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APRIL 2003
STEVENS 3
On 17th April, Sir John Stevens, Commissioner of
the Metropolitan (London ) Police Service, published a brief summary of his
third investigation into collusion in Northern Ireland.
This investigation was not in contemplation until British Irish
rights watch delivered a report, Deadly Intelligence, to the
British and Irish governments on the tenth anniversary of Belfast lawyer Patrick
Finucane’s death in February 1999. The
report set out everything we knew about the roles of military intelligence [the
Force Research Unit or FRU], the police [Special Branch] and the secret
intelligence service [MI5] in the murders of Patrick Finucane and several
others, and about collusion between agents of the state and paramilitaries.
We pointed out that the British government need only consult its own
files in order to ascertain whether or not BIRW’s allegations were true, and
if they were accurate then a public inquiry would be essential. The government has never refuted BIRW’s allegations, many
of which have been substantiated by the Stevens 3 report.
However, instead of establishing a public inquiry, the government chose
to ask Stevens to investigate for a third time.
Our response to his summary report is available on our website.
Philip Stephens,
previewing the much-leaked Stevens report, wrote in the Financial Times
of 7th April:
“His conclusions, and there is no exaggeration here, are horrifying. Sir John says the undercover Force Research Unit (FRU), which reported directly to the senior British military commander in the province, colluded systematically with loyalist terrorists in the murder of republican sympathisers. The FRU, formally tasked to save lives, instead gave loyalists all the intelligence they needed for their brutal murder spree. At one point the inquiry interviewed 120 loyalist paramilitaries. It found that 108 of them were agents of the state.
Just as appalling was the subsequent conspiracy
among parts of the military establishment to thwart the Stevens inquiry,
including, at one point, an arson attack on its headquarters.
Sir John has identified more than a dozen former military officers he
wants to see sent to jail for a very long time.
For reasons beyond comprehension, at least one of these remains in post
in one of Britain's overseas embassies. If
Mr Blair is really serious about peace in Northern Ireland, justice needs to be
done, and seen to be done.”
The Financial
Times is hardly a radical newspaper, and BIRW has never briefed the
journalist who reached these conclusions. Perhaps
Mr Blair will listen to them.
BRIAN NELSON
Just a week before Stevens 3 went public, FRU agent Brian Nelson died. He played a central role in Patrick Finucane’s and many other murders. Like Billy Stobie, who supplied the weapons and was himself murdered in 2001, Nelson would have been a key witness at a public inquiry. Time has certainly been on the government’s side. Not only have these two key witnesses died, but the gun used to kill Patrick Finucane has been altered by the army and is no evidential value; the gunman Ken Barratt’s taped confession has been “lost”; and he and other witnesses are now in fear of their lives. Although it is widely believed that the government gave Brian Nelson a new identity and financial support in return for his silence, the Ministry of Defence are reported as saying they have no knowledge of him. They also say that he remained in the army until 1990, when he was arrested by Stevens 3, and a year after Patrick Finucane was murdered. We are seeking clarification of whether Brian Nelson was more than a mere freelance paid by the army, but in fact a serving soldier throughout his nefarious career.
JUDGE CORY
According to a recent Northern Ireland press release, Judge Cory, the Canadian judge who is also looking into collusion in another behind-closed-doors investigation, has finished his work on the cases of Patrick Finucane, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright. He will publish his report on all six cases in October this year. No-one is in any doubt that he will recommend a public inquiry into the Finucane case at the very least. In the meantime, the clamour has begun to denigrate public inquiries. Many respected commentators have expressed legitimate concerns about the shortcomings of public inquiries. Others whose motives are less pure are still hoping to suppress the truth about collusion. The fact remains that, however imperfect public inquiries may be, they are the only mechanism available that offer the remotest prospect of an effective investigation into these matters in accordance with international human rights law and standards. To deprive the Finucanes and all the other victims of access to such an investigation would add insult to injury.
UK CRITICISED BY UN ONCE AGAIN
Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, delivered his final report to the Commission on Human Rights at the beginning of this month, in Geneva, where I met him to brief him on recent developments. He told the Commission:
“I regret to note that despite my repeated calls for a public judicial inquiry into the murders of Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson in Northern Ireland the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland has not done so save to invite Mr Justice Peter Cory to look into these and other murder investigations to determine whether there should be a public judicial inquiry. My concern in these two murders was, and still remains, over whether there was State Security forces collusion in them. Patrick Finucane was murdered in February 1989. Rosemary Nelson was murdered in March 1999. The longer such inquiry is delayed the greater the likelihood that more evidence will be lost. I remind the Government of the adage ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.”
COLIN WORTON
Colin Worton is a former soldier who made a false confession to the murder of a Catholic, Adrian Carroll, in 1983. The case against him was dismissed because the confession had been coerced from him by officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). He spent two and a half years on remand in prison for a crime he did not commit and has never had an opportunity to properly clear his name. BIRW has produced a report about his case, which is available on our website. As always when there is a miscarriage of justice, both the person who is falsely accused and the relatives of the unfortunate victim suffer a grave injustice.
PLASTIC BULLETS
We welcome the government’s announcement on 9th April that, provided a suitable alternative can be found, plastic bullets will no longer be used in Northern Ireland after the end of this year. The difficulty lies in finding an acceptable alternative. We have already expressed our concerns to the government about the use of CS spray and some of the more experimental “less lethal” weapons, such as tasers, which administer large electric shocks. The research into alternatives seems to us to be too closely focussed on the technology, with too little emphasis on training and strategies for avoiding the use of force.
MEETING WITH THE CHIEF CONSTABLE
On 1st April I met Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of the PSNI. A wide range of issues was discussed. I welcome his willingness to enter into dialogue with the NGOs.
POLICE KILL MAN
Neil McConville, aged 21, was shot dead by police officers on the evening of 29th April after his car apparently failed to stop when ordered to do so. A second man was wounded, and a police officer was injured when the car struck him. This is the first fatal shooting by police in Northern Ireland since Pearse Jordan was killed in 1992. Since then, a system has been put in place which means that the Police Ombudsman is automatically called in to investigate. News is still emerging about the incident, which we will continue to monitor.
Jane Winter,
Director,
30th April 2003.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
