Two Scottish soldiers serving life sentences for murdering a Belfast teenager have been granted leave by Belfast High Court to apply for a judicial review of a decision not to refer their cases to the Life Sentence Review Board until October.
By then Scots Guards James Fisher (27) and Mark Wright (22) will have served five years for the murder of Peter McBride, two years longer than the time served by Paratrooper Lee Clegg, who was also convicted of murder.
Mr Peter Smith QC said there was a massive discrepancy in the two cases and the law made it clear that this should not be so. "In real terms it means a difference between six years and 10 years," he said, referring to 50 per cent remission. "It is intolerable that these men should remain incarcerated when the court has already ruled that their continued imprisonment is unjust."
The application was opposed by a Crown lawyer, who said following a previous court case the review by the Life Sentence Review Board had been brought forward from "late 1998". "The Secretary of State Sir Patrick Mayhew felt that release before October was not appropriate and we say his decision was not irrational," said the lawyer.
Granting leave, Mr Justice Girvan said the ruling was without prejudice to the ultimate outcome of the application. He said the case would be reviewed again on May 30th.