McCANN AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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that "at 16.06 hours on 6 March a military assault force was completed at
the military option in respect of the terrorist bombing ASU in Gibraltar.
Control is hereby handed back to the Civil Power". Deputy Commissioner
Colombo telephoned to Central Station for the evacuation plans to be put
into effect. Instructions were also given with a view to taking charge of the
scenes of the incidents. Soldier G was also instructed to commence the
clearance of the car.
93. After the shooting, the bodies of the three suspects and Farrell’s
handbag were searched. No weapons or detonating devices were discovered.
94. At the Shell garage scene, the shell cases and cartridges were picked
up without marking their location or otherwise recording their position. The
positions of the bodies were not marked.
95. At the scene of the Savage shooting, only some of the cartridge
positions were marked. No police photographs were taken of the bodies’
positions. Inspector Revagliatte had made a chalk outline of the position of
Savage’s body. Within that outline, there were five strike marks, three in the
area of the head.
96. Chief Inspector Lopez ordered a general recall of personnel and went
directly to the assembly area to begin cordoning it off. The fire brigade also
arrived at the assembly area.
The bomb-disposal team opened the suspect white Renault car but found
no explosive device or bomb. The area was declared safe between 19.00 and
20.00 hours.
H. Police investigation following the shootings
97. Chief Inspector Correa was appointed in charge of the investigation.
98. Inside Farrell’s handbag was found a key ring with two keys and a
tag bearing a registration number MA9317AF. This information was passed
at about 17.00 hours to the Spanish police who commenced a search for the
car on the suspicion that it might contain explosives. During the night of 6
to 7 March, the Spanish police found a red Ford Fiesta with that registration
number in La Linea. Inside the car were found keys for another car,
registration number MA2732AJ, with a rental agreement indicating that the
car had been rented at 10.00 hours on 6 March by Katharine Smith, the
name on the passport carried in Farrell’s handbag.
99. At about 18.00 hours on 8 March, a Ford Fiesta car with registration
number MA2732AJ was discovered in a basement car-park in Marbella. It
was opened by the Malaga bomb-disposal squad and found to contain an
explosive device in the boot concealed in the spare-wheel compartment. The
device consisted of five packages of Semtex explosive (altogether 64 kg) to
which were attached four detonators and around which were packed 200
rounds of ammunition. There were two timers marked 10 hrs 45 mins and
11 hrs 15 mins respectively. The device was not primed or connected.