Articles

Continues to call for a full public inquiry

Congressman Richard E. Neal, the senior Democrat on the Friends of Ireland Committee in the United States Congress, made the following statement on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives following the release of a report by Sir Desmond de Silva into the 1989 murder of Patrick Finucane in Belfast.

"British Prime Minister told the House of Commons today that a new report acknowledged there was a "shocking level of state collusion" into the murder of solicitor Patrick Finucane in Belfast more than twenty years ago. While I appreciate Prime Minister Cameron's recognition that agents of the British state "actively facilitated" the murder of Pat Finucane, and welcome his apology to the Finucane family, I will continue to be a strong and outspoken advocate for a full, open and public inquiry into his death. I believe the straightest path to the truth, and the best way to convince the public that one of the most controversial murders in Northern Ireland has been thoroughly investigated, is through a transparent public inquiry.

I have known Geraldine Finucane and her family for more than two decades. Their campaign for justice and the truth has been honorable. They have loyal supporters on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. The killing of Pat Finucane is a dark stain in Irish history that has not gone away with the publication of the report by Sir Desmond de Silva. The British government agreed to conduct a public inquiry into the Finucane murder at Weston Park in 2001, and I believe they should honor that commitment. The Prime Minister's response to the de Silva report today is simply at odds with promises his government made during a critical moment in the peace process.

As we have seen far too many times in the past, in cases like the Guilford Four, the Birmingham Six, and Bloody Sunday, the truth eventually is uncovered. The de Silva report confirmed there was state collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane, but it did not bring us closer to the truth. After more than twenty years, I believe the Finucane family deserves to know the truth, and that is why I will continue to urge the British government to hold a public inquiry into Pat's death."