Independent site. Not the official Pat Finucane Review, the UK Government, the Finucane family or any inquiry. The official 2012 report is published on GOV.UK (how to find it).

Finucane Case Reviewan independent guide

Independent guide · updated 2026-11-08

The Pat Finucane case and the reviews into it, explained

Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was shot dead at his home on 12 February 1989. Over the next 37 years, police investigations, a judge, a government-appointed reviewer and the UK Supreme Court examined whether the state was involved. This guide sets out what each of them found, in plain language and with links to the original documents.

Read the guide to the 2012 report See the timeline

What the case is about

Patrick Finucane was born in Belfast in 1949 and qualified as a solicitor after studying at Trinity College Dublin. His practice took on criminal defence, inquests and civil claims against the state, and he acted for clients on all sides, including republicans held under emergency laws. On the evening of 12 February 1989 gunmen from the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) broke into his home in north Belfast and shot him in front of his wife and three children. His wife was wounded.

The killing became one of the most closely examined of the Troubles because of what came out later: that a UDA intelligence officer involved in targeting, Brian Nelson, was an Army agent; that the man who supplied the pistol, William Stobie, was a police Special Branch agent; and that warnings about threats to Finucane were not passed on to him.

Why "collusion" is the key word

Successive investigations used the word collusion to describe state involvement that falls short of an order to kill: passing information to paramilitaries, failing to act on intelligence, protecting agents, and obstructing later investigations. Each review defined the term slightly differently, which is one reason the findings are easy to misquote.

We try to quote each finding in the words of the body that made it, say who made it and when, and link to the source. Where people disagree about what a finding means, we say so.

Read the frequently asked questions

Timeline, 1989 to 2026

Key dates in the investigations, court cases and reviews. Orange markers are the turning points.

  1. In the House of Commons, Home Office minister Douglas Hogg says some solicitors in Northern Ireland are "unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA". Chapter 14 guide

  2. Pat Finucane, 39, is shot dead at his home in north Belfast by UDA gunmen.

  3. The first of three investigations led by Sir John Stevens begins. It leads to the exposure of Brian Nelson as an Army agent.

  4. Nelson is jailed after pleading guilty to conspiracy-to-murder and other charges. He is not charged over the Finucane killing.

  5. At Weston Park the British and Irish governments agree that an international judge will examine six contested killings, including Finucane's, and that a public inquiry will follow where collusion is found.

  6. The prosecution of William Stobie collapses; weeks later he is shot dead by loyalists.

  7. Stevens publishes an overview of his third investigation, concluding there was collusion in the murder. Our guide

  8. The European Court of Human Rights rules in Finucane v United Kingdom that the UK breached Article 2 by failing to investigate the death properly.

  9. Judge Peter Cory's report is published and recommends a public inquiry. Our guide

  10. Ken Barrett pleads guilty to the murder and receives a life sentence. He is released in 2006 under the Good Friday Agreement's early-release scheme.

  11. The Inquiries Act 2005 changes how public inquiries work. The Finucane family says it will not take part in an inquiry held under it at that time.

  12. The Prime Minister meets the family and the government announces a review by Sir Desmond de Silva QC instead of a public inquiry.

  13. The de Silva report is published as HC 802. The Prime Minister apologises in the Commons. Publication day

  14. The UK Supreme Court rules that no Article 2-compliant inquiry has yet been held, but leaves the form of any further investigation to the government.

  15. Secretary of State Brandon Lewis decides against a public inquiry "at this time", pending police and ombudsman processes.

  16. The High Court in Belfast rules the government remains in breach of its obligation to investigate.

  17. Secretary of State Hilary Benn announces an independent public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005.

  18. Sir Gary Hickinbottom, a retired senior judge, is named as chair.

  19. Terms of reference are published and the inquiry is formally established, with Baroness Nuala O'Loan and Francesca Del Mese as assessors.

  20. The Patrick Finucane Inquiry holds its first preliminary hearing at Bradford Court in Belfast.

What the 2012 review found

Sir Desmond de Silva's review worked from documents and interviews rather than public hearings. In his own summary he concluded:

  1. The threshold for a finding of collusion was met, and he was left in "significant doubt" whether the UDA would have murdered Finucane in February 1989 without the involvement of elements of the state.
  2. There was no "over-arching State conspiracy" to murder him, and no evidence that any government minister knew of the murder in advance.
  3. Two state agents, Brian Nelson and William Stobie, were involved, and RUC Special Branch did not act on threat intelligence.
  4. After the murder there were serious efforts to obstruct investigations, including Army officers lying to the Stevens investigators.

Guide to the executive summary and principal conclusions

What happened after 2012

The family rejected the review as no substitute for a public inquiry and went to court. The Supreme Court agreed in 2019 that the state had not yet met its human-rights duty to investigate, but left the next step to ministers. A 2020 decision not to hold an inquiry was challenged again, and in December 2022 the High Court in Belfast found the government still in breach.

In September 2024 the government announced a statutory public inquiry. It can compel witnesses and documents. Press reports in 2026 said that human impact statements were planned for late 2026 and that evidence hearings were not expected before spring 2027. We will update this page as the inquiry publishes.

More on the inquiry and the court cases

A guide to reading the report

The official report runs to 841 pages in two volumes. Volume I is the narrative in 25 chapters; Volume II reproduces key documents. Each link below is our plain-language guide to one part of Volume I, with short attributed quotations and a link to the official text.

Start with how the report is organised, or the Volume II documents.

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Checking a claim you see on X

  1. Who found it? Stevens, Cory, de Silva, the Supreme Court and the current inquiry are different bodies with different powers. A finding by one is not a finding by all.
  2. Quote or paraphrase? Search the official report for the exact words. "Significant doubt" and "no over-arching State conspiracy" are often run together or dropped.
  3. Which year? Old posts about "no inquiry" predate the September 2024 announcement.
  4. Is it an allegation? Claims about named individuals that no court, inquest or review has upheld should be treated as claims.
  5. Go to the source. Our documents page links to the primary texts.

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Questions

Is this the official Pat Finucane Review website?

No. The official review was a UK Government process led by Sir Desmond de Silva, which reported on 12 December 2012. This is an independent guide written by unaffiliated editors. The official report (HC 802) is published on GOV.UK, and the current public inquiry has its own official channels.

Who was Pat Finucane?

Patrick Finucane was a Belfast solicitor, born in 1949, who represented clients across a wide range of cases, including people charged with paramilitary offences and families challenging the state. He was shot dead at his home in north Belfast on 12 February 1989 by members of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association.

What did the 2012 de Silva review conclude?

Sir Desmond de Silva found that the threshold for a finding of collusion was met and that he was left in significant doubt whether the UDA would have murdered Pat Finucane in February 1989 without the involvement of elements of the state. He also found no over-arching state conspiracy to murder him.

Why was there a court case after the review?

Geraldine Finucane challenged the decision to hold a review instead of a public inquiry. In February 2019 the UK Supreme Court ruled that there had not yet been an investigation that met the requirements of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, though it did not order a public inquiry.

Is there now a public inquiry?

Yes. The UK Government announced an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 in September 2024. Sir Gary Hickinbottom was named as chair in 2025, terms of reference were published on 9 March 2026, and the first preliminary hearing took place in Belfast on 10 June 2026.

Can I contact an inquiry or the family through this site?

No. We have no connection to the inquiry, the government or the Finucane family and cannot pass on messages or evidence. Please use the inquiry's own official contact routes. Our address, contact@patfinucanereview.org, is only for corrections and questions about this website.