A survivor of the Miami Showband massacre during the Troubles in Northern Ireland has hit out against the “lies” of the British government as he and other victims of the atrocity agreed to £1.5m in damages over suspected state collusion with loyalist terrorists.
Three members of the Miami Showband were killed by loyalists in a bomb and gun attack when their bus was stopped near Newry in 1975 as they travelled back to Dublin from a gig.
Stephen Travers, who was injured in the attack, said he was convinced he would have won his civil case against the Ministry of Defence and the police showing there had been collaboration between the killers and serving soldiers. He said he agreed to settle because of a plan by the British government to bar all prosecutions relating to killings by soldiers and police during the Troubles.
“The threat of the current British government to shut down all cases with the command paper set out in July threatening to dispense with justice rather than to dispense justice was a factor I had to take into consideration,” he told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show in Dublin on Tuesday.
Legislation proposing an amnesty for all state agents involved in killings during the Troubles is to be tabled in January on the grounds that it serves no one to prosecute ageing soldiers and police involved in crimes 40 years or more ago.
“Our case proves that it is not easy to get into court. The argument that they are vexatious claims being taken against the British government … is a complete lie.”
“It took us 10 years to get them kicking and screaming into court. So all this is completely false,” he added.
The Miami Showband were one of Ireland’s most famous showbands at the time, and were targeted after they stopped at a fake army patrol made up of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldiers and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) members.
Band members were forced to line up at the side of the road while attempts were made to hide a bomb on the tour bus.
The device exploded prematurely, killing some of the would-be bombers.
Their accomplices then opened fire on the band, murdering the lead singer, Fran O’Toole, the guitarist Tony Geraghty and the trumpeter Brian McCoy.
Two other band members, Des McAlea and Travers, were injured but survived.
A report by the Historical Enquiries Team into the incident known as the Miami Showband massacre, raised concerns over collusion by a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) special branch agent.
It found that the notorious UVF boss Robin “The Jackal” Jackson, a one-time UDR member who died in 1998, had been linked to one of the murder weapons by fingerprints.
Jackson, a suspected RUC special branch agent linked to scores of murders, claimed in police interviews he had been tipped off by a senior police officer to lie low after the killings.
He went on trial charged with possession of a silencer attached to a pistol used in the murders but was subsequently acquitted.
Two serving members of the UDR were eventually convicted for their part in the attack.
The legal actions, which sought damages for assault, trespass, conspiracy to injure, negligence, and misfeasance in public office, were settled at the Belfast high court on Monday, though there was no admission of liability.
Travers will receive £425,000 in damages, while McAlea will receive £325,000. The personal representatives of Fran O’Toole and Brian McCoy are to receive £375,000 and £325,000 respectively. All four plaintiffs were awarded legal costs.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Out of respect for those involved, we will not publicly discuss or comment on the specifics of the case.”
A government spokesperson said: “The MOD has reached settlements, without legal liability, with four claimants from the attack on the Miami Showband in 1975”.
