Apology over 'wanted' comment

Lord Saville is hearing evidence in the Methodist Hall

A retired Army brigadier has apologised for saying that some of the victims of Bloody Sunday in Londonderry were "wanted men".

Brigadier Maurice Tugwell told the BBC on the evening of Bloody Sunday - 30 January 1972 - that four of the men shot dead were on a wanted list.

However, in a statement to the Saville inquiry, Brigadier Tugwell said that allegation was a "mistake" and he apologised for the error.

The inquiry is investigating the deaths of 13 men shot by the British Army at a civil rights march in the Bogside in Londonderry in 1972. A 14th man died later.

Dissident

Brigadier Tugwell told how he heard automatic gunfire from around the Rossville Flats and later gave an interview after the killings.

"I stated that four of the civilians who were dead were on a wanted list," he said.

"Later, I am not sure when, I discovered that the allegation that four men were on a wanted list could not be sustained."

Brigadier Tugwell, who worked in the Army's information unit on Bloody Sunday, said he was not able to make a correction at the time because the Widgery Tribunal into the events of that day had already been set up.

The current inquiry is sitting in London where it is hearing evidence from about 300 military witnesses.

It was set up by Prime Minister Tony Blair because the relatives of those killed felt the Widgery Inquiry was "a whitewash" which exonerated the Army from blame.

The tribunal, moved to the Methodist Hall in Westminster in London last week from the Guildhall in Derry, where it had been sitting for the past two years.

Lord Saville: Began work on inquiry nearly four years ago

It followed court action by former soldiers who said they could be attacked by dissident republicans if they gave evidence in Derry.

Most of the soldiers will be anonymous - known only by a letter or number - but they will give evidence openly and not from behind screens.

The proceedings are being relayed by video-link to Derry.

The soldiers who fired the first shots on the day are not scheduled to give their evidence for at least several weeks.

Many of the relatives of those who died are in London to see the soldiers giving evidence.

Lord Saville and the Commonwealth judges who comprise the inquiry, began their work nearly four years ago and are not expected to report back until 2004.