Contents

McBride killers stay in jail

The family of murdered Belfast teenager has welcomed the decision not to grant early release to two members of the Scots Guards regiment convicted of the 1992 murder of their son Peter Mc Bride. The Mc Bride family were informed of the decision this afternoon. The two Guardsmen were told that their case has been referred back for one year. In welcoming the news the family expressed its disappointment however that the case is again to be reviewed within a year. Peter Mc Bride, father of the murder victim, said, "this gives us some peace of mind, at least for a year but its disappointing that these two are still receiving preferential treatment. Life sentences are not usually reviewed for ten years but members of the British Army always get special treatment." The decision not to release Guardsmen Wright and Fisher came despite a high profile campaign by the military and political establishment in Britain. The family of the murdered New Lodge man made an unprecedented appeal to the Review Board when it met on October 12 arguing that early release of the two after only five years of a life sentence would "be a violation of natural justice and legal norms." In the letter the New Lodge family argued that early release would "send the clear message to our family that we have spent 18 years loving, caring for and raising a son whose life meant nothing to a state whose duty it is to uphold the right to life not take it away."

The final controversial decision on whether to release the men rested with the Secretary of State and there was widespread speculation that Dr Mowlam was anxious to avoid a repeat of the uproar and street protests which followed the early release of Paratrooper Lee Clegg during the first IRA ceasefire.

The Pat Finucane Centre, which has campaigned on behalf of the family, was informed of the decision by the LSRB at the request of the Mc Bride family who had made clear that victims families had a right to be informed ahead of the press.