US lawmakers send bipartisan letter to UK PM urging independent, judicial investigation into Finucane murder

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The United Kingdom must end years of delay and establish an independent inquiry into collusion in the 1989 murder of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who with Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) sent a bipartisan letter signed by 24 members of the U.S. Congress to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

     “Pat Finucane was a courageous defense attorney, a loving father and husband, gunned down because of his commitment to human rights and the rule of law,” said Smith, who has chaired 17 congressional hearings on human rights and the peace process in the north of Ireland—10 of which featured Finucane’s surviving children and/or his wife Geraldine who was injured in the assassination. “The British government’s deliberate decision not to proceed with an independent, judicial inquiry into the Finucane murder—an unfulfilled commitment of the peace process—is a public breach of faith. It resonates throughout Northern Ireland and among international lawmakers and human rights observers, undercutting the good the British government has done and its commitment to justice, truth and reconciliation.”

Said Neil, “As chairman of the bipartisan Friends of Ireland Caucus in the United State Congress, I once again join my colleagues calling on the British government to hold a public inquiry into the killing of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane. I continue to believe the Finucane family has a right to truth and justice and that is why I have worked closely with them on this case on both sides of the Atlantic for more than three decades. They deserve to know what happened in February of 1989 and the level of state collusion into the murder of their husband and father. This letter is calling on the British government to be accountable.”

The letter read, in part, “We write to urge you to establish an independent public inquiry into state collusion in the murder of human rights attorney Patrick Finucane at his home in Belfast in front of his wife and children on February 12, 1989. Recent news reports state that, to comply with court orders, a decision will be made by November 30^th.  Establishing the independent judicial inquiry is in keeping with your government’s commitments throughout the peace process and the public interest.”  Click here to read the letter.

In 2007, Smith and Neal also teamed up to introduce a House resolution Smith authored, H.Con.Res.20, “Calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Patrick Finucane.” The resolution, authored by Smith, passed 364-34 in the House, and unanimously in the Senate.

     “We are once again urging our friends in the British government to do what’s right and we stand in solidarity with the Finucane family which has long sought the truth in the case and accountability for those responsible for this crime,” said Smith who has had four resolutions pass the House urging the British to conduct the independent inquiry: 1999, 2002, 2006 and 2007.