Mr. Raymond McCord:

I thank Mr. Finucane. I liked the bit about north Belfast. Legally, I would like to see the British Government held to account. These proposals will ensure it will never be held accountable. These proposals for me are to cover up the British Government's involvement in murders during the Troubles. They are to cover up the British Government's agents, both loyalists and republicans, and murders by state forces, be it Ballymurphy, Blood Sunday or the Shankill Road where people were shot dead by paratroopers as well. The only way these proposals relate to injustice is to stop justice. For me, it has been a fight. It is 24 or 25 years this year since young Raymond was murdered. One sees oneself in the courts, and Michael and Cathy are the same. We go into the courts and expect the case to go ahead. The judge gives instructions for a timescale and we are given four weeks to produce documents or whatever it is. The state ignores it time and again. If some man or woman appears in court and the judge says come back in a month's time and he or she does not come back, a warrant is issued for his or her arrest. That person is asked to produce documents to defend himself or herself in that period of time. The judge will take a case and go ahead because there is no excuse; that person had time to do it.

When it comes to victims, however, it is completely different. It is like black and white. All I see is the state doing everything it can, legally and illegally, because we class it as illegal when it is stopping justice and hindering the courts. It talks about national security. We are in the process at the minute of looking for documentation. How does somebody being convicted of the murder of my son, Cathy's nephew or Michael's father-in-law and brother affect the national security of the UK? We want to hear the answer to that from the British Government. The British Government is not going to fall down if the state agents who were proved, and accepted by that British Government, to have murdered my son are convicted. The UK Government, whether a Labour Party or a Conservative Party Government, is not going to collapse.

Mr. Finucane made a point too about the ombudsman. The ombudsman's report came out in 2007. The British Government accepted it as did the chief constable and Secretary of State. All these years later, not one policeman has been arrested. It stated the police colluded in the murder of Raymond McCord Jnr. and in other cases in the report and yet no policeman has been arrested and charged. We fought with the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland with our solicitor, Mr. Paul Farrell.

We met it and it said there was not enough evidence. If there was not enough evidence, why did the British Government accept there was collusion with his handlers and then charge the handlers? I would like to see the committee sitting here today and the Irish Government become more involved in the case and be more vocal.