Ulster clergyman critical of British use of force

The Irish primate joined a growing controversy over allegations that British security forces in Northern Ireland had new ''shoot first'' instructions against guerrillas.

Speaking on Irish Radio, Tomas Cardinal O Fiaich said that in some cases the victims did not appear to be armed and minimum force was not used, as laid down in the regulations of the security forces. John Hume, leader of the mainly Roman Catholic Social Democratic and Labour Party, charged last week that the police and Army in Northern Ireland had fundamentally changed their policy to shoot terrorist suspects on sight. He called it ''legalized murder.''