McBride parents welcome assessor's report
The parents of Belfast teenager Peter McBride have welcomed
comments made by the Independent Assessor on Military Complaints
condemning the delay by an Army Board deciding the future of the
two guardsmen convicted of his 1992 killing.
The comments by the Independent Assessor, Jim McDonald, are
contained in the annual report of the body published on Monday, 5
June. In it, McDonald criticised the delay of the Army Board and
voiced the concerns of many `across the community' at the
original Ministry of Defence decision to retain the two soldiers
despite their murder convictions.
In his earlier 1999 report, the Independent Assessor also
referred to the controversial case, saying, ``it was inappropriate
that they... (Guardsmen Mark Wright and James Fisher)... were
subsequently reinstated in their regiment'' following their
convictions.
Jean McBride, mother of the 18-year-old victim, said: ``This agony
has gone on too long. We have had to fight to overturn a decision
that should never have made in the first place. These men should
have been dismissed as soon as they were convicted. The comments
by the Independent Assessor give us hope that others in positions
of authority will finally do the decent thing. If they are not
dismissed I can promise the Prime Minister that we will haunt him
until they are.''
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