Soldier claims sectarian abuse

A former soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment has told a fair employment tribunal he tried to take his life after he was subjected to sectarian abuse and harassment.

Patrick Murphy, a 33-year-old Catholic from south Down, claims the Army discriminated against him on the grounds of religious belief and political opinion.

On Tuesday, he told the tribunal the bullying started once fellows soldiers discovered he was a Catholic but when he complained to a senior officer he was told to "get a grip".

The Ministry of Defence denies discrimination.

He would have left his locker open with his Combat 18 stuff hanging in his locker and photographs of him Nazi saluting

Patrick Murphy

Mr Murphy told the tribunal he was threatened by a lance corporal who was later jailed for storing weapons for the neo-Nazi group, Combat 18, and loyalist paramilitaries.

He said Lance Corporal William Thompson openly abused him in front of other soldiers after he was transferred to Ballykinlar Army base in County Down in 1999.

"He didn't care who saw him. He would have left his locker open with his Combat 18 stuff hanging in his locker and photographs of him Nazi saluting and UVF T-shirts on him," he said.

Thompson, who was convicted in April 2001, was given an exemplary discharge from the Royal Irish Regiment in May 1999.

Transfer request

Mr Murphy broke down in tears as he described how he had tried to kill himself on 20 October 1998, claiming senior officers had not taken him seriously.

On 9 October 1998, he requested a transfer from his commanding officer Major Colin Marks.

In his report, Major Marks wrote: "I told Private Murphy to stop telling untruths about his personal life and to get a grip."

Three days later Mr Murphy told his company medical officer he was suicidal.

"He was highly abrupt the way he got on with me, he didn't give a damn," he told the Belfast tribunal.

"I drove home and sat and had a cup of tea. My wife took the kids shopping and I went out back and lifted a bit of garden hose tied out the back door and I cut a length of that."

He said he attached it to the exhaust and got into the car.

"I sealed the window up and when I was inside I started the car."

Mr Murphy's life was saved when his wife came home from shopping and smashed the window of the car.

The hearing in Belfast continues.