Sergeant Lee Clegg (born c. 1969) is a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldier who was convicted of murder for his involvement in the shooting dead of one teenage joyrider in West

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. His conviction was later overturned.

Shooting

The shooting took place in West

on 30 September 1990. Clegg, then a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

originally from Bradford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and his fellow soldiers manning the checkpoint on the Upper Glen Road, fired nineteen bullets into a stolen

Vauxhall Astra The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall since 1980. It is currently produced at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. For its first two generations, the nameplate was applied to right-han ...

that passed through their checkpoint travelling at high speed. Clegg fired four of the bullets, the last of which killed 18-year-old passenger Karen Reilly. The driver, 17-year-old Martin Peake, also died at the scene, and the third passenger, Markiewicz Gorman, escaped with minor injuries.

Sentencing

Clegg was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1993, the court having decided that lethal force had been used without a lawful purpose. The fourth bullet was said to have been fired through the back of the car as it was leaving the checkpoint and was therefore no longer a threat to the soldiers. The murder conviction was condemned by unionists and some newspapers, including the '' Daily Mail'', which began a campaign for Clegg's release on the grounds that he was just doing his job in difficult circumstances.

Release and aftermath

Clegg was released under licence by then

Northern Ireland Secretary Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

Patrick Mayhew Patrick Barnabas Burke Mayhew, Baron Mayhew of Twysden, (11 September 1929 – 25 June 2016) was a British barrister and politician. Early life atrick’s father, George Mayhew, was a decorated army officer turned oil executive; his mother, S ...

in 1995, which in turn led to rioting in Irish nationalist areas of Belfast.

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

repeatedly called the decision a "threat to the

peace process A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...

". The release followed after a test shooting on another Astra conducted by pathologist

Iain West Iain West (25 April 1944 – 23 July 2001) was a British forensic pathologist. Early life West was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 25 April 1944, the son of a Squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. He was educated at Carre's Grammar School in Slea ...

and forensic expert Graham Renshaw on 4 June 1995.

Appeals

A set of appeals to the Court of Appeal and

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

led to the quashing of the murder conviction in 1998 and a re-trial in March 1999, on the grounds that new evidence suggested that the fourth bullet entered the side of the car. At the retrial Clegg was cleared of murder, but a conviction for "attempting to wound" the driver of the car, Martin Peake, who also died in the incident, was upheld. Another appeal, this time at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, led to that lesser conviction also being overturned on 31 January 2000 owing to uncertainty over the accuracy of evidence that initially suggested Clegg's final bullet was fired after the vehicle had passed. Clegg continued to serve as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade. In September 2007 the Daily Mail reported that Clegg would be serving in Afghanistan in 2008 as combat medic with the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment.

References

Bibliography

''BBC News'' Soldier cleared of murder (1999 report)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clegg, Lee 1960s births British Parachute Regiment soldiers Living people Overturned convictions in the United Kingdom Military personnel from Bradford Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Soldiers imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Military scandals