Toronto Globe and Mail, February 4, 2004

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Canadian judge hailed in U.K. for defying Blair

By KIRK MAKIN, JUSTICE REPORTER

Wednesday, February 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.