18 Bloody Sunday soldiers could be charged

EIGHTEEN soldiers could be charged over their alleged involvement in Bloody Sunday, it emerged last night.

Some may even be put on trial for perjury, according to official correspondence.

Thirteen people were shot dead when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Londonderry in 1972. Another died later.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland began a murder probe in 2010 after a 12year inquiry by Lord Saville concluded the killings were ‘unjustified and unjustifiable’. David Cameron, then prime minister, issued a public apology for the soldiers’ actions.

Amid claims of a politically motivated witch-hunt, the fresh police probe sparked outrage in the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, which was deployed during the Bloody Sunday riots. Police submitted a file of evidence to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland late last year.

Last night the BBC said it had obtained a letter from a senior public prosecutor detailing the criminal charges the soldiers could face. These include murder and attempted murder, wounding, perjury (lying under oath) and ‘joint enterprise’.

In the correspondence from the PPS, the identities of the 18 soldiers facing possible charges are withheld, but all are said to be British. It reveals four other soldiers, whose actions on Bloody Sunday formed part of the murder probe, have since died.

The PPS said it was actively considering Bloody Sunday investigation files it received in December, but added: ‘It is likely to be some time before any decision.

‘We have recently made contact with families to provide an update on progress and also to explain our role and some of the legal issues that require consideration.’

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, of PSNI Legacy Investigation Branch, confirmed the families had been informed.

In November 2015, it was reported British paratroopers could lose anonymity if they are charged with the murder of civil rights campaigners on Bloody Sunday. Every soldier who fired a shot during the events in Londonderry over 40 years ago had their identity hidden amid fears they could be the target of reprisals. The names were kept secret after a campaign led by the Daily Mail, supported by politicians, military figures and more than 200,000 readers.

Following the arrest of a former paratrooper – later released on bail – on suspicion of murdering three civil rights protesters on Bloody Sunday, solicitors acting for the ex-soldiers applied for a judicial review of the way the PSNI is running its inquiry. They questioned its legality and claimed it was being pursued for ‘political reasons’.

The official Army position, backed by the Government, claimed paratroopers had reacted to gun and nail bomb attacks by suspected IRA members.