The British government will launch an investigation into the killing of Finucane during the unrest in Northern Ireland

On September 11, 2024, news from London. The British government announced on Wednesday that it will conduct a public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. In 1989, lawyer Finucane was shot dead at his home in Belfast by the Protestant militia group Ulster Defence Association. His death became one of the highly conspicuous killings during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. In that violent conflict that lasted thirty years, more than 3,500 people lost their lives unfortunately.

A series of investigations had reached the conclusion that the British government was complicit in this murder. For decades, Finucane's widow and children have been campaigning for an independent public inquiry to determine the extent of the security forces' involvement. Successive British governments had promised but all refused to launch an investigation. However, the centre-left Labour government elected in July changed its stance. Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said he would appoint an inquiry chairperson "as soon as possible".

Benn told MPs in the House of Commons: "The obvious fact is that for twenty years, the government's promise to investigate the death of Mr. Finucane has still not been fulfilled. It is for this particular reason that I have decided to conduct an independent inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane." The victim's son, John Finucane, a member of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin, welcomed the inquiry and wrote on social networks: "After 35 years of cover-up, it is time to seek the truth."

The results of this inquiry may make the British government uneasy. Over the years, several investigations have accumulated more and more evidence indicating that the British army and police have planted agents and recruited informants in Northern Ireland paramilitary organizations, and some people have committed serious crimes while working for the country. The 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement largely ended the violence in Northern Ireland, but twenty-five years on, the pain is still deep for those who have lost loved ones at the hands of the Irish Republican Army, British loyalist militias, and the British army.