Equality Commission investigation into the NIO Legacy Bill
Complainants’ welcome findings but raise concerns the NIO withheld documents from Commission investigators | 29 September 2021
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and Pat Finucane Centre (PFC) have welcomed a report from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI - published today 29 September) that concludes the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) breached its Equality Scheme in relation to its proposed...
PFC letter to Chief Constable following the arrest and detention of Derry republican Tony Taylor
PFC | 06 May 2016
The PFC has maintained on-going contact with the solicitor acting on behalf of Derry republican Tony Taylor and we share the widespread concerns at his continuing detention without trial. We have raised these concerns with the Chief Constable and at meetings with different Justice Ministers and...
Priest joins calls for release of Derry republican prisoner Tony Taylor
Seamus McKinney, The Irish News | 08 October 2016
A DERRY priest has joined a campaign for the release from prison of leading dissident republican Tony Taylor. Holy Family parish priest Fr Paddy O’Kane said he also prayed for Taylor’s case during Sunday Mass last week.
British Secretary of State Paul Murphy makes announcement on Hamill, Nelson and Wright Inquiries
PFC | 16 November 2004
Below is an Northern Ireland Office press release issued earlier today. The PFC has not yet formed a view on the adequacy of the terms of reference or the acceptability of the members as proposed. This will, to an extent, be determined by the views of the families.
Memo of meeting between Attorney General and British Army
Two pages of a memo (AG 1971 p2 and AG 1971 p3) concerning the visit of a J.M. Parkin, Head of C2 at HQNI (British Army HQ) in the North to the then Attorney General Basil Kelly, a Unionist MP. In reference to any potential prosecutions of soldiers for the murder of civilians Parkin notes,
A diary of the meeting between J.M Parkin, Head of C2 and HQNI and Attorney General Basil Kelly and additional confirmation that the Attorney General fully understood that HQNI was telling him that he should not prosecute soldiers. In effect the military tail was wagging the legal dog. This meeting took place less than two months before Bloody Sunday
De-proscription of unlawful organisations (added May 2018)
Declassified 1974 NIO discussion doc on de-proscription of UVF and Sinn Fein. The juxtaposition of Sinn Fein (as opposed to the IRA) with the UVF tells us much about British government attitudes to loyalist paramilitary organisations. At the time the UDA remained legal and it would be another 18 years before London finally accepted that the UFF was nothing more...
Brief for the British Attorney General (AG) in preparation for the 'Irish state case' (the Hooded Men) from September 1972 from DS10 (the Defence Secretariat at the MoD in London). Of interest is the disinformation provided to the AG, the most senior law officer in Britain, by the Ministry of Defence. At para 4 it is claimed that Ballykelly only...