Britain in dock over Gibraltar shootings

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ritain stands in the European dock today, the only country to have been accused of breaching article 2 of the human rights convention - the right to life - when the SAS gunned down three unarmed IRA terrorists in Gibraltar. Allegations that the Government was operating a "shoot- to-kill" anti-terrorist policy will surface again in Strasbourg.

If the court rejects the UK's claim that the 1988 killings were justified, the implications for the Government's anti-terrorist and security policies could be immense. Ministers would be forced to choose between leaving the convention or having changes to security policy forced upon them.

At the very least, a finding against the Government purely on the facts of this case rather than policy may lead to it having to compensate the terrorists' families and re- examine its rules of engagement.

The case could have implications for the other 33 European signatories if the court decides to lay down minimum safeguards before lethal force can be justified.

John Wadham, legal officer of Liberty, the civil rights organisation, said yesterday: "This is a very significant case, dealing with the fundamental right to life, the use of lethal force and the extent to which a government is responsible for ensuring that life is protected, whatever the circumstances."

There seems little doubt that three IRA members, Daniel McCann, Sean Savage and Mairead Farrell, who had based themselves on the Costa del Sol, were plotting to plant a bomb in the heart of the tiny colony at the weekly changing of the guard ceremony by the Royal Anglian Regiment.

ut lawyers for their families have maintained the three were victims of a high-level plot to kill them. They will argue today that the security forces' operation in Gibraltar was neither planned nor executed in such a way as to justify the use of lethal force.