Derek Bird - The Cumbria Gunman

[Peter Presland]

You'll recall that on 2 June last in Cumbria NW England, Derek Bird killed 12 people (including his twin brother and his solicitor) and wounded eleven others before turning the gun on himself

Thanks to one Trowbridge Ford, I've done some digging and believe his long piece about Derek Bird and Northern Ireland is pretty accurate.

I've put a page up on Wikispooks about it. Here is an extract:

The elephant in the Establishment living-room

A distillation of a long article by Trowbridge Ford

It is likely that all of the problems Derek Bird was wrestling with - so copiously pored over in the press - had some bearing on what he did, but.... it seems there is one item of enormous potential significance which nobody is talking about - the public because they are unaware of it; Officialdom because it poses a whole raft of awkward and embarrassing questions for the Establishment:
It is that of Derek Bird's Military service in Northern Ireland from 1977 to 1989.
Apparently Bird acquired the nickname "Birdy" (a nickname reported in the press) after spotting wounded IRA member Francis Hughes hiding in woodland during a search that followed his escape from a firefight with British soldiers, the result of a stake-out. It is alleged that soon afterwards Bird received 'Special Observation Patrol' training and was involved in the operation that resulted in the death of Francis Bradley on 18 February 1986. [2] It is further alleged that there were/are a number of ex-army men among his victims and/or intended victims, who knew all about his army service and who ribbed him mercilessly about it and his other problems.
It appears that these multiple issues peaked with the announcement at the end of May 2010 by John Larkin, Northern Ireland's first Attorney General since direct rule, that there would be a new inquest into the Francis Bradley Assassination and that all the soldiers involved (which would include Bird) would this time be required to attend and give evidence. [3] [4]

• See Also Madden and Finucane press release dated 9 July 2010 [5]
  

However, more than three months after that announcement and the subsequent Cumbria rampage by Derek Bird, there has been no follow-up by Northern Ireland's Chief Coroner John Lecky. The silence is deafening.

Wikispooks comment

It is clear that, if the Trowbridge Ford allegations are true, then they have very considerable bearing on what happened in Cumbria on 2 June 2010. They pose a whole raft of questions which the authorities would clearly prefer not to answer.
The problem is that to date (6 September 2010), nobody appears to be asking them.

[Magda Hassan]

Well spotted Peter. That makes more sense than the 'no apparent reason' presently put out about the event.