September 2003
Following last week's announcement that the sister of murdered Belfast teenager is to stand in this month's Brent East by-election the Justice for Peter McBride campaign has been inundated with statements of support.
Among those who have pledged support for Ms McBride's decision to stand at the upcoming by-election are civil rights lawyers Imran Khan and Michael Mansfield QC. Khan became a household name when he represented the family of another murdered youth, Stephen Lawrence. Mansfield has been involved in numerous high profile cases and currently represents several of the families of those killed on Bloody Sunday at the Saville Inquiry in the Central Methodist Hall, Westminster.
Speaking last night Mr Khan described the case as "an appalling vista."
"Not only were convicted murderers allowed to remain in the army, they were then sent to take part in an unjust war in Iraq. This case is the epitomy of an appalling vista, I support Kelly McBride," he stated. The intervention of the prominent lawyer is seen as highly significant given the high percentage of Asian voters in the constituency.
Fellow veteran human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield said that the McBride family had been "treated with breathtaking contempt" by the Ministry of Defence.
He continued, "This exemplifies the manner of modern government and that is why people have lost trust in mainstream politics."
Also condemning the government's decision was comedian and activist Mark Thomas whose Mark Thomas Comedy Product on Channel 4 took regular sideswipes at the establishment. "The army's refusal to acknowledge the verdict of the court and the incredible decision to promote one of these men shows contempt for the legal system and the family of Peter McBride," he said. Thomas has vowed to join Kelly Mc Bride on the election trail this weekend. The candidate spoke today of her "delight at the support expressed by high profile personalities from outside the Irish community."
The campaign will move up a gear today (Wednesday) when 40,000 election communications from the Mc Bride campaign will be delivered to a Royal Mail sorting office in North London for distribution to every household in the constituency. The free distribution, available to every candidate, almost didn't happen. At the last moment solicitors for the Royal Mail told election agent Shane O'Curry that the communication was unacceptable because the text was not 'directly relevant' to the Brent East by-election. Following a tense day of negotiations an amended text was finally accepted.