Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Following a meeting with Mr. Michael Finucane last January, I wrote to Mr. Peter Cory. I set out the purpose of that. I especially want to advert to one paragraph which states: "In the present circumstances, it strikes me that it would be of particular assistance to all concerned if we had the benefit of your own assessment as to whether the Bill published by the British Government satisfies the test set out by you in your report." In the event, although Mr. Cory was initially reluctant to comment until the legislation had been finalised, he made public his position last week.

At this stage, the Bill has passed the House of Lords and is before the House of Commons. Mr. Cory said that any attempt by Britain to limit the scope of the inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane would make an independent investigation "impossible". He further stated: "I don't know how any self-respecting Canadian judge would be part of it in light of the restrictions on independence it would impose." He confirmed the initial point he made in his report. He stated: "There was only one standard for a public inquiry at the time of the Weston Park accord." That Bill is also opposed by senior members of the British judiciary, including the head of the Bloody Sunday inquiry, Lord Saville, and the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf.

Mr. Mitchell Reiss, the US envoy to Northern Ireland, has expressed concern that the new legislation could potentially reduce the independence and transparency of an investigation into the murder. He stated:

Whatever legislative instrument is used, my concern is that the inquiry has the necessary legal powers to establish the truth of what happened in the Finucane case and that the process has the confidence of the people in Northern Ireland. The chair and other members of the inquiry should be fully satisfied that the terms of reference will provide them with the authority necessary to establish the truth and to examine thoroughly the allegations of collusion highlighted by Judge Cory.

This House must unite in making the same point that has been repeated by the Finucane family, Mr. Peter Cory, republican and Nationalist parties in the North, senior British judges, the Bush Administration and other leading Irish American politicians. It is not too late for the British Government to rethink its position on this issue and to live up to the commitments it made at Weston Park.

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