Soldier’s mother pledges not to rest until she knows exactly how her son died

THE distraught mother of a young soldier shot dead by a colleague in Northern Ireland said yesterday she would not rest until she found out what really happened to him.

Liz Green’s son Tony, 25, a corporal in the Royal Scots Regiment, was shot accidentally by Private William Graham.

Graham, 24, from Whitburn, Lothian, was sentenced to two years imprisonment at Belfast Crown Court for the manslaughter of Corporal Green at Shackleton Barracks, Ballykelly, Co Derry.

Mrs Green said afterwards: “Going to the barracks the next day my gut reaction was there was something very, very wrong.”

Evidence given during a week-long trial last year revealed that Corporal Green, an army chef from Carlisle, was shot in the head after Graham’s rifle was discharged from the back of a Land Rover 130 yards away.

The incident took place on January 24, 2001. At the time, Corporal Green’s wife was expecting their first child.

Graham, a member of a special surveillance unit, had been preparing to go on an operation to Co Fermanagh and had placed his gun in the back of the vehicle.

The operation had been delayed and Corporal Green, who was to accompany the unit as chef, was returning to the cookhouse when the gun went off. He died in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry a day later.

Denying manslaughter, Graham had insisted that he had put the safety catch on his rifle before placing it in the Land Rover and did not remember placing his finger on the trigger.

Passing sentence yesterday, Mr Justice Higgins said that Graham, who was convicted of manslaughter last October, was an experienced soldier and while he did not set out to kill Mr Green, had been grossly negligent.

“The defendant wasn’t a new recruit with limited familiarity with firearms. He was a highly trained and skilful soldier.

“The offence of unlawful killing of Anthony Green was so serious only a custodial sentence can be justified.”