Ciarán Shiels

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has told lawyers acting for victims and survivors of the 1972 massacre that its decision will be announced next Thursday 18 April.

One former British soldier, known as ‘Soldier F’, is currently being tried for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney, and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

At the time that prosecution decision was announced in March 2019, the PPS said the available evidence in respect of 16 other former soldiers was “insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction”. However, it said it would consider charging some or all of those suspects with perjury.

Ciarán Shiels of Madden & Finucane Solicitors, who represents a number of Bloody Sunday victims and survivors’ families, said former soldiers were given an opportunity in the Saville Inquiry to come clean about any “untruthful and perjured evidence” given to the Widgery Tribunal in 1972.

“Almost without exception, all of the significant military witnesses ignored that opportunity and instead chose to systematically lie to Lord Saville about their own crimes and continued to cover up their own criminality throughout his inquiry,” he said.

“Indeed, Lord Saville severely criticised them for it in his conclusions when they were finally presented to Parliament in June 2010.”

Mr Shiels added: “We will now await the PPS decisions as to whether or not prosecutions will be instituted against those military witnesses who lied under oath to the Bloody Sunday Tribunal from 2001-2004 but also to Lord Widgery in the spring of 1972.

“We understand those decisions will be communicated to the victims and ourselves by 18th April and we have been in ongoing contact with the PPS in respect of this matter throughout yesterday.”