British army retains 2 convicted murderers and promotes one.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Thursday August 14, 2003 17:52

by Shane OCurry - Pat Finucane Centre

pfc at iol dot ie

Murderers of Belfast teenager Peter McBride to stay on, says MOD, despite court ruling

In a shock revelation today, British Armed Force Minister Adam Ingram announced that the Ministry of Defence has stood by the decision of an Army Board that convicted murderers Mark Wright and James Fisher should remain in the army. In addition to this it was revealed that James Fisher has been promoted to lance-corporal.

The decision flies in the face of a Belfast court of Appeal Ruling that the "exceptional circumstances" cited by the Army Board for retaining the two, did not, in fact, constitute exceptional circumstances under Army rules. The decision has left many commentators, including the Human Rights community and the Independent Assessor on Military Complaints, incredulous.

Gene McBride, the mother of the murdered father of two, likened the decision to the British Government spitting on the grave of her son. She vowed not to let the matter drop. The McBride family and the Pat Finucane Centre are now seeking legal advice to pursue the matter further.

In 1992, 19 year-old Peter McBride was shot in the back as he ran away from Scots Guardsmen Wright and Fisher seconds after they had stopped and searched him. After perjuring themselves, a Belfast court found the two guilty of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Following a British establishment-led campaign to have the two exonerated, spearheaded by the reactionary Daily Mail, the two were released, oustide of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and, astonishingly, reinstated in their former regiment. The full story can be found at the Pat Finucane Centre's website.
www.serve.com/pfc

It is believed that the two are currently serving in Iraq, where they have been seconded to the Irish Guards.

The two were also recently posted in central Kenya, where British soldiers stand accused of multiple rapes and gang rapes, going back 30 years.