Dr. Stephen Farry:

I want to recognise the way in which John Finucane set out the case this morning and in so doing, to pay tribute to his entire family for the dignity with which they have pursued justice in this case over the past 31 years.

It is important that this is not framed as a nationalist issue. This is an issue that affects everybody across these islands. It is an issue pertaining to the rule of law, human rights and due process. It is important they are understood as being building blocks of all societies and that they are particularly relevant to how we can move forward collectively, as a set of islands, over the coming years.

On the Supreme Court ruling in February 2019, while it was not prescriptive around a public inquiry, it is our belief that it is the only logical conclusion one can derive from what was said. We believe that the UK Government has an obligation to follow through in that regard, and we want to see the Secretaries of State making this clear between now and the deadline of Monday next week.

Some people have made comments as to why there would be a public inquiry in this case and not other cases. I am very conscious of the number of victims in the violence we have seen over the past decades. It is worth stressing again that it is the nature of the issues at stake, and the context of this killing, that make it so pertinent that the issues are fully tested in a public inquiry, that the murder of Pat Finucane is properly acknowledged, and that the underlying context behind it is fully exposed. This is fundamental to ensuring that we have a just and reconciled society going forward. As with other speakers, I must stress the importance of the Stormont House Agreement being implemented and the concern we share around the default we have seen from the UK Government in that regard over the past months.