THE government has failed to properly investigate the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane, the Supreme Court in London ruled today.

The verdict follows a three-decade battle for justice by Mr Finucane’s family, after he was gunned down by loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast in 1989.

The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. British soldiers, police and spies were linked to his murder, but the full extent of the state’s role is still shrouded in secrecy.

The Supreme Court has now ruled that previous investigations into his murder were inadequate and that the British state must launch a fresh probe.

Mr Finucane was one of the most effective and pioneering defence solicitors in Belfast during the Troubles, earning him the wrath of the British state and its proxies.

After the ruling Mr Finucane’s widow Geraldine said: “This is a historic moment. I stand before you today outside the United Kingdom Supreme Court with one simple message: we won.

“The British government now knows that it cannot conceal the truth any longer. They have now been told this by the highest court in the land.

“It is time for the murder of Pat Finucane to be properly and publicly investigated in a public inquiry. Nothing less will suffice.”

Her demands were echoed by Ireland’s premier, Leo Varadkar, who tweeted: “a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane must be established.”

Rights advice and advocacy organisation the Pat Finucane Centre said the verdict was a “resounding vindication of the years of fearless and dignified campaigning by Finucane’s family, and carries huge implications for the British political, legal and military Establishment given the overwhelming evidence of official complicity in the murder.”

In the judgement, Lord Kerr wrote: “I would therefore make a declaration that there has not been an article 2-compliant inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane.”

Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to life and requires states to properly investigate deaths it has been involved in.

But he stopped short of ordering a public inquiry, saying “it is for the state to decide” what form of investigation should take place.

The Finucane family believe that the only form of investigation that can comply with human rights law will be a public inquiry.