Pc Yvonne Fletcher ruling: Judge finds Gaddafi aide jointly liable for her shooting

A retired police officer has won his High Court bid to hold Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s ex-aide jointly liable for the fatal shooting of Pc Yvonne Fletcher 37 years ago.

Pc Fletcher, 25, was killed while policing a demonstration against the former Libyan leader outside his country’s embassy in St James’s Square in central London on April 17 1984.

Her former colleague John Murray, 66, brought a civil claim for a nominal amount of £1 against Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk as part of his decades-long attempt to find “justice” for his dead friend.

Lawyers for Mr Murray accused Mr Mabrouk, who denied any wrongdoing, of being “jointly liable” for the shooting, arguing that, while he did not fire any shots, he was “instrumental” in the “orchestration” of a plan to use violence at the protest.

A three-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London heard that Mr Murray, who has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the incident, was seeking “vindicatory” damages for assault and battery.

The court heard that Mr Murray, from Chingford, east London, promised his dying colleague he would find those responsible for the shots that were fired from an embassy window.

Giving his judgment on Tuesday morning, Mr Justice Martin Spencer said that “those responsible for the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher also bear liability” to Mr Murray.

He added: “I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that there existed a common design to respond to the planned anti-Gaddafi protest by using violence.”

The judge said the evidence pointed to Mr Mabrouk being an “active participant” in a “common deign to fire upon the demonstrators”.

He concluded: “Mr Murray has succeeded in showing that the defendant Saleh Ibrahim Mabrouk is jointly liable with those who carried out the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher, for the battery inflicted upon her”.

The judge’s ruling was met with applause in a packed courtroom, with Mr Murray shedding tears as the judgment was read out.

In a statement following the ruling, Mr Murray said “we have finally achieved justice for Yvonne”.

Pc Fletcher’s family said in a statement that the court judgment served as a reminder of the “tragic events” that had “a devastating and lifelong effect on Yvonne’s family and colleagues”.

“Yvonne will always be in our thoughts and we will continue to be in close contact with New Scotland Yard regarding all aspects of her case,” they added.

The judge described Mr Murray and Pc Fletcher, who worked together in central London’s Covent Garden, as “salt of the earth” who were “the very best of friends” and “the first port of call if anyone in the community had a problem”.

He told the court that Pc Fletcher died as a result of “a cowardly attack” when gunmen armed with Sterling submachine guns opened fire from the first-floor windows of the embassy on “unarmed and unsuspecting lawful demonstrators”, and who were “uncaring of the risk posed to police officers going about their normal duties”.

The judge added that there seemed to be “little doubt” that the actions of the gunmen were “orchestrated and sanctioned” by Gaddafi, who “could not tolerate dissent or disagreement”.

The judge said he was awarding the damages sought by Mr Murray “to vindicate his 37 year fight to bring to justice at least one of those responsible for the death of his colleague”.

Mr Mabrouk was arrested in 2015 in connection with Pc Fletcher’s death, but two years later the Metropolitan Police said charges could not be brought because key evidence had been kept secret to protect national security, the court was told last week.

In 2019, he was “excluded” from the UK over his “suspected involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity”, the court was told.