Consul to raise McBride case with Pentagon

The latest edition of David Isenberg’s excellent Weapons Trade Observer mailout has picked up an Irish News story on the McBride case.

McBride satisfied with US meeting

Barry McCaffrey

The family of murdered Belfast teenager Peter McBride last night expressed
satisfaction following a meeting with US government officials.

Jean and Kelly McBride met with American consul Howard Pittman in Belfast
yesterday to raise concerns that a company associated with former British
army officer Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer has been awarded a US $293
million security contract in Iraq.

In September 1992 Col Spicer was the commanding officer of Scots Guards
James Fisher and Mark Wright who were convicted of the murder of Peter
McBride in north Belfast.

At that time Col Spicer claimed that Mr McBride had been carrying a bomb and
had links to the IRA, allegations dismissed by the trial judge. Having left
the army Col Spicer was arrested during a failed mercenary coup in Papua New
Guinea.

Later another of his companies was investigated for allegedly breaking a UN
arms embargo against Sierra Leone. However, in 2004 Col Spicer’s company,
Aegis Defence Services, was awarded a $293 million security contract from
the US government.

Following yesterday’s meeting Jean McBride said: "The consul agreed to go
back to the US Defence Department to raise concerns that this contract was
awarded to Aegis without any proper investigation of its past history." (Irish News via WTO)