大象传媒

Joshua Rozenberg鈥檚 report begins with a wide shot of the Maguire family crossing the road outside the Royal Courts of Justice.

Rozenberg informs us there was little doubt Anne Maguire and her family were going to be cleared by the Court of Appeal today; but the only ground of appeal allowed was the one conceded by the Crown.

In an experiment last year (1990), a leading forensic scientist (Professor Thorburn Burns) checked the original scientific tests used to convict the Maguire family of handling explosives. Professor Burns found that people could have traces of nitro-glycerine on their hands quite innocently.

That evidence was accepted by the court today; in effect the court was saying that somebody who dried their hands in the Maguires鈥� house had been handling explosives.

Mrs. Maguire, her family and supporters gather after the verdict. Amidst the popping of champagne corks Mrs. Maguire is not celebrating, 鈥淚 lost 17 years of my family鈥檚 life.鈥�

Outside the court Patrick Maguire, Anne鈥檚 son, is bitter that the Crown鈥檚 forensic scientists escaped with only mild criticism from the judges, 鈥淭his is my country and it鈥檚 done this to me and to my family, that鈥檚 something I鈥檒l have to live with. I just hope it never happens to anyone else.鈥�

Chris Mullin MP, a supporter of the Maguires, feels the good name of the family has been smeared.

The report continues with archive footage of the aftermath of the Guildford pub bombs (on 5 October 1974).

Using old photographs as illustration, Rozenberg goes on to explain the relationships between Anne Maguire, her husband Paddy (Patrick), Paddy鈥檚 brother-in-law Giuseppe Conlon and Giuseppe鈥檚 son Gerry. It was Gerry Conlon (of the Guildford Four) who allegedly told police that Anne Maguire, his aunt, was the person who had shown him how to make bombs; this was why the police went to the Maguire鈥檚 house in the first place. It was also alleged by police that Paul Hill (another member of the Guildford Four) also identified Mrs. Maguire.

Rozenberg concludes his report by stating the Maguire family still stand accused of allowing someone into their house who had been in contact with explosives; they were cleared today only because there is no evidence to support that accusation.

CONTEXT
On 5 October 1974 the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) targeted Guildford, Surrey, because it was situated close to a number of garrison towns. The PIRA planted two six-pound gelignite bombs in two pubs. The first exploded just before 9.00pm in the Horse and Groom, destroying the front of the building and shattering the windows of neighbouring shops.

It killed Paul Craig, a plasterer (22 years old); two members of the Scots Guards, William Forsyth (18) and John Hunter (17); and two members of the Women鈥檚 Royal Army Corps, Caroline Jean Slater (18) and Ann Ray Hamilton (19). A further sixty-five persons were wounded.

After the first explosion, other public houses were evacuated, including the Seven Stars where the second bomb exploded at approximately 9.35 p.m. without causing any serious injuries.

On November 7 1974 Gunner Richard Dunne, a soldier (42) and Alan Horsley, a sales clerk (20) were killed when a PIRA bomb exploded in the King鈥檚 Arms in Woolwich. Twenty-six people, including five soldiers, were injured.

In December 1974 the police arrested three men and a woman: Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Patrick Armstrong and Carole Richardson. In October 1975 these four were convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich bombings and given life sentences. The group was known as the Guildford Four.

On 4 March 1976 the Maguire Seven were convicted of making the explosives used in these bombings. The Maguire Seven were: - Anne Maguire, Patrick Maguire (Anne鈥檚 husband), Patrick Maguire (son of Anne and Patrick), Vincent Maguire (son of Anne and Patrick), Sean Smyth (brother of Anne), Patrick O鈥橬eill (family friend) and Giuseppe Conlon (brother-in-law of Anne Maguire and father of Gerry Conlon).

Over the years, the cases of the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven came under increasing legal scrutiny and the range of those seeking a review of the convictions extended widely. On 17 October 1989 it was announced that corruption proceedings would be taken against the police involved in the conviction of the Guildford Four. Two days later, with the exception of Paul Hill, those convicted for the bombings were released. This followed an announcement by the Director of Public Prosecutions that it would be wrong for the Crown 鈥榯o seek to sustain鈥� the convictions of 1975 on the basis of confessions that they had later retracted. The Court of Appeal had decided that the DPP in 1975 had suppressed scientific evidence which conflicted with the confessions. Paul Hill remained in custody because he was implicated in a case that had not yet been resolved. His conviction was eventually quashed in April 1994.

On 26 June 1991 the Court of Appeal overturned the sentences on the Maguire Seven. All of them had completed their sentences. Afterwards many criticised the court for dismissing most of the grounds of appeal and had simply concluded that the hands of the convicted could have been innocently contaminated with nitro-glycerine.

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