British Justice ?

The past 48 hours have demonstrated the British Government's lack of commitment to justice in the past and the present.

On Tuesday the case against two British soldiers for the 1972 killing of Offical IRA Volunteer Joe McCann collapsed. The soldiers shot the unarmed McCann in the back as he was walking away. At the time there was no police-led investigation. Statements admitting the killing were given by the soldiers to the military without caution. In a subsequent investigation, further statements were again given admitting the killing, without a formal caution. The police failed to formally investigate the killing, the case collapsed, and the soldiers walked free.

The Police Ombudsman yesterday release a report into the killing by the police of four people on the 14th and 15th of August 1969. The youngest victim Patrick Rooney was 9 years old and was in his bedroom at the time. The young boy was killed by bullets fired from a Browning heavy machine, fired by the police, pieced the wall of his home. The Ombudsman found a failure to investigate the killings of Patrick Rooney, Hugh McCabe, Samuel McLarnon, Micheal Lynch. Those involved in the killing or either dead or deemed unfit to stand trial.

Last night the British Government briefed journalists that they would introduce an effective amnesty to ensure their military would never face prosecution for their actions in Ireland. This solo run by the British Government flies in the face of an agreement made in Stormont House in 2014 with the Irish Government and all the parties on dealing with the past conflict. In January last year, the British government committed to legislate for the Stormont House Agreement. They have reneged in favour of covering up the actions of their military in the killings of Irish Citizens.