Attwood on the Inquiries Bill

Ineresting comment from the SDLP yesterday on the British Government’s decision to press ahead with Inquiries Bill:

ATTWOOD: BRITISH INTENT ON FINUCANE COVER-UP

SDLP Policing Spokesperson Alex Attwood said the British government has signalled the lengths it will go to in preventing the truth emerging about the murder of Pat Finucane.

He said: “It is no surprise that the British government will force through its Inquiries Bill. A strategic decision has been taken by Downing Street that the truth about the murder of Pat Finucane and others will not be exposed. The Inquiries Bill is their means of doing so.

“The SDLP has received a copy of a British government response to the Irish government raising the Finucane case in the United Nations general debate on human rights on April 1st. Referring to the conduct of an inquiry into the Finucane murder, the British government stated through its amassdador, Nick Thorne: ‘A large proportion will probably be in private’.

“This is proof positive of British plans. Even in the last few days, the SDLP has contacted the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, urging that they block the Inquiries Bill at the eleventh hour. These parties should not collude in this transparent government effort to cover their tracks. The SDLP will not concede ground on the Finucane case.”