Prosecutors leave Bloody Sunday veterans in legal limbo
Decision over whether to charge ex-paras delayed until the new year
A DECISION on charging exparatroopers over Bloody Sunday has been delayed until next year leaving veterans in legal limbo, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
One former soldier, now in his late 70s and who has suffered a major stroke, told of his anguish at still not knowing if he will be prosecuted over the deaths of civil rights protesters more than 45 years ago. Eighteen veterans face prosecution over Bloody Sunday, following a criminal inquiry that has taken almost seven years.
A well-placed source has said that there is no chance of telling the ex-soldiers, in their 60s and 70s, whether they will be dragged through the courts until next year. A decision was due to have been made at the end of 2017 and again by the summer but that has been put back amid legal wrangling.
Sergeant O, a former soldier whose identity cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, said: “We live to wait. That’s all we do is wait.
“It’s agony. It’s disgraceful. I will be 77 very soon and it just keeps dragging on.”
The continuing delay will provoke further concern over the treatment of British troops facing possible charges over deaths in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and fuel demands for an amnesty for veterans.
Sergeant O was interviewed under caution by police in April 2016 and has been waiting ever since for a decision on whether to charge him. A further 17 former paratroopers on duty on Bloody Sunday, when 14 people were killed during a civil rights rally in Londonderry on Jan 30 1972, are in the same position. Interviews were completed more than two years ago by police with files passed to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS).
Sergeant O, as previously disclosed by The Telegraph, is facing jail for attempted murder over injuries to two protesters who were hit by flying debris, dislodged when he fired into the air.
The former soldier, who is partially paralysed down one side after suffering his stroke, has spoken of the “scandalous betrayal” at still being pursued.
He added: “I can’t believe they can keep me under investigation this long.”
‘We live to wait. It’s agony. It’s a disgrace. I will be 77 very soon and it just keeps dragging on’
Philip Barden, his lawyer and a partner at Devonshires law firm that represents the paratroopers, said: “It’s an abuse pure and simple.”
There have been two inquiries – one in 1972 by Lord Widgery, that has been branded a whitewash, and a second by Lord Saville that took 12 years and concluded in 2010 that British paratroopers had lost control and caused the deaths of the unarmed protesters. David Cameron, the prime minister at the time, apologised.
Last week the PPS was unable to say when a decision would finally be made on whether to charge the veterans. A source suggested nothing would be decided until 2019.
A PPS spokesman said: “Senior counsel has been instructed to advise on a number of issues and we are expecting receipt of this advice in the coming weeks.”