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Tom
Sophonow
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Mr. Justice
Peter Cory
Canadian judge hailed
in U.K. for defying Blair
By KIRK MAKIN, Globe
and Mail JUSTICE REPORTER, Feb. 4, 2004
A retired Canadian judge has
unleashed a major controversy in the United Kingdom by going
over the head of the British government to release findings of
his inquiry into possible state collusion in four killings in
Ireland.
Former Supreme Court of Canada
justice Peter Cory telephoned the families of the four victims
recently in frustration at Prime Minister Tony Blair's refusal
to keep his commitment to release the findings of the 18-month
inquiry.
Judge Cory informed the families
that he had found sufficient evidence of state collusion in the
killings to warrant a full public inquiry in each case -- an
extraordinary move that the British media are calling a humiliating,
direct challenge to Mr. Blair.
"I have made noises that
I considered appropriate at this time, and I suppose there may
come a time when I make more noise," Judge Cory said yesterday,
in his first full interview since delivering his report in October.
"There will come a time
when, perhaps, I will say there has been a breach of their undertaking
to me and -- more importantly -- to the families of the victims."
Judge Cory, who is known in
Canadian legal circles as being forthright, ethical and consummately
fair, said he sent an ultimatum to the government early this
year.
"I said that in light
of media reports that were increasing the concerns of the families,
in the name of humanity, couldn't they simply make the bottom
line public? I said that at this stage, I would have no alternative
but to make it public if they didn't. And I did."
The 78-year-old judge is being
widely hailed in Britain as a courageous figure who refused to
stand by while the Blair government defied his inquiry's terms
of reference by suppressing the report. Judge Cory was asked
in 2002 to look into eight killings in which Irish security forces
and the British security forces were accused of collusion. The
findings on the Irish security forces have been released.
"I don't think the significance
and magnitude of what he did has been sufficiently understood,"
said Michael Finucane, the son of one of the victims. "It
was an absolutely astounding thing to do. The courage of that
man, in the face of the British government trying to intimidate
and shut him up, really staggers the imagination."
Mr. Finucane's father, Pat,
was a lawyer who successfully represented many Irish Republican
Army members. Three masked men shot him in front of his horrified
family in 1987.
"My family has had many
meetings over the years with British officials, including Prime
Minister Blair," Mr. Finucane said. "Not one of them
ever apologized. They just sat behind their desk, surrounded
by grey-suited mandarins, and spun a political line, playing
their bent and crooked games.
"It is particularly insensitive
and upsetting that those of us most directly affected are still
waiting for a scintilla of information. Judge Cory is the only
person we had dealt with in 15 years who was absolutely straight
and up front. . . . My family cannot thank him enough."
The Cory inquiry emerged out
of peace negotiations in 2001 between the British and Irish governments
and a broad spectrum of political parties. All sides agreed that
the mild-mannered judge would delve into the eight cases, which
were so controversial they stood in the way of a peace agreement.
Four of the killings were committed
by the IRA and allegedly involved collusion by Irish security
forces. Two of the victims were Northern Ireland Chief Justice
Maurice Gibson and Lady Cecily Gibson, murdered in 1987. The
other two -- Royal Ulster Constabulary Chief Superintendent Harry
Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan -- were killed in
1989.
The British Army and security
forces were suspected of collusion in the other four cases. Besides
Mr. Finucane, they involved:
Loyalist Volunteer Force leader
Billy Wright, slain in the Maze prison in 1997. Many believe
authorities could have prevented his death;
Rosemary Nelson, a lawyer killed
in a bomb attack in 1999;
Robert Hamill, a Catholic father
of two killed by a loyalist mob in Portadown in 1997.
"It was a dirty job, but
I did it because I felt it would help the peace process,"
Judge Cory said.
The Irish government received
Judge Cory's findings on the killings in which the Irish forces
were accused of collusion at the same time the report to the
British government was delivered. The Irish findings called for
a full public inquiry into the Breen and Buchanan killings, which
the Irish government agreed to. The British government refused
to follow suit.
It based its refusal on the
complexity of the cases and a fear that premature publicity could
compromise continuing probes and trials.
Mr. Finucane said these are
obvious stall tactics that have filled the families with fear
the report is being edited and important documents are being
destroyed before Mr. Blair fulfills his obligation to follow
the Cory recommendations.
The affair is bound to heat
up still more on March 1, when an Irish judge will review the
British refusal to release the report.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia
Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Cory Report: The
moment of truth
-from Sunday Life, 5 October
2003
JUDGE Peter Cory will deliver
his eagerly awaited report on alleged security force collusion
in six controversial murder cases, on Tuesday. But, the families
of victims, and the public, will have to wait until December
to read the reports - after they have been studied and censored
by the British and Irish Governments.
Sunday Life has been reliably
informed that Judge Cory's £1.6m collusion inquiry has
uncovered important new information, which has never been made
public before.
The retired Canadian judge
was tasked with probing alleged British or Irish security force
collusion, in six high-profile cases, including the murders of
solicitors Rosemary Nelson and Pat Finucane , and LVF leader
Billy Wright. Both governments have pledged to comply, if he
recommends Bloody Sunday-style public inquires, into any of the
killings. Judge Cory will present reports on four cases to the
Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, in London, on Tuesday.
