The family of the murdered Catholic solicitor Patrick Finucane today held a first-ever meeting with the Rev Ian Paisley, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party.
They hope to get his help in their campaign to force the Government to drop plans to hold a public inquiry into Mr Finucane’s murder under the controversial Inquiries Act which was rushed through Parliament last year.
The Finucane family, and many human rights campaigners, believe that the Act gives the Government powers to withhold sensitive information and to censor a final inquiry report before publication.
Mr Finucane’s widow, Geraldine, speaking after an hour-long meeting at Stormont, said: “We had a very good meeting with Dr Paisley. It was very open and he made it very clear that he was there to hear what we had to say. Indeed we discovered by the end of the meeting that we had a lot in common.”
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Mrs Finucane declined to say whether the DUP leader was ready to back her against Government, and said he would be making no comment himself at the moment.
However, Mrs Finucane, who has been meeting political and Church leaders in Belfast, London and Dublin in recent weeks, said: “I certainly would not be having a meeting with anyone unless I thought they could help.”
The meeting took place the day after the 17th anniversary of the murder of Mr Finucane. A solicitor who defended several high profile republicans, he was shot dead in front of his family by loyalist gunmen at his north Belfast home. Some element of collusion by the security forces in the killing has long been suspected.
A public inquiry into the Finucane murder and several other killings - those of Robert Hamill, from Portadown, Rosemary Nelson, a solicitor from Co Armagh, and Billy Wright, the LVF leader - was recommended in 2004 by Canadian judge Peter Cory, after an inquiry into murders where there were claims of collusion.
An interim police report by the former Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens found that the security forces had colluded in Mr Finucane’s murder.
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Mrs Finucane and her sons, Michael and John, have long campaigned for a full public inquiry, but have told the Government that they will not co-operate with the probe if it is set up under the terms of the Inquiries Act.
Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told them recently that it was an inquiry under the Act or nothing.
Despite Mr Hain’s hard line, the family continues in its campaign for an inquiry which they say would be more likely to uncover the truth. Judge Cory, Lord Saville, who conducted the Bloody Sunday inquiry, and Bertie Ahern, the Irish Premier, both support their cause.
David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent of The Times, said that the meeting was clearly a reflection of the fact that the DUP was now the main unionist party. “If and when the power-sharing executive is restored, the Rev Ian Paisley would be First Minister, so from the Finucanes’ point of view, it’s right that they would share with him their concerns,” Sharrock said.
He added: “The DUP have so far reserved their position on this issue of the Inquiries Act - today was just a listening exercise - but I don’t think anyone would be surprised if they ended up backing Peter Hain’s position.”