The son of murdered Belfast solicitor, Pat Finucane, said he is not surprised by reports that the Stevens Inquiry has found that collusion between the northern security forces and loyalist paramilitaries continued unchecked for years.
The Taoiseach has said that there had always been fears of collusion in some areas being examined by the Stevens Inquiry. Speaking at the British-Irish Council in Jersey, Mr Ahern added, however, that we would have to wait for the report to be published.
The inquiry by London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, was set up three years ago to investigate Pat Finucane's murder.
Thirteen years ago in Belfast, Loyalist gunmen broke into the Antrim Road home of Pat Finucane, and used 14 bullets to kill him in front of his wife and children. Nobody has ever been convicted of the murder.
The inquiry into the killing and related matters by Sir John Stevens is due to issue its report within weeks. But leaked details of the investigation's conclusions are in today's Guardian and Irish Times and are certain to cause controversy.
The report will outline how collusion between the security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries went unchecked for years. Sir John Stevens is expected to recommend charges against several police and army officers and to outline proposals for wholesale reform, including major changes to the Special Branch section.
It is highly significant that day to day responsibility for the Stevens Inquiry fell to Hugh Orde, who is to take over as Chief Constable of the North's police service. After he was appointed, Mr Orde indicated his intention to change the North's policing culture. He made positive references to the Patten Report, the Ombudsman's office, and the Policing Board.
The Stevens Inquiry leaks are certain to fuel tensions between competing interests, a situation that could destabilise the peace process. Yesterday, in the North, the BBC was briefed by unnamed security sources that the IRA had sanctioned the testing of rockets in Colombia. This led to calls from leading Unionists for Sinn Féin to be suspended from the North's Executive.
