Tony Blair has promised to consider ordering a judicial review into the murder of Belfast Solicitor Pat Finucane who was gunned down in front of his wife and family 11 years ago. The family of the murdered Belfast solicitor met the British Prime Minister at earlier today to demand an independent inquiry into his killing. Mr Finucane's widow, Geraldine, spent more than an hour at Downing Street discussing the circumstances surrounding her husband's death including the allegations of collusion by the security forces. Mr Finucane was shot dead by Loyalists in front of his wife and three children outside his North Belfast home in 1989. Geraldine Finucane said that Mr Blair had a moral duty to see that justice was done.
Mr Finucane's brother, Martin, also said that Mr Blair had a moral responsibility to the family because evidence had emerged to suggest that British military intelligence and the RUC were complicit in the murder. Mr Finucane's son, John, said that the murder of his father goes beyond the individual who pulled the trigger and includes the darker forces behind the killing and the subsequent cover up which exists to this day. A self-confessed police informer, William Stobie, has been accused of aiding and abetting the killing.
The meeting between the Finucane family and Tony Blair was organised by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, following a meeting between himself and the family at Government Buildings in February of this year. The Irish Government has already fully endorsed the family's demand for a full independent judicial inquiry. The Finucane family were joined in London today by a number of human rights leaders.
