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Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters
A woman walks past a mural to murdered lawyer Pat Finucane on the Fall's Road in West Belfast on Wednesday.
LONDON -- British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday there had been "shocking" levels of state collusion in the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989.
Cameron was quoting from a new report into the killing of Finucane by British lawyer Sir Desmond de Silva, saying that while it did not find that there had been an "over-arching state conspiracy" over the murder, it was still "extremely difficult reading."
Finucane, a Catholic whose clients included members of the anti-British Irish Republican Army (IRA) guerrilla group, was shot dead by pro-British paramilitaries in front of his wife and their three children as they sat down to dinner.
'Attempt to kill': Police in Belfast attacked as flag riots rage on
There have since been long-running allegations of state collusion in the murder, one of the most controversial in 30 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
Speaking in parliament, Cameron said of the report: "It sets out the extent of collusion in areas such as identifying, targeting and murdering Mr. Finucane, supplying a weapon and facilitating its later disappearance and deliberately obstructing subsequent investigations."
He repeated a British government apology to Finucane's relatives but said he would not order a full public inquiry, as the family have been demanding.
Clinton condemns violence, revisits family legacy in trip to Belfast
Finucane's widow, Geraldine, said the report was "a sham... a whitewash... confidence trick," ITV News reported.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband called for a full public inquiry into the murder and said the De Silva report had its limits.
Reuters and ITV News, NBC News' U.K. partner, contributed to this report.
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Yet again the British are opening up to mistakes committed during the troubles
Now Martin McGuiness, the N.Ireland Deputy first Minister and Former IRA Commander step forward and tell the truth of your involvement in murders and other Sinn Fein politicians. It was the IRA and a current Sinn Fein
advisor that KILLED A Catholic Woman (SCHOOL Teacher) the daughter of a magistrate when walking home from mass.
Republicans killed over 2000 people, loyalist over 1000 and the security forces less than 400.
The unionist community want the truth from republican politicians about their atrocities
"Yet again the British are opening up to mistakes committed during the troubles"
Is that what you call it when you are caught red-handed and forced to confess? "Opening up"?
It is not a "mistake" to cover-up a murder that three children witnessed, it is a far greater evil than that.
What he (Cameron) actually means is "Bugger we got caught, killing a terrorist sympathizer"
Its funny because we cheer every time an Al Quada supporter gets his comeuppance.
Not that I object to killing the IRA or any other terrorist (or their supporters) by fair means or foul.
Exactly phil.
IRIGHTI i could have chose my words better - I'm not completely surprised with the findings - evil resides on all sides but if you play with terrorists and routinely defend their actions, the actions of TERRORISTS things like this happen.
One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter. I'm sure by today's standards, we were terrorists in 1776...
Yeah I know right. Like its totally OK to firebomb people just as long as you're doing so as a member of an organized military with mass produced weaponry.
If you make your own bombs though...well, then that's just wrong!!!
Shocking? Hardly. Shocking is UK participation in reckless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is only innocent 'brown people' that got killed there for no good reason.
gw10, you sound like an orangeman to me.
No - afraid not allison.
Good one Phil.
My version would be :"Bugger we got caught killing a terrorist sympathizer, hopefully the populace doesn't start thinking we still do it"
Sounds more like Shiite and Sunni interactions than supposed Christians.
Actually, it sounds exactly like many christian interactions over the centuries.
hambone johnson, the troubles in the north of ireland have nothing to do with religion. "catholic" is what the indigenous irish are called. "protestant" are what the planted brits are called.
I didn't say the troubles had anything to do with religion. I was just commenting on the previous bigoted comment about muslims.
P.S. the troubles do have at least a little to do with religion.
"...shot dead by pro-British paramilitaries in front of his wife and their three children as they sat down to dinner."
what are paramilitaries?
Paramilitaries are the terrorist groups on either side e.g. IRA, UVA, etc.
