The government has failed in its bid to force the family of the murdered Belfast solicitor, Pat Finucane, to pay for a legal challenge against the state.
In June, the Finucane family failed in a bid to overturn David Cameron’s decision not to hold an independent international inquiry into the the lawyer’s murder in 1989.
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) argued on Tuesday in Belfast high court that since the Finucanes lost the challenge they should pay the costs of the case.
But Mr Justice Stephens rejected the NIO’s application for costs, which are believed to be in the region of £150,000.
One of the lawyer’s sons, John Finucane, criticised the government for trying to make the family foot the bill, describing the move as “very vindictive”.
He added: “The only way that could be viewed is as something that is quite mean, petty, and I think designed to stymie any decision by our family to go for an appeal.”
Pat Finucane was shot dead at his family’s home in north Belfast by members of the Ulster Defence Association. At the time, 29 men involved in the murder plot were working for one or more branch of the security forces in Northern Ireland, including at least one of the gunmen.
A report by Sir Desmond de Silva QC in 2012 found there was collusion between the security forces and Finucane’s killers. This prompted David Cameron to issue a public apology.
But the Finucane family boycotted the De Silva inquiry, calling instead for an international inquiry independent of the British government.
