JAILED paratrooper Lee Clegg was said to be ''devastated'' yesterday

after hearing that his case will be reviewed -- but not until June.

Mr Simon McKay, the lawyer acting for the Free Clegg Committee told a

news conference after visiting him in jail: ''He is extremely

devastated, and it was a real blow to him.''

Private Clegg, 26, is serving his sentence at the top-security

Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, after the House of Lords rejected his

appeal against conviction for the murder of 18-year-old Karen Reilly,

from Belfast, in September 1990.

The girl was a passenger in a stolen car on which soldiers opened fire

near a military checkpoint in west Belfast. The driver of the car,

Martin Peake, 17, also died in the incident.

Private Clegg was told yesterday that his case will be considered by

the Northern Ireland Life Sentence Review Board at the earliest possible

time at its meeting in June.

The Prison Service said that this followed an internal review of the

case.

A statement added: ''The norm is that cases are considered by the

board for the first time when prisoners have served 10 years in custody.

''However, there are exceptional mitigating factors in this case, such

as those referred to by the trial judge and other members of the

judiciary at the subsequent appeals, which suggest that a much earlier

first review is appropriate.''

Private Clegg has always protested his innocence, and two million

people have signed petitions in his support since the Law Lords rejected

his appeal to reduce murder to manslaughter in January of this year.

He issued a statement through Mr McKay yesterday which said: ''My term

of imprisonment has been made bearable by the huge amount of public

support I have received since my appeal was dismissed in January 1995.

''I have also had the confidence to deal with my situation, but I

believe I am innocent of any crime, despite the tragic nature of Karen

Reilly's death.

''When I received the news this morning at 10.40am while doing my

prison duties I was devastated. It seemed once again I had received a

further blow to my morale.

''I also felt for all those who have helped by signing petitions,

writing to MPs and to those who have written to me personally with their

messages of support.''

Mr McKay said that his client's demeanour in prison is ''as composed

as ever'' despite his and his family's distress.

The lawyer said he was also ''very frustrated'' by the news from the

Northern Ireland Office that they had to wait a further three months

before the case would be considered. However, he remained confident that

new evidence would result in Private Clegg's ultimate acquittal.

Mr McKay said an application had been lodged for his cleient's release

on licence which had not received a substantive response.

Deploring the decision to review the case, Karen Reilly's father, Mr

Sean Reilly, said he was shocked and stunned.

He said: ''Politics are now starting to move into this case. We feel

it is totally wrong, unfair and unjust someone can be considered for

release so soon.''

The review was welcomed by Labour's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary,

Ms Marjorie Mowlam.

''We want to see this case treated fairly under the normal legal

procedures that apply to all cases where a sentence of life imprisonment

has been passed,'' she said.