FRU man Ingram's doubtful on probe

FORMER Army agent, Martin Ingram, believes there will be a public inquiry into the murder of pat Finucane.

However, the one-time Force Research Unit member, said the remit of such a probe will be limited to Mr Finucane's murder and nothing else.

Ingram, who spoke out about security force dirty tricks and helped cops from Sir John Stevens' team track down and decipher files, said he suspected Canadian Judge Peter Cory would say an inquiry in the case of Pat Finucane was warranted.

He said: "I honestly don't believe the MoD, at this stage, would object to a public inquiry into Finucane.

"What they will object to is if Cory says there is an in inquiry into the activities of the Force Reseach Unit. That would be a no- no."

A broad inquiry into the activities of FRU would be a major problem for a number of reasons, he said, but "specific-ally in relation to 'Stakeknife'." Stakeknife is the codename of a senior FRU spy who has operated inside the IRA for years.

Ingram said: "That is their Achilles Heel. That is what they are defending all the time.

"It is nothing to do with Brian Nelson. His activities aren't going to give them too many sleepless nights.

"If it comes to a point where things are getting too hot then they (the MoD) would agree to an inquiry - but it would be with the narrowest terms of reference. That would then buy more time.".

One of the men who could face charges as a result of the Steven's inquiry into Army dirty tricks is Brigadier John Gordon Kerr, now a senior diplomat in China, who was in overall command of FRU in the 1980s.

He recruited and handled Brian Nelson, an agent inside the UDA.

Nelson, who died last week, was jailed for conspiring to murder Pat Finucane, however, Ingram believes Kerr's knowledge of events would be such that the he would not be sacrificed by the MoD.

He claims the possibility of any members of FRU ever being charged with criminal activities in relation to their work in Northern Ireland is small.

And Ingram told the Sunday Mirror knowledge - but not detailed knowledge - of the activities of the FRU would have gone right to the top of the British political ladder, right to prime ministerial level.

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