Later, on the same day, he
will travel to Dublin, where he will hand over two reports -
examining alleged Garda collusion with the [P]IRA - to Irish
premier Bertie Ahern. The governments will then have five weeks
to consider the content of their respective reports.
An NIO source said each
government had nominated their respective Attorney Generals to
study the reports. Both men have the power to black out - or
delete - detailed information from the reports, on security grounds.
Individual names can also be removed, in order to protect the
lives of those identified in the reports.
The Attorney Generals will
also consider how publication of the reports could affect any
ongoing court cases, or police investigations. But, it is understood
the published reports will show where any alterations, or edited
text, have been made. Judge Cory will return to London on November
10, to hear the Government's comments, and proof read the final
reports, before they go to the printers. In early December, the
reports will be placed before the respective parliaments in London
and Dublin for approval, prior to publication later that month.
All six reports will be published
on the same day. It is understood that the families directly
affected by the reports, will be given advance notification before
publication. And, the NIO is believed to favour the families
receiving a copy of their respective report, prior to publication,
in order to prepare for the media onslaught, which will inevitably
follow the official publication of the Cory Report. But, the
NIO source warned there was a possibility that the families would
only receive an oral briefing, prior to publication.
Sources in Dublin said that,
from the outset of his investigations last year, Judge Cory had
laid down three conditions to the British and Irish authorities:
That his reports must be made public. Both governments must give
a commitment, in advance, to comply with his final recommendations.
Full co-operation of both governments in all matters. It is understood
Judge Cory believes the pre-conditions have been - or will be
- fully honoured.
Sunday Life has been told each
report will start with a clear-cut definition of what is meant
by collusion, both active and passive. In other words, there
could be collusion if state officials failed to act upon intelligence
about a murder plot. The Dublin source said each of the six reports
would contain detailed and precise reasons why a public inquiry
had, or had not, been recommended. The source added Judge Cory
believed that, where a public inquiry was recommended, it should
take place quickly.
Lord and Lady
Gibson
THE senior judge and his wife
were killed by a 500lb IRA bomb near Killeen, on the main Newry
to Dublin Road, in April 1987. The attack happened just after
the Gibsons, who were returning from holiday, had left their
Garda escort, to travel into Northern Ireland. Before the judge
and his wife picked up their RUC escort, the IRA bomb exploded,
killing them both. Some unionists have alleged that the responsibility
lay with an IRA mole within the Garda.
Billy Wright
THE LVF leader was shot dead
by INLA gunmen inside the Maze prison, on December 27 1997.
Wright was shot as he sat in
a prison van, in the forecourt of H-Block 6. Three INLA inmates
were convicted of the murder, but there have been persistent
allegations that the authorities colluded with the republican
killers. Shortly after Wright's death, it emerged that a security
camera, monitoring the murder area, had been defective for several
weeks. A prison guard had also been stood down from his post,
in a watchtower, minutes before the killers struck.
Bob Buchanan
and Harry Breen
THE two senior RUC officers
were ambushed by IRA gunmen, near the border village of Jonesboro,
in south Armagh's 'bandit country', in March 1989. They had been
returning from a meeting with senior Garda officers, in Dundalk.
At the time of the killings,
unionist politicians demanded an investigation into how the IRA
appeared to have had precise details of the two officers' movements.
Later, there were claims that
the ambush was the result of a security leak within the Garda.
Pat Finucane
THE prominent Catholic solicitor,
whose clients included leading republicans, was shot by the UFF
in the hallway of his north Belfast home, in February 1989.
Allegations of state collusion
came to the fore, when Brian Nelson , an Army spy inside the
UDA, claimed to have told his handlers that loyalists were gathering
information on Mr Finucane.
Earlier this year, UDA member,
Ken Barrett , was charged with Mr Finucane's murder.
The killing has also been part
of a 13-year long probe, by Sir John Stevens, into allegations
of security force collusion with loyalists paramilitaries, during
the Troubles.
Campaigners argue that the
case for a public inquiry is overwhelming.
Rosemary Nelson
THE Lurgan solicitor was killed
when a bomb exploded underneath her car, in March 1999.
The murder of the mother-of-three
was claimed by the shadowy loyalist group, the Red Hand Defenders,
but security sources believe it was the work of LVF and UFF terrorists.
Prior to her death, Mrs Nelson
had complained that she had been assaulted and threatened by
police.
To date, no one has been charged
with Mrs Nelson's murder, despite a major inquiry, which was
headed by the Deputy Chief Constable of Norfolk, Colin Port,
before he stepped down earlier this year.
Robert Hamill
THE 25-year-old Catholic died
in hospital, on May 8 1997 - 12 days after being attacked by
loyalists in Portadown town centre. He had been returning home
after an evening out.
Shortly after his death, it
was alleged that police officers, sitting in a Land-Rover parked
close to where the attack took place, failed to intervene to
help him.
Six Portadown men were later
charged with Robert Hamill's murder. However, all but one of
the charges was dropped, after two witnesses withdrew their evidence.
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
