WPC Yvonne Fletcher

Yvonne Joyce Fletcher (1959–17 April 1984) was a British Woman Police Constable (WPC) who was shot and killed in London's St James's Square while on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A constable is a person holding a particular office most commonly in law enforcement. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. St James Square is the only square in the exclusive St James's district of the City of Westminster. Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one State or an international Inter-governmental organization (such as the United Nations) present in Her death resulted in a police siege of the embassy which lasted for eleven days. It also caused the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Libya. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Her death was the third murder or manslaughter of a mainland British policewoman on duty, only 18 months after the first. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands ^[1]

Fletcher was born in Wiltshire and joined the Metropolitan Police in 1977. Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police. At 5ft 2¾in (159cm) tall, she was believed to be Britain's shortest police officer (at the time, police officers were generally subject to minimum height requirements).

Nobody has ever been convicted of her murder.

The protests

On the day of her death, WPC Fletcher was one of a detachment of thirty officers sent to St James's Square to monitor a demonstration by Libyan dissidents opposed to the rule of Colonel Gaddafi. A demonstration is an historically and geographically common form of Nonviolent action by groups of people A dissident, broadly defined is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine policy or institution Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi 1 (معمر القذافي) (born 7 June 1942) also known as Colonel Gaddafi This particular demonstration was specifically to protest against the execution of two students who had criticised Gaddafi in Tripoli. Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: The Libyan embassy, known as the Libyan People's Bureau, was located in the square and since February 1984 had been staffed by Gaddafi loyalists rather than professional diplomats. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states The loyalists had warned the police that they intended to mount a counter-demonstration.

About 75 protestors arrived by coach from the north of England for the demonstration, and the police kept them and the loyalists apart by the use of crash-barriers. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Loud music was played from the bureau in an apparent attempt to drown out the shouts of the protestors.

The shooting

At 10:18 on the morning of 17 April 1984 shots were fired into the group of protestors, striking eleven people including WPC Fletcher. Events 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The unarmed officer died of a stomach wound approximately an hour after arriving at hospital. A hospital is an institution for Health care providing treatment by specialised staff and equipment and often but not always providing for ^[2] The officers with her at the time included her fiancé. ^[3]

It is generally accepted that WPC Fletcher was killed by someone who opened fire with a Sterling submachine gun on the protestors from inside the Libyan embassy at 5 St James's Square. The Sterling submachine gun is a British Submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1953 until 1988 when it was phased out with the

WPC Fletcher’s hat and four other policemen's helmets were left lying in the square during the subsequent siege, and images of them were repeatedly shown on British and international television in the days that followed. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic The British public reacted with horror to the third murder of a British policewoman in 18 months.

The siege

Following the shooting, the bureau was surrounded by armed police for eleven days, in the longest police siege in London's history. Meanwhile, Gaddafi expressed 'disgust' that his diplomats were not being permitted diplomatic immunity, and Libyan soldiers surrounded Britain's embassy in Tripoli in response. Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments which ensures that Diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not ^[4]

The British Government eventually resolved the incident by allowing the embassy staff to depart the bureau (on the day of Fletcher's funeral) and then expelling them from the country. The UK then broke off diplomatic relations with Libya.

Subsequent events

In July 1999, the Libyan government publicly accepted 'general responsibility' for the murder and agreed to pay compensation to WPC Fletcher's family. This, together with Libya's eventual efforts in the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing, opened the way for the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

On 24 February 2004, the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 reported that the new Libyan prime minister, Shukri Ghanem, had claimed that his country was not responsible for Fletcher's murder (nor for the Lockerbie bombing). Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Shukri Mohammed Ghanem ( Arabic: شكرى محمد غانم) (born 1942 is the former General Secretary of the People's Committee in Libya ( Prime Ghanem said that Libya had made the admission and paid compensation in order to bring 'peace' and an end to international sanctions. International sanctions are actions taken by Countries against others for political reasons either Unilaterally or Multilaterally. ^[5]

Gaddafi was said to have later retracted Ghanem's claims.

Controversy

The official and generally accepted view that WPC Fletcher was fired upon and killed by someone in the Libyan embassy has been disputed by a number of experts, including army ballistics officer George Stiles and Home Office pathologist, Hugh Thomas. Ballistics ( gr βάλλειν ('ba'llein' "throw" is the science of Mechanics that deals with the motion behavior and effects of Projectiles The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for security and order Pathology (from Greek grc πάθος pathos, "fate harm" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study and Prime Minister Tony Blair was questioned on this subject by former MP Tam Dalyell in parliament on 24 June 1997. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns 11th Baronet (born 9 August 1932) known as Tam Dalyell (diːˈɛl is a Scottish Politician The Guardian of 23 July 1997 reported a parliamentary speech by Dalyell concerned mainly with the Lockerbie bombing, but crucially referring to Fletcher's murder in the following extract:

"With the agreement of Queenie Fletcher, her mother, I raised with the Home Office the three remarkable programmes that were made by Fulcrum, and their producer, Richard Bellfield, called Murder at St James'. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Television speculation is one thing, but this was rather more than that, because on film was George Stiles, the senior ballistics officer in the British Army, who said that, as a ballistics expert, he believed that the WPC could not have been killed from the second floor of the Libyan embassy, as was suggested.

