Soldiers acquitted

Two former British paratroopers accused of the 1972 murder of an Official IRA leader in Belfast were formally acquitted yesterday after the veterans’ trial collapsed. Joe McCann, 24, was allegedly evading arrest when he was shot dead by paratroopers in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972. A judge yesterday ruled that evidence implicating the former soldiers was not admissible and prosecutors said they would not offer further evidence at the trial. McCann’s family lawyer Niall Murphy said outside the court that the ruling “does not acquit the state of murder” and that the family plans to apply to the AttorneyGeneral for an inquest into the killing.