Police seizure of documents disturbing, says lawyer for Finnegan accusers

A lawyer for some of Father Malachy Finnegan’s accusers has described as “disturbing” the police seizure of journalistic documents related to the priest.

Kevin Winters, who himself attended St Colman’s College when Fr Finnegan taught there, and has described “unsettling” experiences in his presence, said he would be complaining to the Police Ombudsman about Durham Constabulary’s actions.

“We act for many of the victims of Finnegan,” said Mr Winters.

“This is disturbing.

“It points to a complete lack of empathy for abuse victims on the part of Durham Police.

“We will be writing to the specialist PSNI abuse unit to ask them whether or not they know about this.

“At this stage it looks like the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and that’s simply not on.

“I will also write to PONI to lodge complaints about what I see is the unlawful seizure of sensitive material including testimonies of victims.

“It’s clear to me that Durham Police have acted way beyond the scope of their warrants.”