A man has been arrested in connection with the killing of the Belfast solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane, 10 years ago. It is the first arrest in the case since the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mr John Stevens, began investigating it in April.
The announcement was made yesterday by New Scotland Yard. It is understood the man was arrested on Tuesday morning in west Belfast and taken to Armagh for questioning. "He is being held and interviewed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act," said a police spokesman.
Mr Finucane was shot on February 12th, 1989, as he sat down for an evening meal with his family. The killing was attributed to the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). There have also been allegations of British army and RUC collusion in the attack.
Mr John White, a spokesman for the Ulster Democratic Party, which is linked to the UDA/UFF, said in May that UFF personnel were angered by the new investigation. If members were arrested as a result of the new inquiry it would have a serious effect on whether the UFF would continue to support the peace process, he added.
The leader of the UDP, Mr Gary McMichael, told The Irish Times last night that he did not know who had been arrested or if the arrest was legitimate. "It remains to be seen if the arrest is based on hard evidence or whether it is an effort by the police to be seen to be doing something." Family and friends of Mr Finucane increased demands for a new inquiry after loyalist paramilitaries killed a solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson, in March, against a backdrop of similar claims of collusion.
The claims of collusion in the two killings were the focus of a BBC Panorama programme screened this week, which alleged RUC incitement of the killings.