In 1995, Scots guardsmen James Fisher and Mark Wright were convicted of the murder in 1992 of Peter McBride, a 19 year old father of two from north Belfast. They were released on 2 September 1998 by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr. Mowlam, following a review by the Life Sentence Review Board. Dr. Mowlam said that the cases had been considered earlier than usual because of the circumstances under which the murder took place and the lack of premeditation. After serving six years, both men were readmitted to the British army despite their murder convictions. The victim's family has since been seeking their dismissal from the British army but several appeals of army board decisions to retain them, the most recent in January 2003, have been unsuccessful.
I originally outlined the Government's objection to the continued retention of Mr. Fisher and Mr. Wright in the British army in an Adjournment debate in December 2000, in which I told the Dáil that the Government was deeply disturbed by the decision to retain as serving members of that army two men convicted in a court of law of murder. I added that the decision sent a negative message to the people of Northern Ireland and to the McBride family. I stressed that it was vital that the security forces not only uphold but be seen to uphold the best standards of conduct demanded by a democratic society in order to move forward in the North, as we must. We have regularly pressed the British Government on this issue since then. The Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, met Mrs. Jean McBride on 28 November 2002. He expressed the Government's concerns about the handling of this case since the guardsmens' release from prison in 1998. He assured Mrs. McBride that both the Government would continue to pursue these concerns directly with the British Government at every appropriate opportunity.
