Thursday 17th July 2003
Jean Mc Bride, whose son Peter was murdered by two members of the Scots Guards regiment in 1992, has agreed to meet Minister of State John Spellar MP. The minister sat on the Army Board that decided to allow the two soldiers convicted of the murder to remain in the British Army. His recent appointment to the NIO with responsibility for Human Rights, Criminal Justice and Equality caused a storm of protest and an immediate demand for a meeting from the Mc Bride family. This demand has been repeatedly refused by the NIO leading to calls from the family for a boycott of the ministers office until the request was granted. Today it was confirmed that a meeting will now go ahead in the near future. Mrs Mc Bride will be accompanied by staff from the Pat Finucane Centre.
Commenting Jean Mc Bride said,
"John Spellar was directly responsible for prolonging the agony for my family when he decided that these convicted murderers were fit to serve in the British Army. I look forward to letting him know what effect his actions have had on us as a family."
Mrs Mc Bride today also welcomed speculation that the annual report of the Independent Assessor on Military Complaints will call for an independent panel to be appointed to consider the future of Guardsmen Wright and Fisher who were convicted of the Mc Bride murder and are currently serving in Basra. Two separate Army Boards ruled that the guardsmen could remain in the armed forces and on both occasions the rulings were overturned in the courts in favour of the Mc Bride family. The annual report, due to be published today, is the third time that Military Assessor Jim Mc Donald has explicitly criticised the government and army regarding the Mc Bride case.
"There have been so many setbacks that I remain cautious but any proposal to replace the Army Board structure must be welcomed. These boards were secretive, unaccountable and totally biased. To be honest I'm not fussed how they get rid of Wright and Fisher. The bottom line is that our campaign won't end until they are kicked out of the British Army. We have always argued that the decision must be taken away from these pompous generals sitting in a back room in the Ministry of Defence"