Convicted murderer Danny Fitzsimons was not vetted properly investigation reveals

Danny Fitzsimons

An investigation by BBC Scotland has revealed that Danny Fitzsimons, a security contractor from Middleton who murdered two colleagues in Iraq, was not properly vetted.

Fitzsimons, a former paratrooper, shot dead Paul McGuigan and Darren Hoare in 2009 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It was later revealed that he was on bail for firearms offences and was suffering from Post Traumatic Street Disorder (PTSD) at the time he was employed by G4S.

An investigation has now revealed that G4S were aware of failings in its screening procedure at least five months before the shootings took place.

Fitzsimons was employed by private security group AmorGroup, which is owned by G4S, in 2009 having previously worked as a security contractor after leaving the army.

In August 2009, within 36 hours of arriving in Baghdad, following a night of heavy drinking, Fitzsimons shot dead Paul McGuigan and Darren Hoare in what is claimed to have been a drunken brawl.

An investigation team of Scotland 2014 has now obtained a leaked internal review which reveals that the company were aware of failings in its screening process months before the shootings took place.

It shows that in March 2009 two separate audits were carried out by G4S which included reviewing screening policies and practices at G4S management which dealt with armed contracts.

The first audit found that the screening procedures only obtained a “basic disclosure” of criminal records and “a number of personnel files did not include criminal record checks.”

The second audit found that previous contractors who had worked for the company who had returned after a long period of time had not been vetted again and were deployed after handing in “necessary information.”

Regarding the deployment of Danny Fitzsimons, the report shows that basic documents were missing. Missing documents included a completed application form and military references to cover the years he was not working for G4S.

Crucially, the Criminal Records Bureau certificate for Fitzsimons was never obtained.

At the bottom of a compliancy table where the files should have been signed off there are two crosses and it states “no check or sign off in place.”

A previous investigation by the BBC revealed that G4S was warned by one of its own staff not to employ Fitzsimons. This has since been denied by G4S who say they did not receive any warning.

Corinne Boyd-Russell, the mother of Paul McGuigan, has since stated that she holds G4S responsible for the death of her son.

The family of Danny Fitzsimons have also stated that it was wrong for the company to send him to Iraq.

An inquest into the shooting of Paul McGuigan is due to take place in September with the families of both Paul McGuigan and Danny Fitzsimons calling for a public inquiry.

http://rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/73791/gs4-warned-not-to-employ-killer-security-guard-danny-fitzsimons

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