By Tom Griffin, 22 April 2005, Irish World
A Labour general election candidate has condemned the US Government’s decision to stand by its award of a £293 million Iraq security contract to Tim Spicer, the British mercenary who was commanding officer of the Scots Guards in 1992 when two of his soldiers murdered Belfast teenager Peter McBride.
As the Irish World reported last week, the US Army Contracting Agency has concluded that Spicer and his company Aegis Defence Services “both possessed satisfactory records of integrity and business ethics and were responsible.”
An official from the agency has informed Irish human rights group the Pat Finucane Centre “I now consider this matter closed.”
Labour Brent East candidate Yasmin Qureshi said: “I am astonished that a multi-million dollar security contract could be awarded by the US government to such an individual. It is quite wrong that the doubts raised about his suitability were dismissed so easily by the US authorities. Spicer cannot seriously be regarded as a suitable person to run a security contract given his role in the McBride case. Putting him in charge of what amounts to a private army in Iraq is simply outrageous.”
Ms Qureshi, who is currently human rights advisor to London Mayor Ken Livingstone added: “The importance of the Irish-American lobby has meant that the United States has long played an important role in creating a framework for justice and peace in Ireland. Regrettably however on this occasion the US government has not listened either to the McBride family or to Irish Americans.”
“I think we need further co-ordination between political leaders here, in the USA and Ireland in order to maximise the impact of the McBride family's case. I will be taking the issue up with British government ministers, and I will take the earliest opportunity available to talk to the McBride family and their supporters to see how best we can take this issue forward.”
The US stance was also criticised this week by the sitting Lib Dem MP for Brent East, Sarah Teather, who pledged to continue raising the case.
A spokesman for the Pat Finucane Centre also attacked the US response. “They claimed our allegations were investigated by the General Accounting Office. Yet that same office said they were not.”
“When we put this to them, they simply went back to their holding position.”