Irish Republican News · June 30, 2005

McBride family to pursue justice in Europe

The mother of a Belfast teenager murdered by British soldiers a decade ago has said she will go to the European Court of Human Rights to have her son’s killers thrown out of the British Army.

Jean McBride was speaking after losing her third legal case attempting to force the British Ministry of Defence to expel the pair.

On September 4, 1992, Mark Wright and James Fisher. murdered Peter McBride as he walked through north Belfast, shooting him in the back.

Mr Wright and Mr Fisher each served three years of a life sentence in jail for killing the unarmed teen. Upon their release, they were allowed to rejoin the regiment and remain in the British army.

Mrs McBride said that, after yesterday’s High Court ruling, she would have to take her case to the European courts.

“I don’t think there is a judge here with the bottle to stand up to the establishment, so it looks like we’ll have to take the case to Europe,” she said.

“I’m left without a son but I’m not going to stop fighting. Justice will not be served until these two are put out of the British army.

“The soldiers who killed him are still convicted murderers and still in the British army. That’s not right.”

Peter Madden, Mrs McBride’s lawyer, said the entire military establishment had never acknowledged the wrongdoing of Mr Wright and Mr Fisher.

He said: “It appears that all efforts have been made to ensure they are retained in the army. We will consider, with Jean McBride, an application to the European Court of Human Rights.”

After Mr Wright and Mr Fisher were released from prison, two separate British army boards ruled there were “exceptional” reasons to retain their services - but were later unable to say what these were.

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