Overview

• Sir Gary Hickinbottom, current president of the Welsh Tribunals and a retired Court of Appeal judge, was appointed chair of the inquiry on June 13 2025.
• The inquiry is being established under the Inquiries Act 2005 with full power to compel document production and summon witnesses to give evidence on oath.
• Baroness Nuala O’Loan and Francesca Del Mese were appointed as assessors to advise the chair and ensure the inquiry’s independence.
• The probe will examine alleged state collusion in the 1989 killing of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane after his family’s more than three-decade campaign for a public inquiry.
• Ireland’s deputy premier Simon Harris welcomed the announcement as a crucial step in resolving outstanding Troubles-era cases.