Murdered solicitor's office closes

One year after her murder, the office of Northern Ireland solicitor Rosemary Nelson has been forced to close after unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer for the practice.Ms Nelson was killed last March in a car bomb attack claimed by loyalist dissidents, the Red Hand Defenders.

While most of her work involved everyday legal business from clients from both sides of the community, she had handled a number of high-profile cases.These included that of republican Colin Duffy, who successfully overturned a conviction for the murder of a former Ulster Defence Regiment member.

She also represented the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition and the family of Robert Hamill, kicked to death by a loyalist mob.Robbie McVeigh, a spokesman for the Rosemary Nelson campaign, described the closure of the business as a 'great pity' and pointed to a 'chill factor' deterring lawyers from following in Ms Nelson's footsteps.Local Assembly and SDLP member Brid Rogers described the development as 'another very sad chapter in an extremely sad story'.Rosemary Nelson's murder is being investigated by Colin Port, Deputy Chief Constable of Norfolk, who heads a team of 60 investigators hand-picked from 25 police agencies, nearly two-thirds from outside the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

More than 5,000 people have been interviewed and 1,500 statements taken.Meanwhile, former cabinet minister Douglas Hogg is to be questioned in relation to the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

The Stevens Inquiry detectives who head the investigation are to ask him about comments he made in parliament three days before the murder of the lawyer by loyalists in 1989.

Mr Hogg said a number of solicitors in Northern Ireland are 'unduly sympathetic' to the IRA.Carmel McQuaid