The Finucane family will not decide to co-operate with the inquiry announced on Thursday by the British government until they see the legislation governing it. Speaking to The Irish Times last night, Mr Michael Finucane, son of the murdered solicitor, said his family had yet to be convinced of British promises to uncover the truth about loyalist collusion with state forces.
Referring to a statement made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr Paul Murphy, and to comments made by him in this newspaper yesterday, Mr Finucane said he did not accept the need for new legislation.
"It is not necessary to enact new legislation to hold an inquiry, part or whole, in private," he said.
"This can be done quite easily under the existing law and indeed has been done in the course of the Saville Inquiry [into Bloody Sunday]. The legislation must therefore have another purpose and privacy is not a guarantee that the British government will not suppress crucial information," he added.
Mr Murphy had said that the British government was going to hold "good bits" of the inquiry in private and required new legislation to circumvent the problem of Public Interest Immunity certificates which are used to keep secret sensitive matters on national security and other subjects.
Mr Finucane said: "I am not persuaded by the Secretary of State's explanation that my family and others should accept the assurances given on behalf of the British government that it is committed to exposing the truth. If the inquiry is held in private, no exposure will occur at all."
He also accused Mr Murphy of a U-turn concerning possible prosecutions in light of the Stevens investigation of the murder.
"The British government has not even been consistent in its position over prosecutions and how they would affect an inquiry," Mr Finucane alleged.
"Until yesterday, its position was that the inquiry could not happen until all prosecutions had concluded, not just that of Ken Barrett. The statement issued by Paul Murphy confirms that further prosecutions may happen but it seems that the way forward has magically become clear notwithstanding this possibility. This is yet another contradiction by the British Government as they flounder and grasp at any excuse to avoid revealing the truth."
Mrs Geraldine Finucane, the murdered solicitor's widow, met the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness in Belfast yesterday. Following their discussion, Mr McGuinness said "very serious concerns" remained concerning British plans for an inquiry.
Citing a "long history of concealment and cover-up" by the state over its agencies, Mr McGuinness said it was essential that the terms of reference for the inquiry be made known quickly.
He pledged full support for the Finucane family in their stance.
Mr Mark Durkan, the SDLP leader, contradicted Mr Paul Murphy's assertion of the need for new legislation to ensure the smooth running of an inquiry.
"There is no need for new legislation - unless the British government wants to put in place blanket restrictions to conceal the truth," he said.