British ex-para in his 70s goes on trial over Bloody Sunday killings 

The only British soldier charged over Bloody Sunday entered the dock for the start of his controversial murder trial on Monday.

The former paratrooper, now in his 70s and known only as Soldier F, is accused of killing two of the 13 civil rights demonstrators who lost their lives on January 30, 1972.

The fateful day in Londonderry, when soldiers from the Parachute Regiment shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march, was an early flashpoint in the Troubles.

The alleged actions of Soldier F were described on Monday as an 'unjustified' and 'gratuitous' use of force that 'disgraced the Army'.

Shielded in the glass-pannelled dock by a black plastic cover to protect his identity, Soldier F listened as the case was outlined against him in Belfast Crown Court.

Now said to be in poor health and requiring comfort breaks at hourly intervals, the former Lance Corporal is accused of the murders of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as the attempted murders of Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and a fifth attempted murder charge relating to 'persons unknown'.

Relatives of those who lost loved ones on Bloody Sunday staged a demonstration outside court, supported by relatives of other victims of Army killings including ten people shot dead in Ballymurphy, west Belfast in 1971.

They wish to see 'justice' for their loved ones. Outside court, Mr McKinney's brother John said it was a 'momentous day'.

However, Northern Ireland veterans feel they are being hung out to dry by the Government decades after events while IRA terrorists walked free under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

The case had been years in the making. When Lord Saville's inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday – at a cost of £200million and taking 12 years to report – concluded in 2010 that those killed were innocent, a murder investigation was launched.

It had been the longest and most expensive public inquiry in British legal history.

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The Saville report overturned the findings of the 1972 Widgery Tribunal, which concluded the soldiers had been shot at first and only returned fire in self-defence.

A total of 18 former soldiers were initially reported to Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service as a result of the Saville Inquiry but in 2019 only one soldier was charged.

The case was 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 after a legal challenge from the family of Mr McKinney. 

Prosecutor Louis Mably KC said the trial, which is proceeding without a jury, would not be 'another inquiry' but would focus on a 'particular legal issue': 'Namely the prosecution allege that the defendant is criminally responsible for shooting at the individuals to whom I have referred.' 

Soldier F is said to have fired shots in a courtyard known as Glenfada Park North along with three other soldiers from his platoon, two of whom are now dead; the third is not a defendant or witness in the case.

Mr Mably said the soldiers targeted civilians who were trying to escape the demonstration 'fearful of the approach of the soldiers'.

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'As they did so, soldiers opened fire with their self-loading rifles shooting at the civilians as they ran away,' he said.

'The prosecution case is that that shooting was unjustified. The civilians in the courtyard did not pose a threat to the soldiers and nor could the soldiers have believed that they did. The civilians were unarmed and they were simply shot as they ran away.

'Shooting people as they ran away is an appalling act and disgraced the British Army. It is also murder.'

He said the soldiers would later 'falsely claim' the civilians who had been shot were armed.

Mr Mably said the prosecution case is that the soldiers were 'acting as a unit' and 'encouraging each other to shoot at civilians who were running away'.

The trial will hear evidence from the surviving three of the four named victims. Patrick O'Donnell has since died.

Soldier F has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial will resume on Wednesday.