26 September 2006

Belfast Telegraph, 26 September 2006

Blow to inquiry as Government refuses Fulton full immunity

BY ALAN MURRAY

THE public inquiry into the deaths of the two most senior RUC officers murdered by the IRA has run into difficulties because the Government will not agree to grant immunity to witnesses with vital evidence.

Lawyers acting for the former Army spy who uses the pseudonym Kevin Fulton have found it difficult to get a commitment that he won't face prosecution for admitting his involvement in IRA activities along the border when he gives evidence.

And sources within the Smithwick Tribunal in Dublin, which was set up by the Irish government to investigate the alleged involvement of at least one Garda officer in the double murder, admit that they have not been able to secure a commitment from the British government that Fulton and other witnesses will not face prosecution at a later date.

Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson is furious at the development and said it was hypocritical to refuse immunity to Fulton when it has granted immunity to Martin McGuinness and other witnesses at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

"To learn this now is a shock," the MP said.

"We were assured by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State at the time that they would give their full backing to ensure this tribunal got to the truth about the Breen and Buchanan murders, so to learn that Fulton is being told that he could face prosecution in the United Kingdom on the basis of what he says at the tribunal in Dublin is disgraceful."

While the Smithwick Tribunal has confirmed that its probe into the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan in 1989 will not start until next year, the revelation that it cannot offer Fulton full immunity is a potential body blow.

Fulton's disclosures to Peter Cory about events leading up to the killings on a border road leading from Dundalk convinced the retired Canadian Judge to recommend that the Irish government should conduct a public inquiry to establish if Garda officers had colluded with the IRA to murder the two officers.

Fulton's lawyers have written to the tribunal's solicitor in Dublin for confirmation that he will enjoy immunity on both sides of the border if he gives evidence detailing involvement in IRA activities but so far no commitment has been given.

One source said: "The tribunal has had discussions with senior British officials in London, but they want Fulton to detail to them what he is going so say so they can consider it before making a decision.

"He's not that stupid that he's going to do that and he doesn't want to have any contact with them.

"They're trying to nail him on a criminal charge to shut him up and spike his claim for compensation from the Northern Ireland Office so he's not that stupid to go off to Dublin and tell everything if he hasn't got immunity both in the Republic and in the UK."

Tribunal sources have confirmed that Fulton is guaranteed immunity in the Republic even if he admits to carrying out IRA activities, but they admit that they cannot guarantee that the British authorities could not obtain access to his testimony and mount criminal cases against him from his admissions.

One Dublin legal source said: "He would be immune from prosecution here, but there is no guarantee that the British couldn't get a transcript of his testimony and use it against him."