Controversy
There was significant controversy at the time concerning the Royal Pardon issued to Michael Shields. The then Home Secretary Jack Straw refused to explain the reasoning for the pardon, stating "I will not set out all the evidence that has come to light. Suffice it to say that there is very good reason to believe I was being told the truth.". The use of the word 'evidence' is particularly tenuous as it is thought the only evidence presented to Mr Straw was verbal 'evidence' submitted by Mr Shields' family and Graham Sankey possibly under duress. A friend of Graham Sankey alleged "When Sankey turned up to speak with Kirwan he was absolutely terrified. He was with his family and they just said they had received serious threats on members of the family and Graham.
“All Kirwan got was, ‘I want to say something in public because I am under great pressure, I am in fear of my life.'"''
“Kirwan didn’t get a confession out of him. Kirwan was not at all happy that Sankey was really admitting it. So he took it upon himself to make Sankey’s statement ambiguous. He did it like that so he could then tear it to pieces if necessary later. It was not worth the paper it was written on.”
The motives for such a turn-around by Mr Straw have been questioned with the journalist Carole Malone "I'm sorry, but this whole thing strinks of subterfuge, incompetence and political wheeler-dealing. Can it be a coincidence that Michael's pardon comes after his father's threat to stand against Jack Straw in Blackburn at the next election unless his son was released?"
Read more about this topic: Conviction Of Michael Shields
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