Army veteran’s detention over Troubles death ‘was unlawful’
LAWYERS for an Army veteran being prosecuted for the death of a Northern Ireland man 46 years ago say he has been treated worse than mass murderer Harold Shipman.
Dennis Hutchings goes on trial in Belfast in October accused of the attempted murder of John Patrick Cunningham, a 27-year-old with learning difficulties who was shot in the back near the border with the Republic of Ireland in June 1974. But solicitors for the former staff sergeant in the Life Guards Regiment say there is no evidence he fired the fatal shots.
Mr Hutchings spent his 80th birthday alongside dozens of veterans protesting outside Parliament iament yesterday against what hat they regard as a witch h hunt against former soldiers.
They were joined by former defence minister Johnny Mercer, who was sacked d last month after accususing the Government of letting them down.
Mr Hutchings’s s legal team has written n to the Public Prosecution Service of North- ern Ireland requesting g “an urgent and transsparent review of the he decision to prosecute” ” Mr Hutchings.
It comes after the trial in Belfast of two soldiers for the murder of Official IRA A commander Joe McCann nn collapsed on Tuesday.
The trial had been due to last four weeks but foundoundered in days after the he judge ruled that statements s the soldiers had been compelled pelled to make hours after the shooting of McCann on April 15 1972 were inadmissible. The death ath of Mr
Cunningham in a field near Benburb’s Carrickaness Road was investigated at the time and it was decided not to bring proceedings against Mr Hutchings. However, the case was reinvestigated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in April 2015. That led to Mr Hutchingsbeingchargedwithattemptedmurder and attempted grievous bodily harm.
Mr Hutchings was arrested in an early morning raid at his home in Cornwall, despite having offered to attend an interview at his local police station.
He was taken the same day to Northern Ireland and held in a police station for four nights, where he was questioned on 15 separate occasions – which his lawyers pointed out to the PSNI was five more than the mass murderer Shipman.
Mr Hutchings’s solicitors described the circumstance of his arrest and detention “unlawful and oppressive” and pointed out that proceedings were brought against the PSNI in the High Court in London over the matter. The High Court ruled that where a soldier is prepared to attend a voluntary interview at a local police station there are no lawful grounds to arrest him.
The prosecution case is that Mr Hutchings fired at Mr Cunningham as he was running away from soldiers seeking to question him.
It is claimed by the prosecution that two soldiers fired a total of five rounds, although the defence say there is no longer any forensic evidence and it cannot be said which soldier was responsible for Mr Cunningham’s death. Mr Hutchings maintains he fired into the air to warn Mr Cunningham.