British Prime Minister Tony Blair was today accused of devaluing human rights by failing to back a bid to kick two soldiers who murdered a Belfast teenager out of the Army.
Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Mr Mark Durkan, hit out at the Prime Minister's stance on the 10th anniversary of Peter McBride's shooting. He declared: 'The British Government's treatment of the McBride family makes a mockery of basic standards of justice and human rights.'
Mr Durkan also called on Mr Blair to meet relatives of the dead teenager to explain his reasons for not endorsing their campaign to oust Mark Wright and James Fisher.
The Scots Guardsmen were convicted of murdering Peter McBride, an 18-year-old father of two after he was shot in the back at a security checkpoint near his New Lodge home in north Belfast in September 1992. At their trial Wright and Fisher claimed they believed Mr McBride had a coffee-jar bomb. But the judge found they were lying as they had already stopped and searched the victim.
In 1998 the soldiers were given early prison release and later allowed to resume their military careers following a ruling by a British army board. Legal challenges mounted by the McBride family have so far failed to reverse the decision.
In May, Mr Durkan wrote to the Prime Minister asking how he could justify having two convicted murderers who lied under oath serving as soldiers. Dismayed by Mr Blair's response, which pointed to exceptional circumstances, which have remained private, the SDLP chief has launched a fierce attack.
'I am deeply disappointed that Tony Blair has defended the handling of this case,' he said. 'Tony Blair restates his commitment to human rights. But this commitment cannot be reconciled with the actions of the British Government.
'Murder is murder. It doesn't matter who carried it out, it should be treated equally seriously yet it is obvious this has not happened in this case.'
Urging the Prime Minister to meet with Peter McBride's mother, Jean, Mr Durkan said the whole family had suffered enough. 'It is time that he put right the wrong done to them. As a Prime Minister who seeks to set human rights standards for others, there is a clear onus on Mr Blair to ensure that Guardsmen Fisher and Wright no longer serve in the British Army.'