Cory Collusion Inquiry

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The Cory Collusion Inquiry was established to conduct an independent inquiry into deaths relating to the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland.

Contents

A retired Supreme Court of Canada judge, Peter Cory was appointed to undertake a thorough investigation of allegations of collusion between British and Irish security forces and paramilitaries in six particular cases in Northern Ireland. Two of the cases - the killing of two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers and the killing of Northern Ireland Lord Justice Maurice Gibson and Lady Cecily Gibson - relate to allegations of collusion by the Garda Síochána and these reports were submitted to the Irish government. [1] [2]

The Inquiry

In the case of the two RUC officers, who were killed in an ambush by the Provisional IRA on 20 March 1989, Cory considered all the relevant material, including intelligence reports, and concluded that evidence was revealed that, if accepted, could be found to constitute collusion. As a result, he recommended a public inquiry into the matter. The Smithwick Tribunal issued its report on 3 December 2013, finding there had been collusion between members of the Gardaí and the IRA, which resulted in the deaths of the two officers.

In the case of Lord Justice and Lady Gibson, who were killed in a car-bomb explosion by the Provisional IRA on 25 April 1987, Mr Justice Cory concluded that there is no evidence of collusion by the Garda Síochána or any other Government agency that would warrant the holding of an inquiry.

The other four cases - the murders of Pat Finucane, Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright - relate to allegations of collusion by British security forces and these were submitted to the British Government.

The result

Cory recommended in all four cases that the UK Government hold public inquiries:

On 7 June 2005 the British government passed the Inquiries Act 2005, limiting the scope of the inquiries proposed by Cory, which Cory has criticised, stating that it "...would make a meaningful inquiry impossible" [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Irish Department of Justice". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2006.
  2. ↑ "BBC News". 10 June 2002. Archived from the original on 10 May 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  3. ↑ "Rosemary Nelson Inquiry". Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  4. ↑ "BBC News". 13 December 2005. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Billy Wright Inquiry". Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  6. ↑ Robert Hamill Inquiry Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "BBC News". 23 September 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  8. ↑ "The Report of the Patrick Finucane Review - Publications - GOV.UK". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Guardian". TheGuardian.com . 13 April 2005. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
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