Blame IRA command for deaths of men shot committing paramilitary actions, not British security forces - UUP
Families of men killed while out for the IRA should “take issue with those who sent them to their deaths”, not the British security forces, the UUP’s Doug Beattie has said.
Reacting to the settling of lawsuits brought by the families of Brian Campbell and Colm McGirr, the Ulster Unionist justice spokesman reinforced both were “shot dead by the security forces as they attempted to retrieve weapons from an IRA hide”.
Stated Mr Beattie: “The moment these men decided they would use violence to achieve their aims was the moment they consigned themselves to a violent death.
“No military personnel are taught to shoot to wound; all are taught to shoot to kill by aiming at the visible mass and firing till the threat is neutralised.
“As sad as this is for the families, it’s those who sent Campbell and McGirr to their deaths that the families should take issue with – those men who stayed in the safety of their homes and wanted to terrorise.
“In this instance, the Ministry of Defence and police must be more robust in defence of their own actions.”
The TUV said the outcome of the case shows the system “has once again delivered for those who made victims” while innocents who suffered and died in the Troubles are forgotten.
The party’s legacy spokesman, Sammy Morrison, argued for a law change to stop pay-outs in cases where the security forces shot people that were “obviously a threat to wider society”.
“There is no dispute that Campbell and McGirr were terrorists engaged in illegal activity,” he said. “Nor can there be any doubt about what IRA arms were intended for.”
Brian Campbell, 19, and Colm McGirr, 23, died after the SAS mounted an operation at the scene of an arms dump near Coalisland, Co Tyrone, in December 1983.
Relatives of both men sued the Ministry of Defence and the PSNI, alleging a shoot-to-kill policy and lack of effective investigation.
In court today it was announced that both actions have been settled on confidential terms. The families are to make a donation to charity following the outcome.
Campbell and McGirr were shot dead after they attended the weapons cache in the Cloghog Road area along with another unidentified individual.