Civilians, heavily armed and sanctioned by the Catholic Church or Church of England (depending which side your on)
Actually they are all thugs using a 90 year old issue to rob, murder and riot.
LOL...the IRA lads are not "terrorists" mate....love the rhetoric when someone takes a stand for their beliefs.....labels....fook off!This is NOT a religious war gents...but one for Nationalism!
Pat the IRA are the worst "terrorists" they put us through thirty years of mass murder. Everything else was a reaction to these devils.
simon, paramilitaries are protestant terrorists. they get a nicer sounding name.
Incorrect allison
Paramilitaries in N.I are mostly on Ceasefire but are essentially republican and loyalist armed groups created supposedly to defend their communities and promote there ideals through violent means. In reality they are thugs who often terrorise their own communities through fear and intimidation and today still carryout punishment beatings eg kneecapping on members of their own community who fall out of line.
There have been many different paramilitaries in N.I some tiny, some larger. Most created from fractioning of larger groups.
Some of the well know republican paramilitaries of the troubles and later factions
But when people refer to the IRA in the troubles it is usually the PIRA, provisional IRA who killed around 1800 people.
On the loyalist side you had mainly the;
Add them altogether and the PIRA alone still killed 800 more
you would make great tea partier in the USA gw10. you are nothing but a pathetic orangeman who sees the end of his world coming and is in complete denial. god i love baiting you.
your not baiting me and I'm not an orangeman allison. I am very, very content. Just like updating those that are uninformed.
You think you are baiting me?
That says alot about you. Here there is potential violence around such an issue. You don't care because you don't know anything about N.I.
You are the Pathetic one.
Where are you from?
warren: Protestant policemen.
mathuin: spot on!
Asking each side to open up now is just prolonging the "troubles." There are many on both sides in Belfast that have had no purpose since the peace signing. They are longing for something to fight about again. Don't give it to them.
...After hundreds of years of strife... and recent decades of guerilla war... Ireland has settled into... if not peace, at least the absence of war. Nobody was clean.
...Nobody will ever forget... but they must forgive. If not, they will be like Yugoslavia... Forty years of peace counting for nothing... the old men crying out for vengence for what was done in 1942 (or 1342) and plunging into another blood bath and sickening cruelty and barbarism.
...The U.S. is far from perfect, but we learned how to move on... Kansas and Missouri do not launch vengence raids against each other for what was done in the Civil War.
...Other countries... Sicily, Lebanon, the Balkans... and Afghanistan where feuds go back to before the time of Alexander the Great... are trapped in endless cycles of violence and revenge. A curse upon any... of any faction... in Ireland who would start the nightmare again...
Thx for the info, it makes sense.
both sides commited terrible terrible terrible deeds ... move on to a long lasting peace, and give back N.Ireland to the Irish people.
OK: following that logic; is the USA going to give Alaska back to Russia? Even though nobody either here or in Alaska want it. Same scenario.
And what about the mainland USA, who do you return that to
Fool
No Phil, not the same. Alaska was PURCHASED from Russia, not occupied and "annexed." Please read a history book.
Davelle Russia was smart enough to know Alaska was on the wrong side of the bearing sea and they didn't need anymore land. Russia is a massive country.
Davelle: I lost both family members and friend to the IRA (trash can bomb in a mall Manchester & fellow servicemen)
I dont give a $#iT whether Alaska was purchased or not, the principal of returning part of a country to another country when the resident people do not want it is abhorrent especially after (unlike Alaska) several hundreds of years have passed.
Following you nit picky statement, We took Texas, New Mexico, Nevada & California from the Mexicans, they want it back, are we going to give these states away?
And Barry the Brit: You should be ashamed of yourself. I assume you live here in the USA (if not your an even bigger fool commenting on this) so if you don't like it then go back to that little piss poor island off the coast of Europe.
I also was a subject (some say subjected) of the crown and am now a proud American citizen.
That is a out right lie from the PM or he has had his head up his ass. Protestant turds