‘Soldier F’ to face prosecution after all

A belated acceptance by Crown prosecutors that the trial of a British soldier for his role in the Bloody Sunday massacre should go ahead has been welcomed –– but there have been calls for the soldier’s anonymity to finally be removed.

Mickey McKinney, the brother of William McKinney who was gunned down in the 1972 British Army massacre of civil rights demonstrators, has spoken out following the decision to send ‘Soldier F’ for trial in relation to the killing and other crimes on Bloody Sunday.

Speaking outside Derry Court after the ruling, he said the development “has been a long time in coming”.

Next month represents the 52nd anniversary of the events of Bloody Sunday. Not only family members, but witnesses are dying, Mr McKinney said.

“The sooner he gets into the Crown Court, and this case gets started, the better. Time has always been a very important factor and it needs to get moving.

“I’ve always treated this a day at a time. We’re always moving forward then going back and you’re just never sure how things are going to work out.

“The next stage is getting into the Crown Court and moving. His anonymity is a big question and that has to be removed. The public need to know who this man is.”

The former paratrooper, whose identity has always been protected by the courts, is accused of murdering William McKinney and James Wray when members of his Parachute Regiment killed 14 anti-internment unarmed protesters. He is also charged with five attempted murders.

The Tory government in London has been lobbying for years to prevent any British soldier from facing trial for their crimes in the north of Ireland.

The long-sought decision to prosecute even one soldier was a source of mixed emotions for the families of the victims. Even that was halted in 2021, a decision that was successfully challenged last year.

There are still fears a formal, overarching cover-up, due to take effect in May, could prevent the families from ever seeing juistice.

Liam Wray, the brother of James, said it has taken 13 years since the conclusions of the Bloody Sunday inquiry report, and 16 to 17 since ‘Soldier F’ gave his evidence.

“If this is the wheels of justice, then by God they are grinding very, very slow,” he said.

“Here we are at this stage and there is no date of when he is going to Crown Court so it is like justice on the end of a long string. When, how and where?

“So, at this time, our family are delighted obviously that at last some individual soldier has been brought before the court for the tragedy of Bloody Sunday.

“But we’ll wait and see developments as we go forward. Our family have little or no faith at all in the PPS.

“We were unhappy with how they conducted things, we were unhappy with how the way they challenged the anonymity for soldier F and it was their view that committal hearings couldn’t even be held in Derry.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said the trial of ‘Soldier F’ should be the beginning of a process to finally deliver justice to those who were killed by the army in Derry that day.

Soldier F was following the orders of his superiors within the Paras, he noted. Senior British officers in charge on the day were subsequently honoured by the Queen, including Lt. Colonel Derek Wilford and Michael Jackson, who was knighted.

Jackson rose through the ranks to become Britain’s top soldier after Bloody Sunday.

“He was key to the cover-up of the actions of ‘Soldier F’ and the rest of the Paras in Derry that day,” Mr Harkin said.

“Now Sir Michael Jackson, he lives freely while the families of his victims are forever imprisoned in grief.

“Legislation barring justice and the truth here or anywhere in the world will never be acceptable. The 52nd Anniversary of Bloody Sunday week of events and march will send this message loud and clear.”

Chairperson of the Bloody Sunday Trust Tony Doherty said they also welcomed the decision, but criticised the length of time it has taken to get to this point.

“It is over 13 years since the Saville Report was published,” Mr Doherty said in a statement.

“It remains a constant source of anger amongst the families that it has taken this long to get to the stage where one soldier is to be prosecuted.

“We welcome today’s decision and look forward to the beginning of the trial.”

Urgent Appeal