FAMILY REACTION:THE FAMILY of the murdered solicitor said their call for an inquiry had been vindicated by what they called the "damning" findings contained in the report.
Nelson’s brother Eunan Magee said there was evidence against the RUC, the Northern Ireland Office and the RUC’s Special Branch.
This centred on the fact that Nelson had been assaulted and abused by the police while on the Garvaghy Road near Drumcree in Portadown at the height of the Orange march controversy there.
He said he believed intelligence about his sister had been leaked and that the state had failed to take steps to safeguard her despite knowing of the levels of threat she had faced from loyalist paramilitaries.
“This is not a closed book and hopefully charges will be brought against people who are guilty,” Mr Magee said.
“She was a mother of three children, a decent human being who had lost her life in pursuit of doing her job. No one in the security services has been held accountable.”
He asked: “Why after so many years the people who wronged Rosemary have walked away with impunity?”
Turning to comments made by Northern Secretary Owen Paterson at Westminster on publication of the inquiry findings, Mr Magee said a positive spin was being placed on the conclusions.
“We believe the Secretary of State has seen fit to gloss over any findings in the report which he thought were particularly damning,” he said.
On the question of collusion, Mr Magee added: “If it sounds like a duck and it walks like a duck, well, the chances are . . .”
“We feel vindicated in asking for a public inquiry,” he added.
“We feel justified in that what we have been saying all these years has proven to be right.
“However, the overriding emotion is one of great sadness because Rosemary is no longer with us.
“We have seen many aspects in this report that are at odds with Owen Paterson’s summary, we hope people will draw their own conclusions.”
Loyalist threats against Nelson on account of her legal representation of well-known republicans and the Garvaghy Road residents in Portadown were well-known, Mr Magee said, “and the response from the authorities was wholly inadequate and inefficient”.
He said he “did not believe ‘collusion’ was ever going to be mentioned in the report”, but he did hold out the hope that some day, someone would be held accountable for the murder of his sister.
No one has been convicted of the murder 13 years ago.
Nelson’s widower Paul said he was “deeply saddened” to read that the conduct of some RUC officers had the effect of legitimising his wife as a target in the eyes of loyalist paramilitaries.