Soldier F pleads not guilty to murders on Bloody Sunday

A former British soldier has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering two men on Bloody Sunday more than half a century ago.

In June, lawyers for the ex-paratrooper known as Soldier F applied to have the case against him dismissed ahead of his trial.

Judge Mr Justice Fowler dismissed the application at Belfast Crown Court on Friday.

Soldier F is accused of two murders and five attempted murders when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Londonderry on 30 January 1972.

Thirteen people were shot dead and at least 15 others injured when soldiers opened fire in the Bogside.

Lawyers for the former soldier had argued the evidence against him was insufficient.

However, Mr Justice Fowler dismissed their application to stop the prosecution.

The key evidence is statements from the time by two other soldiers.

Mr Justice Fowler ruled they provided "a sufficiency of evidence" to continue.

He said it would be for the trial to decide upon their admissibility, reliability and what weight to attach to them.

Protected from public view by a large curtain pulled across a corner of the courtroom, Soldier F replied "not guilty" when each of the seven charges was put to him.

Mr Justice Fowler also ruled that Soldier F's anonymity would continue to be protected, as there is a risk he could be targeted for attack if identified.

A date for Soldier F's trial will be decided early in the New Year.

Speaking outside court, William McKinney's brother Mickey said "another step" had been taken in the campaign for justice for the Bloody Sunday families.

"We are very pleased that Soldier F's application was refused and that he will now proceed rightly for trial.

"We are disappointed however that the trial judge has granted his application for anonymity and screening.

"It is difficult for us to reconcile the fact that anyone with an interest in the events of Bloody Sunday has been aware of Soldier F's true identity and appearance for many years," he said.

With next month marking the 53rd anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Mr McKinney said, it was "imperative that the court does not tolerate any more delay and that this trial proceeds as a matter of urgency."

In a statement, the Bloody Sunday Trust (BST) welcomed the ruling but said there would be "widespread disappointment" that Soldier F's anonymity would remain in place.

The trust commended the "continued determination of the families of William McKinney and Jim Wray".

• A former British soldier who served with the Army's Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland during the Troubles
• He cannot be named due to an interim court order granting his anonymity
• Soldier F is being prosecuted for the murders of William McKinney and James Wray on Bloody Sunday
• He also faces charges of attempting to murder Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and an unknown person on the same date

The SDLP MP for Foyle, Colum Eastwood, who was in court on Friday, described the ruling as "another step forward in the long campaign for justice for the Bloody Sunday families".

"Today we received welcome confirmation that the charges against Soldier F will not be dismissed and that he will face trial for murder and attempted murder," he said.

He said while it represented progress, "none of this is easy for the families".

"It remains a matter of regret that the Public Prosecution Service failed to consult the families before deciding not to contest the anonymity order against Soldier F," he said.

The decision on whether to prosecute Soldier F involved several legal challenges and U-turns.

Having weighed up 125,000 pages of material, prosecutors said in March 2019 that they would send Soldier F to trial for the murders of Mr Wray and Mr McKinney, as well as several attempted murders.

However, in 2021, prosecutors dropped the case after the collapse of the trial of two other Army veterans who were accused of another Troubles-era killing.

At the time, the families of the Bloody Sunday victims said the decision was a "damning indictment of the British justice system" - their legal challenge against the decision was successful.

The court then rejected an attempt by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to have its own appeal referred to the Supreme Court.

Prosecutors subsequently announced that they had decided to resume the prosecution in September 2022.

He was returned for trial in December 2023, a decision subsequently challenged by his lawyers in June.

That hearing was the first time Soldier F had appeared in court in person since being charged.