Detective who investigated Finucane murder says Special Branch hid role

The investigation into the murder of the Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane failed to find his murderers because of a cover-up by the RUC Special Branch, the senior detective on the case claimed last night.

Breaking his silence about the investigation, Alan Simpson, a former CID detective superintendent, revealed that Special Branch failed to pass on vital information as he led the Royal Ulster Constabulary's inquiry into the murder.

He said: "I'm pretty certain we could have brought the investigation to a successful conclusion, and we could have eventually brought people to court and had a conviction [if Special Branch had told him that one of its agents had been involved]".

Mr Simpson, who received 37 commendations during his RUC career, was speaking to a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight programme presented by Kevin Magee. He is now retired and living in France.

His comments in effect confirm many of the persistent allegations that Special Branch – and possibly other intelligence elements – concealed vital evidence in relation to the 1989 Finucane murder.

It had previously been established that William Stobie, a member of the Ulster Defence Association who supplied the assassins with their weapons, had been a Special Branch agent. Stobie was shot dead by the UDA last December. A month earlier he had walked free from court after a charge of murdering Mr Finucane collapsed.

He had been charged as part of an inquiry into alleged collusion between the security forces and loyalist assassination squads. UDA sources claimed police had in effect encouraged them to attack him.

Mr Simpson said: "Had I know about Stobie I could have set the murder investigation on a proper course from a very early stage, but we lost the opportunity, we lost the advantage."

The inquiry, headed by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, is expected to report soon.

In his Spotlight interview, Mr Simpson praised the Special Branch, describing it as doing an excellent job in coping with threats to many lives. But he said the Branch did not tell him the man who supplied the murder weapons was one of its agents.

He said: "I found out many years later from colleagues whom I still kept in touch with, and from the press.

"I feel badly let down, really. It was an important murder investigation, a controversial murder, and I really do feel let down and feel that the whole situation could have been a whole lot different with hindsight now.

"I would describe it as 'one hand tied behind my back'. I had a team of excellent detectives moving about north Belfast trying to pick up leads when other policemen already had leads we could have used."

In addition to the long-awaited Stevens report, a Canadian judge has been asked to review the facts in the Finucane case and a number of other disputed killings, and recommend whether further inquiries should be set up.

The Finucane killing has always been regarded as one of the most mysterious and controversial of the Troubles. A thousand legal figures from all over the world are among those who have called for a public inquiry.