Soldier 'sorry for innocents'

The inquiry is examining the events of 30 January 1972

A former soldier has told the Saville Inquiry that he is sorry "innocent people" were killed on Bloody Sunday.

Soldier S claimed he fired 12 shots at a gunman at the Rossville Flats in Londonderry.

He told the inquiry, sitting in London on Thursday, that Bloody Sunday was a tragedy for everyone.

However, he said he believed he was justified in firing at a gunman who was shooting at him.

The Saville Inquiry is examining the events of 30 January 1972 when 13 civilians were shot dead by British army soldiers during a civil rights march in Londonderry.

A 14th person died later.

This is a tragedy, it is a tragedy for everybody - I realise that and I am sorry that innocent people got killed on that day.

Soldier S

"I regret the whole incident," Soldier S said.

"Even the man that I identified as a gunman, who was obviously posing a threat to us in the alleyway, if I did hit him and kill him, it is still a tragedy, is it not?

"It is still... somebody grieved him. Although I had a duty to do that, it is still a tragedy to his family, is it not?

"This is a tragedy, it is a tragedy for everybody, I realise that and I am sorry that innocent people got killed on that day.

"I am very, very sorry for that, but for my action on the day, my particular action, I believe I was justified in what I did."

Army documents

Earlier this week, a former Army intelligence officer, known by the pseudonym Martin Ingram, said he saw documents indicating that the IRA was not planning to shoot at the Army.

He said surveillance reports he had seen showed Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness was being watched but was not seen using a gun.

However, Officer Y said on Wednesday that Martin Ingram was a junior collator who would not have been allowed to access some of the documents he claimed to have seen.

The inquiry, which usually sits at the Guildhall in Derry, is currently hearing evidence from military witnesses and others in London because of concerns for their safety.

Lord Saville of Newdigate and the Commonwealth judges accompanying him on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry began their work nearly four years ago.

They are not expected to report back until 2004.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry was established in 1998 by Prime Minister Tony Blair after a campaign by families of those killed and injured.

They felt that the Widgery Inquiry, held shortly after the shootings, did not find out the truth about what happened on Bloody Sunday.