The son of Pat Finucane has described a decision by the British Government not to hold a public inquiry into his murder at this time as a "farce" which "will not be allowed to stand".
The Belfast solicitor was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989 in front of his family at home.
Yesterday, the British government announced there will be no public inquiry into the murder at this time.
Last year, the UK Supreme court ruled there hadn't been an effective investigation into the murder.
However, yesterday, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said reviews by the PSNI and Police Ombudsman must be allowed to conclude first and that an inquiry now could prejudice those processes.
Speaking to Jonathan Healy on The Pat Kenny Show today, Pat's son Michael Finucane said: "There are avenues we can pursue and we intend to pursue them because this farce of a decision by an uncaring Secretary of State and an indifferent British Government will not be allowed to stand."
He said his father had gained a reputation as a solicitor who "was willing to challenge the state".
He said: "By extension of that, [he provoked] the ire and enmity of people within the state and the unionist political establishment who felt that he was, through his legal business and through his legal representation, somehow supportive of the people he was defending or the cause that they might prescribe to.
"As a result, he came under threat from RUC detectives who it seems suggested he was an appropriate person to be targeted for assassination.
"This happened on a number of occasions, ultimately culminating in his murder at our family home in February 1989.
On that night, all of the family were in the home having dinner, with Michael describing the incident as "extremely traumatic and very brutal".
He added: "It is no secret that Pat Finucane did work that was unpopular with the state.
"It is no secret that he represented people who were unpopular with the state.
"But it is a fundamental tenet in a democracy that every person is entitled to a defence and every person is entitled to competent and effective representation in a society ruled by law.
"What we have sought and what we continue to seek is that the laws that govern society will be applied in this case and they have not been applied.
"We have taken the case to the courts and presented them for independent adjudication and we have succeeded and what we ask is the independent conclusions of the court be implemented."
Yet another meeting with a British Secretary of State ends in frustration and without an inquiry. The excuses for not openly investigating the truth become more insulting with every passing administration #PatFinucane pic.twitter.com/xbzrTkE4RF
— Michael Finucane (@michaelfinucane) November 30, 2020
Micheal said that at the time around when his father was killed, "there were suspicions of collaboration between the RUC, the British Army and loyalist paramilitaries".
He added that he believes police chose not to inform Pat Finucane that his life was in danger as they did not want to blow the cover of their intelligence operations.
This information was gathered slowly and "painstakingly" by the family from the British Government, Micheal said, which resulted in "irrefutable evidence" of collusion.
On whether the PSNI can effectively investigate the murder, Michael said: "It's not so much that I don't have any confidence that they will get to the bottom of it, they're simply not equipped to do so because what they are investigating is not just solely a police matter.
"It involves the agencies of the PSNI, which was formerly the RUC, but it also involves the British security services of MI5, the British army, the army intelligence unit, members of the British Government, as well as presumably civil servants and state actors.
"The police force is simply not equipped to carry out an investigation in that regard.
On whether an inquiry into the murder of his father will be held at a later date, Michael said he has "no confidence" that the current British Government will conduct an inquiry "voluntarily".
He said: "I think they will have to be forced to do so and that is the driving motivation of our campaign over the last 30 years."
The Pat Kenny Show
