A Belfast journalist has said he will not betray his sources by handing over to the RUC records of interviews relating to the 1989 murder of solicitor Mr Pat Finucane. Mr Ed Moloney, Northern Editor of the Sunday Tribune, has been served with a court order demanding that he produce to the RUC before next Thursday all records of interviews with Mr William Stobie, who was charged last month with the Belfast solicitor's murder.
Mr Stobie was a member of the Ulster Defence Association who acted as an RUC Special Branch agent from the late 1980s. A Scotland Yard officer, Mr John Stevens, recently began a fresh criminal investigation into the murder and allegations of collusion by the security forces in the killing.
Mr Moloney was contacted by the Stevens team after an extensive article based on his interviews was published in the Sunday Tribune a fortnight ago. He was also visited by an RUC chief inspector who asked him to make a statement and hand over his notes. His refusal to do either has been backed by the National Union of Journalists.