Compensation Paid for Killings By British Agents. British Government to Press Ahead With Coverup

The Miami Showband

Compensation Paid for Killings By British Agents – British Government to Press Ahead With Coverup Proposals.

Yesterday in a Belfast Court the British Government agreed to pay £1.5 million compensation to the families and surviving members of the Miami Showband massacre.

The band was traveling home to Dublin from a gig when they were stopped at a checkpoint outside Newry County Down in July 1975.

The checkpoint was made up of British soldiers from the UDR and members of the illegal unionist paramilitary group the UVF. The Band members were lined up at the side of the road and a bomb was placed in their van, primed to go off as they traveled away.

The device exploded prematurely, killing some of the bombers. The rest of the gang opened fire on the band, murdering lead singer Fran O'Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty, and trumpeter Brian McCoy.

Two other band members, Des McAlea, and Stephen Travers were left for dead but survived the atrocity.

A 2011 investigation discovered the involvement of the notorious sectarian killer and special branch agent Robin 'The Jackal' Jackson in the killings. In a clear case of collusion between unionist paramilitaries, the British Army, and police, all charges against Jackson had been dropped as a coverup operation was put in place that continues today.

While the court in Belfast was settling the claim for compensation, the British government was continuing to press ahead with their plans to ban judicial investigations, inquests, and civil actions into the past. If their proposals were in place it is unlikely that the Miami Showband Case would have gotten access to the courts.

The British government has paid compensation for the role of their agents and military in this case. They have not accepted liability. The full extent of collusion and cover-up, in this case, remains hidden.