One former soldier to be charged with Bloody Sunday murders

One former Parachute Regiment soldier who opened fire on Bloody Sunday is to be charged with the murders of two men.

The soldier - known as 'Soldier F' - is to be charged with the murders of James Wray and William McKinney.

Charges will also be brought for the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) made the announcement in Londonderry after reviewing evidence from a long-running PSNI investigation into the Bloody Sunday shootings.

Relatives of the victims, who gathered in the Guildhall in Derry to give their reaction, described it as a "terrible disappointment".

John Kelly, whose brother was shot, said the news was disappointing for some. Credit: UTV

However they welcomed the news for the six families impacted by the decision to prosecute soldier F, saying: "Their victory is our victory."

John Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael was killed, said: "We have walked a long journey since our fathers and brothers were brutally slaughtered on the streets of Derry on Bloody Sunday, over that passage of time all the parents of the deceased have died - we are here to take their place."

He added: "The Bloody Sunday families are not finished yet."

  • WATCH: Director of the PPS Stephen Herron's announcement:

Thirteen men were shot dead by paratroopers on January 30th 1972. Another 14 were shot and wounded.

The Saville Inquiry found that the dead were presenting no threat when they were shot and they had been killed without justification.

Saville’s finding led former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to publicly apologise for the Bloody Sunday shootings.

It also prompted the PSNI to open a murder investigation.

The Saville inquiry led to a public apology and prompted the PSNI to open a murder investigation. Credit: UTV Archive

Director of the Public Prosecution Service Stephen Herron said: “Following careful consideration of all of the available evidence a decision has been taken to prosecute one former soldier, Soldier F, for the murder of James Wray and for the murder of William McKinney on Bloody Sunday.

“Charges will also be brought for the attempted murder of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

“In respect of the other suspects reported to us by police, including 16 former soldiers and two alleged Official IRA members, it has been concluded that the available evidence is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.

“In these circumstances, the evidential test for prosecution is not met and decisions not to prosecute have been taken in respect of the remaining 18 individual reported by police.”

Bloody Sunday was one of the darkest days of the Northern Ireland Troubles. For almost half a century, the events of that day have cast a dark cloud over Londonderry.

It has been a source of anger and division: the families claiming their loved ones were unarmed civilians, the soldiers maintaining they aimed only at gunmen and bombers.

On Thursday morning, the families of the dead, gathered at the Bloody Sunday monument in the Bogside - just yards from where the Paratroopers opened fire.

The victims' families walked through the Bogside area of the city. Credit: Pacemaker

Together they walked through the city centre to a private meeting with the Public Prosecution Service where they were told of the decision to charge the soldiers.

Almost half a century after that fateful day in the Bogside, Bloody Sunday remains an unhealed wound in Northern Ireland.

It has been the subject of two public inquiries, but now the Bloody Sunday story enters a new phase. In the coming weeks, former paratroopers will appear in the dock accused of murdering civilians on the streets of the UK.

  • WATCH: Gareth Wilkinson reports on the legacy of Bloody Sunday