The UK government’s proposal to stop any new inquests and civil actions arising from the Troubles in Northern Ireland has been opposed by political parties in Ireland North and South. Drawing a line under atrocities, bombings and killings would not serve justice well.
In 1972 a pregnant woman, her sister and boyfriend were shot by British soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment as they returned home from a night out. Marian Brown died and her boyfriend and sister were severely wounded.
At the time there was an informal agreement between the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Royal Military Police (RMP) that the RUC would collect evidence from civilians and the RMP would investigate the actions of soldiers.
The RMP Agreement or order 148/70 made in 1970 between the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the army in Northern Ireland was revoked in September 1973. RMP investigations into killings then were known as tea and sandwich inquiries, which indicates the rigour with which they were carried out.
An inquest into the killing was held in 1974 and an open verdict returned.
Thirty-nine years later the Attorney General directed that a new inquest be held. In 2018 it was revealed that Royal Anglian Regiment soldiers fired 20 live rounds indiscriminately in contravention of the Yellow Card Rule that governed military personnel’s rules of engagement. The soldiers had most likely come under fire from a car travelling along the nearby Grosvenor Road, but no target had been clearly identified. It was acknowledged by the Coroner that the three victims posed no threat.
Nearly 50 years after Marian Brown was killed by the British army on the streets of Belfast the legal action brought by her relatives against the Ministry of Defence has been settled.
If the government’s legacy proposals are adopted, cases like Marian Brown’s would be swept under the carpet.
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