The British Armed Forces Minister, Dr John Reid, will meet campaigners demanding the release of two Scots Guards convicted of the murder of a Belfast teenager, amid increasing pressure on the British government to reconsider their case.
Dr Reid will meet Scots Guard committee members, Lieut Gen Sir David Scott-Barrett, and Mr Ronnie Wilkie, a former Scots Guard, on May 13th and it will be the first time a government minister has held direct talks with the campaigners.
Mark Wright and Jim Fisher were sentenced to life in 1992 for the murder of Peter McBride (18). Both men have maintained their innocence, insisting they shot McBride in the back because they believed he was carrying a home-made bomb.
Dr Reid's decision to meet the campaigners comes after the British government indicated last month that the men's release could be "accelerated" as a direct result of the Belfast Agreement. The final decision to release the men rests with the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, but the junior Northern Ireland Minister, Lord Dubs, said recently that a review body would be set up this summer to look at cases relating to scheduled offences, including Fisher and Wright.