On 23rd May 2011 the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry published its report in to the circumstances of the death of Rosemary Nelson.

Rosemary Nelson, a solicitor in Northern Ireland, was murdered on 15th March 1999 by a car bomb. The Inquiry, which was held in Belfast and established on 16th November 2004, was instituted to examine allegations of the involvement of the agents of the State in Rosemary Nelson’s murder. Its terms of reference of the Inquiry were:

"To inquire into the death of Rosemary Nelson with a view to determining whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Northern Ireland Office, Army or other state agency facilitated her death or obstructed the investigation of it, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent; whether the investigation of her death was carried out with due diligence; and to make recommendations."

The Inquiry found that there was no evidence of any act by or within any of the State agencies (the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Northern Ireland Office, the Army or the Security Service) which directly facilitated Rosemary Nelson’s murder. The Inquiry did find, however, that there were omissions by State agencies, which rendered Rosemary Nelson more at risk and more vulnerable; the combined effect of these omissions by the RUC and the NIO was that the State failed to take reasonable and proportionate steps to safeguard the life of Rosemary Nelson. It found that, if Rosemary Nelson had been given advice about her safety and offered security measures, then assuming that she had accepted such advice and security measures, the risk to her life and her vulnerability would have been reduced.

The Inquiry’s full report can be found at: