The British government last night faced mounting calls to "come clean" over its 'dirty war'.
SDLP Policing Board member Alex Attwood said a public inquiry was the only way of uncovering the full truth surrounding the activities of British intelligence's Force Research Unit – which has been implicated in dozens of murders.
"It is clear that most of these activities occurred during previous British governments, but the current British government is playing its own role in suppressing the truth and evading a full accounting for all that went on in the past," Mr Attwood said.
"Tony Blair promised the Finucane family that he would hold a public inquiry if he thought that members of the security forces were involved in murder. We now know that they were. The prime Minister should now act on this commitment. It is time for a full inquiry into FRU now."
With retired Canadian judge Peter Cory halfway through his examination of six controversial murders – which include that of Catholic solicitor Pat Finucane – with a view to determining whether there should be public inquiries, Mr Attwood said: "We are calling for the publication of judge Cory's report now and not in the autumn – so that we can get moving on an inquiry into collusion and the Finucane case without delay."
Policing Board vice-chairman Denis Bradley said the latest revelations surrounding the alleged double agent known as Stakeknife "provided an opportunity for everyone to admit there have been many wars going on and people need clarity on all sides".
"Unionists have the total right for the IRA to go away and to stop their activities, but nationalists have also the right to ask the British government is that side of the war going to come to an end as well," he said.
"Remember, it was mostly nationalist people who died as a result of Stakeknife and no-one is denying he existed."
And Mr Bradley appealed for all sides to redouble their efforts to break the current political stalemate.
He said: "The only hope I could take from this, and it is very slim hope, would be a situation where all of us could come down from our high moral perches and acknowledge that we have deeply hurt each other and deeply wronged each other.
"The only place for any of us to go is a political solution."
Mr Bradley said the onus was also on the Policing Board and Chief Constable Hugh Orde to ensure mistakes of the past were not repeated.
But Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said the use of informers to infiltrate the IRA was "absolutely essential to achieve the objective of bringing an end to the IRA's campaign".
"This is not a black and white matter where people can point the finger at security forces or make accusations," he said.
"This was not a conventional war, nor was it a normal policing situation. The police and army were dealing with one of the most sophisticated terror organisations and the infiltration of that organisation was absolutely essential.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that many lives were saved. People should not lose sight of these facts."
