The Language of State Murder

As Gareth Peirce, the legal advisor for the family of murdered Brazilian sparky Jean Charles de Menezes has put it: “It’s incredible that the British state is talking of a ‘Shoot to Kill’ policy as if it has some legitimacy or legal status, of course it has none.”

In case we haven’t all just completely lost the plot, no law has been passed allowing state murder. The govt – or even the police (!) can’t just make up new laws on the hoof.

The last time the British state operated a shoot to kill policy it at least had the decency to deny it, cover it up, then slander and smear John Stalker, the man they put in charge of investigating it. Of which more here.

For anyone wanting a quick refresher course on how many people have been killed by the British State in this manner, here you go.

It's ironic then that it's today that the IRA prepare a statement that will potentially change the political landscape of Ireland and make Paisley look like a doddery old man that smells of wee, its worth checking again on the 'success' of the previous Shoot to Kill policy.

In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights concluded that the United Kingdom had violated the right to life in Northern Ireland. The unanimous rulings were made in four cases brought by the families of 11 people killed by security forces and one person killed by an armed Protestant group with the alleged collusion of the security forces.

In the words of the European Court of Human Rights published in Jordan v United Kingdom, "a prompt response by the authorities in investigating a use of lethal force may generally be regarded as essential in maintaining public confidence in their adherence to the rule of law and in preventing any appearance of collusion in or tolerance of unlawful acts."

Read Amnesty's analysis here.

But what the British State needs to be asking itselfd is how successful were these techniques in undermining the IRA, in the last 'war against terror'? Evidence would say that the policy led to: 1) the sick madness of collusion being exposed by the Stevens Inquiry and in the death of Pat Finucane 2) feeding nationalist anger and the total undermining of the moral credibility of the British army, which in turn lead to wider support for the SDLP and Sinn Fein.

No other outcome is likely now that the old policy has been resurrected in the 21st Century.