The IRA gang was under constant surveillance by a covert British Army unit at the time of the murder but the soldiers were told not to intervene.
Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick died in South Armagh in February 1997 after being hit by a bullet fired from a sniper’s rifle hidden in the back of a specially converted assassins’ car.
However, the murder could have been prevented, according to an experienced special forces soldier who has decided to talk for the first time about the events that led to the killing.
The soldier — who uses the pseudonym Tony Buchanan — was attached for nine years to 14th Intelligence and Security Company Northern Ireland, an undercover unit that was trained by the SAS.
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Buchanan, who was decorated for bravery, says his unit had been monitoring the movements of the IRA’s “Goldfinger”sniper gang using two electronic bugs: one inside the gunmen’s car and other in the butt of one of their assault rifles.
On the day of the Restorick killing, the unit was keeping watch on the the IRA gang from a control centre at the Bessbrook army base.
Buchanan said: “The snipers were driving towards Bessbrook base where the interception team were in their cars and ready to deploy.”
Before the army team — which included members of the SAS — was able to leave the base they were told to stand down on orders from a senior RUC police officer.
The soldiers were incensed. “Around 40 minutes later they heard a shot, then the news that a soldier had been slotted.” Sources believe the order to stand down was made to protect an informer inside the sniping gang.
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Next week Patrick Mercer, the Conservative party homeland security spokesman, will ask questions in parliament calling for a “clear explanation” of the events that led to Restorick’s death.