The widow of Belfast solicitor Mr Pat Finucane today accused the British government of condoning state killings by refusing to establish a public inquiry into her husband's murder.
Mrs Geraldine Finucane alleged that by successfully delaying a public inquiry into her husband's death for 15 years, the British authorities were ensuring it would become more and more difficult to establish the truth.
Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his family by the loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters in his north Belfast home. There have been constant allegations of security force collusion in the murder.
Mrs Finucane, delivering the PJ McGrory Memorial Lecture at the West Belfast Festival, said: "It started with the Thatcher administration in 1989 after Pat was murdered...and persists to this day under the leadership of Tony Blair.
"Throughout all of that time, perhaps surprisingly, they have never actually denied that they colluded with Loyalist paramilitaries in Pat's murder.
"They have simply frustrated and delayed the implementation of a solution to the problem. The strategy has proved very successful."
Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy has confirmed no action will be taken in Mr Finucane's case until ongoing prosecutions are completed.
Loyalist Mr Ken Barrett, a suspected gunman, is currently the only one awaiting trial in connection with Mr Finucane's murder. But Mrs Finucane expressed fears that a string of outstanding cases may be used to delay a full inquiry even further.
She accused the British government of heavily censoring a report written by Canadian Judge Peter Cory, who was appointed to investigate the allegations of collusion, and purposefully failing to implement his recommendations.
"No commitment to a public inquiry was given, nor has one been offered since," she said.
"The Director of Public Prosecutions has been thinking for many months about whether to prosecute in some 20 cases, none of which, according to Sir John Stevens, would be likely to impinge on a public inquiry.
"It is a matter of considerable concern to me that these cases may be drip-fed into the system in order to add to the 15 years' delay we have already suffered."
She claimed it was very clear that the British government has much to hide.
"It is clear to me beyond any doubt that Tony Blair and his government would rather be part of the problem than part of the solution," she added.
"By their actions they condone state killings and impunity for state actors."
Mrs Finucane and her family have campaigned tirelessly for a public inquiry into allegations of security force collusion in the 1989 loyalist murder of her husband.
Her lecture, entitled Long Road to the Truth, detailed the progress they have made and the information learnt along the way.
She highlighted sections of both the Stevens Inquiry report, published in April 2003, and Judge Cory's report, published this April, which detail findings of collusion, the absence of accountability and the withholding of intelligence.
"The murder of Pat Finucane is not just about the killing of one man, it is a documented example of a British Government policy in action - state-sponsored murder," she claimed.
"The importance, therefore, of a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Pat's murder is something that has been clear for many years.
"Every domestic and international NGO that concerns itself with human rights in Ireland has called for a public inquiry into my husband's case."
Mrs Finucane is now engaged in a court case against the British government to compel them to launch a public inquiry into her husband's murder, as recommended by Judge Cory. She said she would not stop until it was achieved.
A spokesman from the Northern Ireland Office said the British government had made it clear it would stand by its commitment to set up a public inquiry.
"That commitment has been demonstrated by the setting up of three other public inquiries as recommended by Judge Cory but the Pat Finucane case is different," he said.
"A murder prosecution is taking place and that prosecution will be put at risk if an inquiry is set up in parallel with it."
PA