A new British army board will be appointed soon to reconsider the case of two Scots Guards convicted of the murder of a Belfast teenager in 1995 and it could ultimately recommend their dismissal, the Ministry of Defence said in London yesterday. Britain's Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, confirmed that the new army board would examine whether James Fisher and Mark Wright should be retained in the British army in the light of comments made by a High Court judge in Belfast in September when he said that the original army board had taken insufficient account of the findings of the trial judge.
Fisher and Wright were convicted of Peter McBride's murder in 1995 three years after the teenager was shot on a Belfast street. Both men were sentenced to life imprisonment and they were released last year after serving less than four years. At the judicial review of the army board's original decision not to discharge the two soldiers, Mr Justice Kerr concluded that its finding that Fisher and Wright had made an error of judgement was inconsistent with the conclusion of the trial judge and reconsideration was necessary.
Mr Hoon said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had taken time to consider the implications of the judicial review's findings "and accept its conclusion that the Army Board decision was, in one respect, flawed. The Army Board is to consider the case completely afresh." An MoD spokesman said that the new army board would meet to reconsider the case as soon as possible and the decision on whether Fisher and Wright would remain in the Army would be made collectively by the Board members. The Board is likely to include a government minister.
If the Army Board decides to discharge them, Fisher and Wright could submit a "redress of complaint" which is an internal Army procedure that triggers the formation of another Army Board to consider their appeal.