Life sentence for Finucane murder – ISN
September 17th, 2004
One of Northern Ireland’s most controversial political assassinations reached a conclusion of sorts on Thursday with the jailing of a former loyalist paramilitary.
Ken Barrett, 41, admitted to being one a group of masked gunmen from the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), who in February 1989 shot prominent Catholic solicitor Pat Finucane 14 times as he ate a Sunday meal with his family. Finucane was a high-profile lawyer who represented republican clients – but also worked with Protestants. Barrett was given a minimum 22-year sentence.
However, he could be released within a matter of months as part of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland’s landmark 1998 peace deal. The peace deal involved an amnesty for politically motivated crimes committed during Northern Ireland’s 30-year civil conflict.
Finucane’s assassination carried allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British security forces. Those allegations were backed by an investigation by Sir John Stevens, the UK Metropolitan Police Commissioner, as well as a more recent inquiry by Peter Cory. Cory, a Canadian judge, went on to recommend a full public inquiry into the Finucane case, as well as five other terrorist assassinations tainted by allegations of security force collusion. However, the British government decided that any public inquiry would have to wait until criminal proceedings were over, as any defense case would be prejudiced.
Now, the Finucane family and nationalist parties are pressing for a full public inquiry into state collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. Finucane’s brother, Martin, told local media: “We demand a public inquiry, nothing else will satisfy us. It is now up to Tony Blair to take action.” Finucane’s widow, Geraldine, has already launched a legal challenge to the government’s decision to delay a public inquiry.
Sinn Féin has accused the government of using the Barrett trial and criminal investigations as an excuse for a cover-up of the “murky underbelly” of state collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. Gerry Adams, the party’s leader, said: “The British government has made a commitment to have a public inquiry and they have since broken that commitment.
The sentencing takes place against the backdrop of major talks on Northern Ireland’s political future in Kent, England. The talks, facilitated by the British and Irish governments, involve all the main political parties in Northern Ireland. They are aimed at restoring the province’s devolved institutions of government, suspended in October 2002 due to allegations of Irish Republican Army (IRA) intelligence gathering at the UK Northern Ireland Office in Belfast. British officials are hoping the talks will pave the way for the disbandment of the IRA
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