Bloody Sunday ex soldier facing charges of two murders
He will also be prosecuted on four attempted murders
Last updated 14th Mar 2019
A former British soldier is to be prosecuted for two murders and four attempted murders on Bloody Sunday.
The paratrooper veteran, known as Soldier F, will face prosecution for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O'Donnell in Londonderry in 1972.
Sixteen other former soldiers and two suspected ex-members of the Official IRA, all of whom were also investigated as part of a major police murder probe, will not face prosecution, the PPS said.
Thirteen civil rights demonstrators were shot dead on January 30 1972, on one of the most notorious days of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
Stephen Herron, Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions (pictured below) made the announcement.
He said: : "We recognise the deep disappointment felt by many of those we met with today. As prosecutors we are required to be wholly objective in our approach.
"However, that does not mean that we do not have compassion for all those who are affected by our decisions."
Solicitor for a number of the Bloody Sunday families, Ciaran Shiels, said: “This is a remarkable achievement by the families and victims of Bloody Sunday.
“Notwithstanding the unprecedented attempted political interference with the independence of the judicial process, the families have not only succeeded in consigning the Widgery report to history, and securing the complete vindication and declaration of innocence of all of the victims of Bloody Sunday through the Saville Inquiry, they have now secured the prosecution of Soldier F for the murder and attempted murder of six innocent people.
“We are disappointed that not all of those responsible are to face trial.
“We will give detailed consideration to the reasons provided for decisions not to prosecute the other soldiers, with a view to making further submissions to the Prosecution Service and we shall ultimately challenge in the High Court, by way of judicial review, any prosecutorial decision that does not withstand scrutiny."
Families gathered to give their reaction in Derry's Guildhall.
John Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael was killed, said many had received a "terrible disappointment''.
But he welcomed the positive news for the six families impacted by the decision to prosecute soldier F.
"Their victory is our victory,'' he said.
Mr Kelly highlighted there were legal means of challenging the decisions not to prosecute.
"The Bloody Sunday families are not finished yet,'' he said
Founder of the Justice for Northern Ireland Veterans group Alan Barry said: "It's one soldier too many as far as we're concerned.
"It's very one-sided. No soldier should be charged. It happened 47 years ago, a line in the sand needs to be drawn and people need to move on.
"Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement veterans are being left open to prosecution while terrorists have been cleansed of their past crime."
Meanwhile, John Teggart, whose father was killed in shootings involving soldiers in Ballymurphy in Belfast in 1971, praised the Bloody Sunday relatives for the example they have set others while campaigning for justice.
He said: "You have set the pace for how to correct history, and that's exactly what you've done today, you've corrected history."