Former paratrooper Soldier F faces uncertain Bloody Sunday evidence in Belfast murder trial

A former British Army paratrooper identified in court only as Soldier F faced a Belfast Crown Court murder trial on Monday, as proceedings continue more than five decades after the Bloody Sunday shootings in Londonderry.

Soldier F is charged with the murder of James Wray and William McKinney and with five counts of attempted murder—allegations tied to the January 30, 1972, killings in the Bogside area during a civil rights march. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. The trial is being held as a non-jury case, with Soldier F seated behind a screen as relatives of the victims and supporters observe from the public galleries and outside the building.

In opening arguments, the prosecution presented a sequence of statements made by two other soldiers, identified as Soldiers G and H, asserting that Soldier F fired his rifle at civilians in Glenfada Park North on Bloody Sunday. Prosecutors argued these statements, given to the Royal Military Police on the night of the shootings and to the Widgery Tribunal in 1972, were the only evidence capable of proving that Soldier F fired at the crowd.

The defense, led by Mark Mulholland KC, countered that there is a “complete cloud of uncertainty” surrounding how those statements were obtained and whether Soldiers G and H colluded. Mulholland described the RMP statements as a “series of unreliable, fundamentally flawed, inconsistent allegations” from 50 years ago and suggested the witnesses may have sought to justify their own use of force. He also noted that the Widgery Tribunal evidence was gathered in an inquisitorial rather than adversarial setting, with witnesses questioned rather than cross-examined.

Judge Patrick Lynch signaled that a ruling on the hearsay applications would be issued next Wednesday. He also addressed concerns about a social media post by loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson, saying this case is without a jury and that the judge, as the fact-finder, could consider the post but would not be swayed by it. The judge stressed that he would not refer the matter to Northern Ireland’s Attorney General under the Contempt of Court Act in this instance, though the Attorney General could take a different view.

Outside Belfast Crown Court, supporters of Soldier F gathered on each day of the hearing, while veterans and relatives of the victims also attended. Among those observing the proceedings was David Johnstone, Northern Ireland’s Veterans Commissioner. The trial, which opened on Monday, is continuing, with both sides preparing for further evidence and potential rulings on the admissibility of the contested statements.

The Bloody Sunday incident left 13 civilians dead and several others injured as soldiers from the Parachute Regiment opened fire on demonstrators in Derry’s Bogside, a moment that has endured as a flashpoint in Northern Ireland’s decades-long conflict. The current proceedings mark a renewed legal examination of responsibility for those killings, decades after the events.