MI5 'knew of plot to kill Finucane'

MI5, army intelligence and Special Branch all knew of loyalist plots to kill Pat Finucane, the Belfast lawyer, but failed either to warn him or prevent his murder, an independent report concluded yesterday.

MI5, army intelligence and Special Branch all knew of loyalist plots to kill Pat Finucane, the Belfast lawyer, but failed either to warn him or prevent his murder, an independent report concluded yesterday.

Four new public inquiries were announced by the Government yesterday into four killings in the province's "dirty war" following the publication of separate reports into the deaths by a retired Canadian judge, Peter Cory. Three will begin this year but the investigation into the 1989 Finucane case will be delayed until after the trial of a Belfast man who is charged with his murder.

The announcement of the inquiries was welcomed by the families of three people who died in controversial circumstances - Robert Hamill, who was killed by loyalists, loyalist leader Billy Wright and human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson.

But the outcome was described as very disappointing by Mr Finucane's widow Geraldine, who accused the authorities of continuing to cover up with truth about her husband's death with "delaying tactics."

Her complaints were echoed by, Brian Cowan, the Irish foreign minister, who said he was very disappointed by the timing.

The new inquiries will have the same powers as the long-running investigation into Bloody Sunday, though the authorities will seek to restrict their duration and cost.

The recommendations for the new inquiries were attacked by David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader, who accused Judge Cory of of displaying "astonishing naivety."

The Finucane report provided a wealth of damning detail on the operations of the intelligence services, with the judge saying MI5, the army and the police had all separately been told by agents that loyalists were targeting Pat Finucane.

The judge found that MI5 had been told by one of its agents that the loyalist Ulster Defence Association was keen to kill Mr Finucane. A meeting between MI5 and Special Branch concluded the threat was "very real and imminent", but decided no action would be taken because intervention would compromise the security of the agent.

Four years later, when a similar report was received, the same decision was made.

Two months before the Finucane assassination in 1989, an MI5 agent reported that UDA leaders had discussed killing three solicitors, one of whom was identified as Mr Finucane. The judge noted: "Once again, no action was taken to warn Patrick Finucane or to intervene in any way."

Judge Cory was also critical of the RUC Special Branch, which he said failed in its duty, concentratingon the IRA and paying little attention to loyalists. He concluded: "The documents indicate that in some instances Special Branch failed to take any steps to prevent actual or planned attacks on persons targeted by Loyalist terrorist groups.

"UDA threats appear to have been ignored. This discrepancy in the treatment of IRA and UDA targets may be indicative of a selective, perhaps subconscious, bias on the part of the Special Branch. It may well be that only a portion of the population was receiving effective protection against the threat of terrorist violence."

The judge said army intelligence appeared to tolerate the commission of crimes by its agents, "perhaps perceiving this to be a necessary evil in the fight against terrorism."

One agent, he concluded, often requested and received information from his handlers. He commented: "They considered the normal rules - including the rule of law - to be suspended and the gathering of intelligence to be an end that was capable of justifying questionable means."