The British army's determination to retain the services of the two soldiers who were convicted of the murder of the Belfast teenager Peter McBride was always outrageous.
Yesterday's (Friday) decisive Court of Appeal ruling that there never was any justification for allowing Mark Wright and James Fisher to remain in the Scots Guards simply emphasised the conclusion which all reasonable observers had already reached.
However, despite the original murder convictions and the latest legal development, Wright and Fisher remain serving British soldiers.
It seems obvious that only a direct political intervention will allow a fair outcome to be reached in a long-standing case of injustice.
Mr McBride was shot dead by the two soldiers near his home in the New Lodge area of Belfast 13 years ago.
Although they were sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of his murder, Wright and Fisher were released and allowed to rejoin their regiment just three years later.
The fact that many other soldiers have subsequently been dismissed from the army for relatively minor breaches of discipline seemed to make no difference whatsoever to the military authorities.
An unmistakable message was sent out that the murder of a Belfast teenager was somehow regarded as much less serious than smoking cannabis or brawling in a pub.
The British army has stuck relentlessly to this position, despite mounting international criticism over the issue.
Despite yesterday's Court of Appeal judgment, few will expect the Ministry of Defence to press for a different approach.
The matter is only likely to be resolved by some form of British government action which has the approval of Tony Blair.
If Mr Blair allows the express wishes of the courts to be contradicted by anonymous military officials, he will be creating a particularly grave precedent.
