The state thought that Pat Finucane was expendable, the Northern Ireland assembly has heard.

The dead lawyer's family deserves the truth after promises of a public inquiry were not kept, Sinn Fein North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly said.

The Government's handling of the case was debated in the assembly.

Mr Kelly said: "The state thought that Pat Finucane was expendable. This issue, in my opinion, should unite victims we represent right across the assembly.

"The family deserves the truth and, frankly, so do we all."

Mr Finucane was shot dead by loyalists in his north Belfast home in 1989.

Last Tuesday, Mr Finucane's widow Geraldine walked out of a meeting with the Prime Minister after he told her that senior lawyer and internationally-recognised expert in post-conflict situations in Serbia and Sierra Leone Sir Desmond De Silva would hold a review of the case.

Paul Givan, of the DUP, sympathised with the Finucane family but said another open-ended public inquiry could not be afforded.

"There is a very clear concern from this side of the house that public inquiries have been used to wage a vendetta against the RUC, as opposed to seeking to establish closure for the family," he said.

"What is important is that we do not elevate certain crimes above others."