A former paratrooper has been cleared of the murders of two men and the attempted murder of five others on Bloody Sunday more than 50 years ago.
Following a five-week trial mired in controversy from the outset, the elderly veteran, known only as Soldier F, can finally walk free after being accused of the ‘unnecessary and gratuitous’ shootings of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, who both died.
Judge Patrick Lynch KC, sitting without a jury in a ‘Diplock’ court introduced in Northern Ireland to deal with terrorism cases, also found him not guilty of the attempted murders of Patrick O’Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and an unknown person during the infamous civil rights demonstration in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in January 1972.
Soldier F has been sitting quietly behind a curtain in a corner of Court 12 of Belfast Crown Court usually reserved for witnesses to protect his identity and could not be heard to utter any response as Judge Lynch delivered his ruling.
There was a stunned silence from relatives in the public gallery when Judge Lynch delivered his verdict following two-and-a-half hours’ summing up the evidence heard during the trial.
Thirteen civil rights protesters were shot dead by soldiers in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday in what was one of the darkest days of what became known as the Troubles.
The shootings were one of the defining moments of the 30-year conflict and resulted in an apology in 2010 from then-Prime Minister David Cameron for the ‘unjustified and unjustifiable’ deaths.
The killings were the subject of the Saville Inquiry, conducted by Lord Saville, also known as the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, which was set up in 1998 and lasted for 12 years.
Costing around £200million, it was the longest and most expensive public inquiry in British legal history.
A murder investigation was launched when the report concluded that those killed were innocent and unarmed.
British troops behind a barbed wire barricade at Bloody Sunday in 1972
James Wray was 22 when he was killed during a demonstration in Londonderry in 1972
William McKinney, 26, was alleged to have been shot dead by Soldier F
Despite the inquiry’s findings, prosecutions relating to Troubles deaths have proven controversial, with veterans claiming they are targeted while many IRA terrorists escaped prosecution or walked free from prison under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
His acquittal brings to an end five decades of investigations and campaigning to hold someone accountable for what occurred on Bloody Sunday.
But questions will now be asked as to why the prosecution was launched decades after the events in question with no fresh evidence available.
The prosecution case largely relied on statements made by two of Soldier F’s comrades in the immediate aftermath of the deaths which claimed he had fired shots.
One of the soldiers has since died and the other refused to participate in the trial, meaning their accounts could not be properly tested in court.
Delivering his verdict, Judge Lynch said the evidence falls ‘well short’ and ‘failed to meet the high standard of proof needed’ to convict.
He said F’s comrades were also ‘guilty of murder’ on the prosecution case and their statements were ‘manifestly unreliable’.
However he also slammed the actions of the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday saying they had ‘sullied’ the battalion’s previous good name.
‘Shooting in the back unarmed civilians running away on the streets of a British city,’ he said.
‘Those responsible should hang their heads in shame.’
The decision to charge Soldier F was finally taken by Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service [PPS] in 2019.
He was one of 18 former soldiers initially reported to the PPS as a result of the Saville Inquiry but he was the only one charged.
The case was then dropped in 2021 when the trial of two other veterans accused of killing IRA commander Joe McCann in 1972 collapsed over the admissibility of key statements made by soldiers at the time.
Despite the case against Soldier F relying on similar statements, the prosecution resumed following a legal challenge from the family of Mr McKinney.
Soldier F’s barristers then applied to have the case against him dismissed midway through the trial owing to the admissibility of statements made by other soldiers claiming Soldier F fired at the scene, but Judge Lynch dismissed the application and allowed the trial to proceed.
Bereaved family members hold pictures of victims of Bloody Sunday’ before the judge’s verdict
Relatives of those killed on Bloody Sunday marched towards Belfast Crown Court ahead of the judge’s verdict
Mickey McKinney, brother of Bloody Sunday victim William McKinney, speaking outside court
In his closing argument to the judge, Mark Mulholland KC, for Soldier F, said their statements ‘lack any credibility’ and said they had given differing accounts at different times.
‘That is an inconsistency which is fundamental and drives a hole through the prosecution case,’ he said.
The veteran declined to give evidence in his defence but had previously claimed he was shooting towards rioters who he believed were armed.
Soldier F was supported throughout the trial by a number of Army veterans who sat in the public gallery alongside relatives of those who lost their lives on Bloody Sunday.
On the first day of the trial, which opened last month, prosecutor Louis Mably KC alleged Soldier F and three of his comrades followed men who were attempting to ‘escape’ violence which had broken out at the civil rights march.
‘They opened fire with self-loading rifles, shooting at civilians as they ran away,’ he said.
‘The results were the casualties I have described. Two deaths and four men wounded. The prosecution case is that the shooting was unjustified. The civilians did not pose a threat, nor could the soldiers believe they did.
‘They were unarmed and were shot as they were running away.’
Soldier F’s acquittal will reignite calls to protect Northern Ireland veterans who claim they are the victims of a ‘political witch-hunt’ and have accused Sinn Fein, formerly the political wing of the IRA of attempting to ‘rewrite history’.
Last month, the Labour government opened the door to more prosecutions when it unveiled plans last to repeal the Tories’ 2023 Legacy Act.
The legislation was designed to protect veterans, particularly those who served in Northern Ireland, from ‘vexatious’ prosecutions.
However it was opposed across Northern Ireland for failing to offer a pathway to ‘justice’.
Labour’s Troubles deal, in partnership with the Irish government, ends immunity for terrorists – infamously offered by the Blair government to 187 pro-IRA figures – and puts in place six ‘protections and rights’ for veterans. But it ends their immunity, too.
It means new inquests into Troubles deaths, which had been stopped under the previous legislation, can now go ahead and civil cases can also be reopened.
It also paves the way for fresh criminal charges as investigations by a new, judge-led Legacy Commission ‘will be capable of leading to prosecutions where there is evidence of wrong-doing’.
