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So the Maclean inquiry has found the authorities guilty of negligence not collusion in the murder of Billy Wright (something which the Prison Service had already apologised for 8 years ago). The government may breathe a sigh of relief that the verdict wasn't more damning but Billy Wright's father David isn't happy, quoting supportive MPs who he said regarded the outcome as a whitewash.

One general point which wil have significance for the Nelson and Hamill inquiries later this year is the narrower definition of collusion adopted by the Maclean probe. They have opted for deliberate agreement to commit unlawful acts (i.e a sin of commission) rather than turning a blind eye or deliberately ignoring something (more a sin of ommission). this makes the Maclean definition more restricted than the wide one adopted by Judge Peter Cory and, apparently, the Police Ombudsman and Lord Stevens.

The question now is whether the Nelson and Hamill inquiries will follow the Cory or the Maclean definition of collusion. And if they don't, shouldn't this baseline have been agreed when all the collusion inquiries were first instigated?

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