JOHN FINUCANE has described as 'contemptible' comments made by Tory MP David Davis at Westminster referring to 'IRA lawyers'.
Finucane, a Sinn Féin MP and solicitor, was eight years old when he witnessed his father, the human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, being shot dead at the family home in 1989.
He has now asked Davis to withdraw his remarks, which were made on Tuesday during a House of Commons debate on Amendments to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
'I watched my father being shot dead'
During the debate, Davis, the MP for Goole and Pocklington, voiced his support for the Legacy Commission dealing with Troubles-era crimes, saying 'IRA lawyers' treated coroner's inquests as 'public theatre'.
He added: "That is another reason why I would rather see the dispassionate actions of the commission than the activities of IRA lawyers in the courts."
In an open letter to Davis, Finucane said his words echoed those of Tory MP Douglas Hogg, who told Westminster in 1989 that solicitors from Ireland were 'unduly sympathetic to the cause of the IRA'.
"Less than four weeks later, my father, Pat Finucane, was murdered by loyalists acting in collusion with British state forces," wrote Finucane.
"I was eight years old. I watched my father being shot dead in front of me, in our family home.
"I grew up without my father. I became a solicitor, following in his footsteps, because I believed, as he did, in the rule of law. In the right of every person to legal representation. In the right of victims to challenge the powerful, including the state itself.
"And that is what makes your words so contemptible.
"Would you dare speak about English solicitors in this way? Or do you believe Irish lawyers deserve less protection, less respect and fewer rights when they dare to challenge the British state?"
'Shame on you'
Finucane said Davis' comments discredited lawyers from Northern Ireland who are using the rule of law to find justice for the victims of collusion and their families.
As well as his own family feeling the devastating impact of such language, Finucane also referred to the family of Rosemary Nelson, a solicitor from Co. Armagh who was murdered by loyalists in 1999.
"We are building a new Ireland founded on equality, rights and justice. We will not be intimidated, silenced or dragged backwards by the prejudices of British politicians," he wrote.
"Shame on you, David.
"Withdraw your words. Apologise to my family, to Rosemary Nelson's family, and to the lawyers and victims whose pursuit of justice you have sought to discredit.
"And have the decency to own the disgrace of what you said."
Davis' words have also been criticised by Mark Borland, President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, who described them as 'grossly irresponsible'.
"Solicitors are routinely and unacceptably subject to threats, abuse and attack in the course of their work. Comments such as these make our members more vulnerable and Mr Davis should withdraw them," he said.
"There is a legitimate debate about how best to address the legacy of the past. Stigmatising lawyers has absolutely no part in it."
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