The notorious murder of solicitor Pat Finucane in Northern Ireland may never have happened had it not been for state collusion, according to a new report.
A review by a leading QC found there was "significant doubt" that Mr Finucane would have been shot dead had it not been for the involvement of state agents.
State employees "actively furthered and facilitated" the murder, which was carried out by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989 as Mr Finucane ate dinner with his family.
Sir Desmond de Silva's report concluded that they and state agents played "key roles" in the killing, which is one of the most controversial in Northern Ireland's bloody history.
MPs heard that this involved targeting Mr Finucane, supplying and then helping dispose of a murder weapon and later seeking to obstruct the police investigation.
The report even found, on the balance of probabilities, that an officer with the Royal Ulster Constabulary proposed Mr Finucane as a possible target.
Geraldine Finucane and daughter Katherine The Army and Special Branch had advance notice of a series of planned assassinations by loyalists but nothing was done, according to the review.
Brian Nelson and William Stobie were named as two agents in the pay of the state involved in the Finucane murder. A third man became an agent after the shooting.
"It cannot be argued that these were rogue agents," David Cameron said in a sombre statement to the Commons.
There was also a "relentless" effort to cover up after the killing as senior Army officers "deliberately lied" to investigators and tried to mislead the Ministry of Defence.
However, the report did dismiss the idea of ministerial involvement in the conspiracy - stressing that no-one in Government had been aware of the plot or later cover-up.
Mr Finucane represented high profile republicans including IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and was at the peak of his career when he died.
His family have led a long campaign for a full public inquiry but their pleas were rejected last year in favour of a new review conducted in private.
Sir Desmond wrote: "My review of the evidence relating to Patrick Finucane's case has left me in no doubt that agents of the State were involved in carrying out serious violations of human rights up to and including murder.
"However, despite the different strands of involvement by elements of the State, I am satisfied that they were not linked to an over-arching State conspiracy to murder Patrick Finucane."
The report was handed to the family earlier on Wednesday before the Prime Minister updated MPs, in an address reminiscent of his statement after the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Describing the killing as "an appalling crime", Mr Cameron said reading the findings was "agony".
"The collusion demonstrated beyond any doubt by Sir Desmond - which included the involvement of state agents in murder - is totally unacceptable," he told MPs.
"We do not defend our security forces - or the many who have served in them with great distinction - by trying to claim otherwise.
"Collusion should never ever happen. So on behalf of the Government and the whole country, let me say again to the Finucane family: I am deeply sorry."
Mr Cameron said the family had suffered "the most grievous wrongs" but insisted the private review was the right move because a public inquiry may not have uncovered so much.
Earlier, Mr Finucane's son John criticised the decision to have a "behind-closed-doors" review - calling it the "embodiment of a broken promise".
"We have always been very clear - this represents more than just the case of my father," he told Sky News.
"There are people on all sides of the community who we feel have been allowed to die to protect intelligence and we think that is wrong and should never have happened.
"To ensure it never happens again and restore public confidence in the rule of law, there needs to be a public examination of what went wrong. Failing to do that will only lead to further myths and suspicion which will allow this wound to fester."
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