As Turgon notes below it looks like the HET will report the SAS was well within its legal right to return fire to the IRA back in May 1987
What’s just as interesting though is Niall Donnelly’s tough interview with Barry McElduff on UTV (the BBC took a similar line). Mr McElduff clearly does not get the interview he was planning on, when Donnelly badgers him out of his pre-scripted statement.
Instead of focusing solely on the British shot to kill policy, Donnelly puts to West Tyrone MLA the suggestion that the IRA were themselves operating a shoot to kill policy that night.
It’s a poor end to a what’s been a bad PR week for Sinn Fein. Maybe the stringent examination given by the southern press to SF’s ill fated Presidential candidacy is starting to have an invigorating effect upon their northern colleagues?
One swallow, etc, etc…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty