Hilary Benn Finucane announcement
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00:00We now come to the next statement. I call the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
00:07Hilary Benn.
00:10With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement about the death of Patrick
00:15Finucane. Patrick Finucane was a human rights lawyer. On 12 February 1989, he was brutally
00:24murdered in his home in north Belfast by Loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association,
00:32in front of his wife Geraldine, who was wounded, and his three children, one of whom is now
00:39the honourable member for Belfast North. From that day onwards, Mrs Finucane and her family
00:46have campaigned tirelessly in search of answers about the killing of their loved one. In 1990,
00:53an inquest was opened and closed on the same day, with an open verdict. Subsequently, a
01:00number of investigations and reviews were conducted. In 2001, following the collapse
01:07of powersharing, the UK and Irish Governments agreed at Western Park to establish public
01:13inquiries into a number of troubles-related cases, if recommended by an international
01:19judge. Judge Peter Corrie was appointed to conduct a review of each case, and in 2004
01:27he recommended that the UK Government hold public inquiries into four deaths—those
01:32of Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill, Billy Wright and Patrick Finucane. Judge Corrie also recommended
01:42that the Irish Government establish a tribunal of inquiry into the deaths of former RUC officers
01:49Bob Buchanan and Harry Breen. Inquiries were promptly established in all of these cases,
01:58with one exception—the death of Mr Finucane. Meanwhile, in 2003, the third investigation
02:07by Sir John Stevens into alleged collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries
02:14had concluded that there had been state collusion in Mr Finucane's killing. That investigation
02:23was followed by the conviction in 2004 of one of those responsible, Ken Barrett. With
02:32criminal proceedings concluded, the then Northern Ireland Secretary, Paul Murphy, made a statement
02:38to Parliament, setting out the Government's commitment to establish an inquiry, but despite
02:44a number of attempts, the Government were unable to reach agreement with the Finucane
02:49family on arrangements for one.
02:53In 2011, the coalition Government decided against an inquiry. Instead, a review of what
03:00had happened, led by Sir Desmond de Silva QC, was established. Sir Desmond concluded
03:07that he was left
03:08"...in no doubt that agents of the state were involved in carrying out serious violations
03:17of human rights up to, and including, murder."
03:23The publication of his findings in 2012 led the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, to
03:29make an unprecedented apology from this dispatch box to the Finucane family on behalf of the
03:38British Government, citing the
03:40"...shocking levels of state collusion in this case."
03:47In 2019, the Supreme Court found that all the previous investigations had been insufficient
03:55to enable the state to discharge its obligations under article 2 of the European Convention
04:00on Human Rights. The court identified a number of deficiencies in the state's compliance
04:06with article 2 in particular. Sir Desmond's review did not have the power to compel the
04:11attendance of witnesses. Those who met Sir Desmond were not subject to testing as to
04:17the accuracy of their evidence, and a potentially critical witness was excused from attendance.
04:24In November 2020, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that he would
04:30not be establishing a public inquiry at that time, pending the outcome of continuing investigations,
04:37but that decision was quashed by the Northern Ireland High Court in December 2022.
04:47This Government take their human rights obligations and their responsibilities to victims and
04:52survivors of the Troubles extremely seriously. The plain fact is that, two decades on, the
05:01commitment made by the Government, first in agreement with the Irish Government and then
05:08to this House, to establish an inquiry into the death of Mr Finucane remains unfulfilled.
05:16It is for this exceptional reason that I have decided to establish an independent inquiry
05:23into the death of Patrick Finucane under the 2005 Inquiries Act. I have, of course, met
05:31Mrs Finucane and her family, first on 25 July to hear their views and again yesterday to
05:38inform them of my decision. Mrs Finucane asked the Government to set up a public inquiry
05:45under the 2005 Inquiries Act and, as I have just told the House, the Government have now
05:51agreed to do that, in line with both the 2019 Supreme Court ruling and the Court of Appeal
05:59judgment in July this year. In making this decision, I have, as is required, considered
06:07the likely costs and impact on the public finances. It is the Government's expectation
06:12that the inquiry will, while doing everything that is required to discharge the state's
06:18human rights obligations, avoid unnecessary costs, given all the previous reviews and
06:26investigations and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public
06:31domain. Indeed, in the most recent High Court proceedings, the judge suggested that an inquiry
06:37could
06:38build
06:39on
06:40the
06:41significant
06:42investigative
06:43foundations
06:44which are
06:45already in place.
06:46As part of my decision-making process, I did also consider whether to refer this case
06:49to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. The commission has
06:55powers comparable to those provided by the Inquiries Act to compel witnesses and to secure
07:01the disclosure of relevant documents by state bodies—powers identified by the Supreme Court
07:07as being crucial for the Government to discharge their human rights obligations. The commission
07:13was found in separate proceedings in February this year by the High Court to be sufficiently
07:19independent and capable of conducting article 2 compliant investigations. While I am committed
07:26to considering measures to further strengthen the commission, I have every confidence in
07:32its ability, under the leadership of Sir Declan Morgan, to find answers for survivors and
07:37families. However, given the unique circumstances of this case and the solemn commitment made
07:45by the Government in 2001 and again, in 2004 the only appropriate way forward is to establish
07:53a public inquiry.
07:57Many of us in this House remember the savage brutality of the Troubles—a truly terrible
08:04time in our history—and we must never forget that most of the deaths and injuries were
08:10the responsibility of paramilitaries, including the Ulster Defence Association, the Provisional
08:15IRA and others. We should also always pay tribute to the work during that time of the
08:23armed forces, the police, the security services—the vast majority of whom served with distinction
08:31and honour, and so many of whom sacrificed their lives in protecting others. It is very
08:38hard for any of us to understand fully the trauma of those who lost loved ones—sons
08:46and daughters, spouses and partners, fathers and mothers—and what they have been through.
08:53There is of course nothing that any of us can do to bring them back or to erase the
08:58deep pain that was caused. But what we can do is to seek transparency, to help provide
09:06answers to families and to work together for a better future for Northern Ireland,
09:11which has made so much progress since these terrible events. I hope that this inquiry
09:17will finally provide the information that the Finucane family has sought for so long.
09:23The Government will seek to appoint a chair of the inquiry and establish its terms of
09:27reference as soon as possible.