Inquiry hears of witness payments

Thirteen civilians were killed on Bloody Sunday

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry has been hearing details of payments made to a former member of the Parachute Regiment to give evidence to the tribunal.

Soldier 027 had threatened to walk away from the tribunal if his financial demands were not met.

However, he said he only did this because he was anxious and frightened and had to secure a future for his family after the inquiry finished.

The tribunal is investigating the events of 30 January 1972 when soldiers of the Parachute Regiment fired on civilians at a civil rights march in Londonderry, killing 13 men and boys. Another man died later.

Lord Saville is heading up inquiry

Under the package, Soldier 027 has received £20,000 for a deposit on a new house and £1,400 a month in lieu of wages, £6,000 to buy a car and £100 a month for life cover over the past two years.

The deal ends after his evidence to the inquiry is completed.

Edwin Glasgow QC, counsel for many of the paratroopers who opened fire, again said on Wednesday that a substantial part of the former paratrooper's motivation for giving evidence was money "because you have driven a very, very hard bargain to be here".

The hearing, currently sitting in London, was adjourned until Thursday before Soldier 027 could respond to the allegation.

The ex-soldier, who began giving his testimony to the inquiry from behind a screen last week, previously told the tribunal that some of his colleagues opened fire on civilians "without justification".

He has been living under a witness protection scheme for the last two years.

Evidence contested

His evidence so far has contradicted the Army's version of events on Bloody Sunday in which it said the soldiers were fired on before they opened fire.

Soldier 027's account is hotly contested. Most of the soldiers who are to give evidence to the inquiry are expected to insist they only fired at gunmen or bombers or when they felt that they or their colleagues were at risk.

The inquiry has been sitting in Derry, but was moved to London to hear evidence from military witnesses following court action in which they argued they could be targeted by dissident republicans if they had to travel to Northern Ireland.

The Army has always maintained that it was fired on by IRA gunmen before it opened fire and this view was upheld by the Widgery Inquiry, held shortly after the shootings.

The relatives of those killed and injured have always denied that the Army were fired on before they opened fire.

The Saville Inquiry was set up by Prime Minister Tony Blair to reinvestigate the evidence because the relatives felt the first inquiry was a whitewash.

Lord Saville and the Commonwealth judges who comprise the inquiry, are not expected to report back until 2004.