A British soldier who was jailed for life following the shooting dead of two joyriders in Northern Ireland is to serve in Afghanistan, according to a report today.
If paratrooper Lee Clegg is deployed in southern Afghanistan it is thought it will be the first time he has been sent into a combat zone since his release from prison more than a decade ago.
Sgt Clegg (38), was a private in the Parachute Regiment when he fired at a stolen car as it burst through a checkpoint in Belfast in September 1990.
He was jailed for life in 1993 for murdering passenger Karen Reilly (18), and wounding 17-year-old driver Martin Peake, who also died in the incident.
Sgt Clegg, who is originally from Bradford, said he opened fire because he feared a terrorist attack.
But the soldier was accused of using excessive force and firing a fourth shot into the back of the car when it was no longer a danger to him or his colleagues.
A huge campaign followed by Sgt Clegg's supporters who believed he was simply doing his job under severe pressure and he was freed on licence in 1995. He was cleared of the murder at a retrial in 1999.
The wounding conviction was quashed a year later.
According to a report in today's Daily Mail, the NCO is due to be deployed to Afghanistan as a combat medic when 2 Para begins a tour of duty next year.
But a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said he could not comment on the movement of individual soldiers. He also added that no decision had yet been made about which units would be deployed to Afghanistan next year and, therefore, could not confirm 2 Para's involvement.
Since his release from prison Sgt Clegg is known to have served some time as a physical training instructor. In 2001, West Yorkshire Police confirmed he had applied to join their force but had been rejected.