PRC-UTE
25th June 2007, 18:34
Although a British govt report from 2003 concluded that the colonial police were involved in human rights lawyer Pat Finucane's murder, ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevens_Report ) apparently the murderers will not be held responsible for it... fuck, they'll probably get a medal from the queen in a few years like all other murdering scum in uniform.
Here's two articles on it:
No security charges over Finucane
No police or soldiers will be charged in connection with the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, the Public Prosecution Service has said.
Mr Finucane, 39, was shot dead at his home by loyalist paramilitaries, the Ulster Defence Association, in 1989.
The killing was one of the most controversial of the 30 years of the Troubles in NI due to allegations of security force collusion.
The PPS said insufficient evidence was "critical" in its decision.
Mr Finucane's widow, Geraldine said: "I have been made aware of the decision but have yet to read all the papers."
The "Stevens Three" report published in 2003 stated that rogue elements within the police and army in Northern Ireland helped loyalist paramilitaries to murder Catholics in the late 1980s.
However, in a statement on Monday, the Public Prosecution Service said some of the difficulties in bringing charges included absence of records and the death of potential witnesses.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/nort...and/6237428.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6237428.stm)
No officers to be charged over Finucane murder
Mark Oliver and agencies
Monday June 25, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
No former RUC police officers or soldiers will be charged in connection
with the loyalist murder of solicitor Pat Finucane, despite evidence of
security forces collusion, it was confirmed today.
Loyalist gunmen targeted Finucane, a Catholic who had represented many
senior republicans and a number of IRA men in court.
The 39-year-old was eating a Sunday meal with his wife Geraldine and three
children when two masked Ulster Defence Association (UDA) gunmen broke
down the door of his north Belfast home with sledgehammers in February
1998.
Once inside, the gunmen shot him 14 times before escaping in a stolen taxi.
The murder remains one of the most controversial of Northern Ireland's
Troubles.
A four-year inquiry by former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord
Stevens, which reported back in 2003, found that members of the security
forces colluded in the murder.
It said at least six UDA terrorists involved in the killing were also
either agents of Special Branch or the British army's secretive Force
Research Unit (FRU).
Today, however, Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said
that while a wide range of offences, including murder, had been considered
against a number of individuals, there was not enough evidence to bring
charges. Nine former members of the covert FRU agency, including its
ex-chief Gordon Kerr, were questioned by the Stevens inquiry, as well as
seven police officers and one civilian.
The UDA men who were working for the intelligence services at the time
included: Brian Nelson, who supplied information to FRU; Ken Barrett, who
later admitted shooting Finucane; and William Stobie, an RUC informer
later shot dead by loyalists when they feared he was about to testify
against them.
Barrett, a former Special Branch informer, was jailed for 22 years in 2004
for Finucane's murder. He was released in May last year under the terms of
the Good Friday Agreement, after a ruling by the sentences review
commission, despite opposition by the Northern Ireland secretary, Peter
Hain.
Barrett has described his emotions after killing Finucane, saying: "I lost
no sleep over it. All is fair in love and war. I have to be honest, I
whacked a few people in the past."
The Stevens report said informants and agents were allowed to operate
without effective control and to participate in terrorist crimes. The
former Met chief also said his investigations were wilfully obstructed and
misled.
Today, the PPS assistant director Pamela Atchison said: "Some of the
difficulties [in bringing charges] included an absence of particular
records, potential witnesses who had since died and the inability in
certain instances to identify the role and responsibilities that
individuals played in specific events.
"In addition, the prosecution had to take account of potential abuse of
process arguments by the defence that any trial at this stage would be
unfair."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland...2110996,00.html (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2110996,00.html)
Here's two articles on it:
No security charges over Finucane
No police or soldiers will be charged in connection with the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, the Public Prosecution Service has said.
Mr Finucane, 39, was shot dead at his home by loyalist paramilitaries, the Ulster Defence Association, in 1989.
The killing was one of the most controversial of the 30 years of the Troubles in NI due to allegations of security force collusion.
The PPS said insufficient evidence was "critical" in its decision.
Mr Finucane's widow, Geraldine said: "I have been made aware of the decision but have yet to read all the papers."
The "Stevens Three" report published in 2003 stated that rogue elements within the police and army in Northern Ireland helped loyalist paramilitaries to murder Catholics in the late 1980s.
However, in a statement on Monday, the Public Prosecution Service said some of the difficulties in bringing charges included absence of records and the death of potential witnesses.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/nort...and/6237428.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6237428.stm)
No officers to be charged over Finucane murder
Mark Oliver and agencies
Monday June 25, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
No former RUC police officers or soldiers will be charged in connection
with the loyalist murder of solicitor Pat Finucane, despite evidence of
security forces collusion, it was confirmed today.
Loyalist gunmen targeted Finucane, a Catholic who had represented many
senior republicans and a number of IRA men in court.
The 39-year-old was eating a Sunday meal with his wife Geraldine and three
children when two masked Ulster Defence Association (UDA) gunmen broke
down the door of his north Belfast home with sledgehammers in February
1998.
Once inside, the gunmen shot him 14 times before escaping in a stolen taxi.
The murder remains one of the most controversial of Northern Ireland's
Troubles.
A four-year inquiry by former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord
Stevens, which reported back in 2003, found that members of the security
forces colluded in the murder.
It said at least six UDA terrorists involved in the killing were also
either agents of Special Branch or the British army's secretive Force
Research Unit (FRU).
Today, however, Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said
that while a wide range of offences, including murder, had been considered
against a number of individuals, there was not enough evidence to bring
charges. Nine former members of the covert FRU agency, including its
ex-chief Gordon Kerr, were questioned by the Stevens inquiry, as well as
seven police officers and one civilian.
The UDA men who were working for the intelligence services at the time
included: Brian Nelson, who supplied information to FRU; Ken Barrett, who
later admitted shooting Finucane; and William Stobie, an RUC informer
later shot dead by loyalists when they feared he was about to testify
against them.
Barrett, a former Special Branch informer, was jailed for 22 years in 2004
for Finucane's murder. He was released in May last year under the terms of
the Good Friday Agreement, after a ruling by the sentences review
commission, despite opposition by the Northern Ireland secretary, Peter
Hain.
Barrett has described his emotions after killing Finucane, saying: "I lost
no sleep over it. All is fair in love and war. I have to be honest, I
whacked a few people in the past."
The Stevens report said informants and agents were allowed to operate
without effective control and to participate in terrorist crimes. The
former Met chief also said his investigations were wilfully obstructed and
misled.
Today, the PPS assistant director Pamela Atchison said: "Some of the
difficulties [in bringing charges] included an absence of particular
records, potential witnesses who had since died and the inability in
certain instances to identify the role and responsibilities that
individuals played in specific events.
"In addition, the prosecution had to take account of potential abuse of
process arguments by the defence that any trial at this stage would be
unfair."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland...2110996,00.html (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2110996,00.html)