Solicitor Peter Madden will lodge an application directly with the UK Supreme Court next week on behalf of his client Geraldine Finucane, he has confirmed.

Senior judges in Belfast yesterday refused leave to appeal before the UKSC, which means they must petition for a hearing directly.

Lord Justice Gillen, ruling that there were no conflicting legal issues that warranted leave, said: “We are therefore going to follow the practice of this court and leave the matter to the UK Supreme Court to decide if they are going to grant leave on this matter.”

Mrs Finucane recently lost her case before Belfast’s Court of Appeal.

She had argued that the previous Labour-led administration had promised an inquiry would be held, and that Prime Minister David Cameron had unlawfully reneged on this.

However, judges did not agree the government had acted unlawfully.