"Also on film was my friend, Hugh Thomas, who talked about the angles at which bullets could enter bodies, and the position of those bodies. Hugh Thomas was, for years, the consultant surgeon of the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast, and I suspect he knows more about bullets entering bodies than anybody else in Britain. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. Above that was Professor Bernard Knight, who, on and off, has been the Home Office pathologist for 25 years. When Bernard Knight gives evidence on film that the official explanation could not be, it is time for an investigation. "^[6]

Participants who appeared in Murder at St James', highlighted such issues as the velocity of the bullet and the angle at which it entered WPC Fletcher's body. The programme suggested a contentious theory which alleged that elements of British MI5, American CIA and Israeli Mossad intelligence, installed in a penthouse above 8 St James's Square, used a high-velocity weapon such as the Heckler and Koch G3-A4ZF (with telescopic sight) to fire a 3-shot burst at their target. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The Mossad ( HaMossad leModi'in v'leTafkidim Meyuhadim) (המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים - Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations The G3 is a 762 mm Automatic rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK in collaboration According to this theory, WPC Fletcher was murdered to portray Gaddafi's Libya in a bad light and, perhaps, to provoke the severing of bi-lateral diplomatic relations. Forensic evidence does not support the use of a high velocity weapon however. Forensic Identification is the application of forensic science and technology to identify specific objects from the Trace evidence they leave often at a Crime

Fletcher's murder would later become a major factor in prime minister Margaret Thatcher's decision to allow U. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 S. President Ronald Reagan to launch the USAF bombing raid on Libya in 1986 from American bases in Britain. The United States bombing of Libya (code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon) comprised the joint United States Air Force, Navy and ^[7]

Murder investigation

Early reports suggested that WPC Fletcher's murderer had been hanged shortly after getting back to Libya in 1984. ^[8] However, once diplomatic relations had been restored in 1999, officers from the Metropolitan Police went to Libya on a number of occasions to pursue their investigations into her murder. "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police.

In June 2007, detectives from Scotland yard were able to interview the chief Libyan suspect for the first time, following the recent normalisation of political ties with that country. ^[9] Detectives spent seven weeks in Libya interviewing both witnesses and suspects. Yvonne Fletcher's mother, Queenie, described these latest developments as "promising".

Memorial

Memorial in St James's Square to Yvonne Fletcher

Largely as a result of a campaign by film director Michael Winner, a dedicated charity, the Police Memorial Trust, was created on 3 May 1984, two months after Yvonne Fletcher's death. Michael Winner (born 30 October 1935) is an English Film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation based in London, England. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar)

A memorial to Fletcher was commissioned by the Police Memorial Trust. A memorial is an object which serves as a memory of something usually a person (who has died or an event In a display of political solidarity, the leaders of all the main political parties attended the unveiling in St James's Square on 1 February 1985, which was performed by the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 The memorial is located on the north-east corner of the inner section of the square.

Westminster City Council slightly modified part of St James's Square to accommodate the memorial, placing a rounded area of pavement in front of it extending into the roadway making an architectural feature, the centre of which was the granite and Portland stone memorial. The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. The public showed their support of this recognition of police bravery and sacrifice by attending the ceremony in their hundreds and by placing flowers at the memorial every day since it was unveiled. A twenty year anniversary memorial service was held in April 2004. ^[10]

In memory of over 1,600 British police officers killed on duty, a national memorial was erected in London opposite St. James's Park at the junction of Horse Guards Road and The Mall. For the football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, see St James' Park; for the football stadium in Exeter, see St James Park The Mall (ˈmæl in London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square The National Police Memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth on 26 April 2005. The National Police Memorial is a memorial in central London, commemorating about 4000 Police officers killed in the course of their duties in the United TalkCommonewalth realm.--> The monarchy Events 1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

References

See also

• National Police Memorial
• Police Memorial Trust

External links

• BBC News (April 17, 1984), "Libyan embassy shots kill policewoman"
• BBC News (March 25, 2004), "Timeline: WPC Yvonne Fletcher"
• National Police Memorial image of the Fletcher memorial

Footage

• BBC News footage of the incident (WMV format)
• BBC News footage of the family reaction
• BBC Footage of the funeral
• The Guardian (July 23, 1997), speech by Tam Dalyell on Lockerbie and Fletcher's murder