Carmen Proetta, whose account of the Gibraltar shooting contradicted the official story (“Death on the Rock” Thames TV 1988)
Death on the rock
Some time before 4 March 1988, UK authorities became aware of a plan by the Provisional IRA (Irish Republican Army) to carry out a terrorist attack on Gibraltar. They expected the attack to take the form of a bomb hidden in a car. Soldiers were sent to Gibraltar to help the police arrest the suspected IRA members. They were told that the suspects were dangerous and likely to be armed. The soldiers were instructed not to use more force than was necessary to protect life.
When the suspects crossed the border from Spain to Gibraltar, they could have been arrested. But they weren’t. They were allowed to enter Gibraltar and go to the area where it was suspected that the bombing would take place. There, the three suspects – Daniel McCann, Mairéad Farrell and Sean Savage – were shot and killed by the soldiers. It was later discovered that they were unarmed and carried no device which could set off a bomb, although eventually a car containing explosives was found in Spain.
