an international independent inquiry into the shooting. Mr Finucane's widow, Geraldine, said: "The intention of those who murdered Pat was to silence him forever. The petition and the report into the death have broken that silence."

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The report will not be published but will be forwarded to the UN. It has been compiled by London-based human rights group British-Irish Rights' Watch, and is said to draw upon highly sensitive official documents.

It concludes that members of the RUC and the Force Research Unit (FRU) - a branch of British military intelligence, "closely and actively colluded" in Mr Finucane's murder.

It also claims to expose the FRU's role in the murders of two other Catholics, Mr Gerard Slane and Mr Terence McDaid.

An RUC spokesman said: "This matter has been fully and independently investigated in the past and we cannot comment on a report we haven't seen."