---

Senior judge to chair Pat Finucane inquiry

The British Government has appointed solicitor and retired Court of Appeal Judge Sir Gary Hickinbottom to chair the public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. 

He currently holds a senior judicial role as President of the Welsh Tribunals. 

Northern Secretary Hilary Benn also named Baroness Nuala O’Loan, who was the North’s first Police Ombudsman from 1999 to 2007, and Francesca Del Mese as assessors to the inquiry. 

He said that both would provide advice to the chair on their relevant expertise regarding the inquiry, while also “giving further assurance about the inquiry’s independence”.

“At the heart of this case lies a family who lost their husband and father in horrific circumstances, and I look forward to meeting the Finucane family in Belfast as soon as possible,” Sir Gary Hickinbottom said. 

Terms of reference 

The inquiry, announced last year, will be set up under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers, including the power to compel the production of documents and to summon witnesses to give evidence on oath. 

The British minister will now consult the chair on the proposed terms of reference for the inquiry. 

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris has welcomed the announcement. 

“This is the final outstanding inquiry from those that were recommended by Judge Cory in 2004, and it is positive that it can now move to beginning its important and substantive work,” he stated. 

Judge Cory carried out a detailed inquiry into the case and found that a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane was required, a move that previous British governments had resisted.