Tribunal denies witness anonymity

Inquiry gathering evidence from all perspectives

The Londonderry Bloody Sunday Tribunal has dismissed a civilian witness' application for anonymity despite fears he could become a paramilitary target.

The Inquiry heard on Tuesday that the man may have evidence about a shot fired at the army in Derry on 30 January 1972 when paratroopers shot civil rights marchers killing 13 people and fatally injuring another person.

The tribunal heard that the witness said his life would be at risk from republican and loyalist paramilitaries if his identity was revealed.

Inquiry chairman Lord Saville of Newdigate refused the civilian witness' request, saying that the issues raised in documentation about the man were of such central and great importance to the subject matter of the inquiry, that it would be a breach of duty to withhold its publication.

As the material made the applicant's identity known, granting anonymity would be a meaningless gesture, he added.

Soldiers given anonymity

The inquiry earlier made a decision, which angered victims' families, to allow soldiers alleged to have fired shots on the day of Bloody Sunday to give evidence anonymously because of fears they would be put in danger.

The tribunal is still considering whether they will be called to Derry to give evidence.

The ruling was delivered as the inquiry suspended the opening submission by Counsel to the Inquiry Christopher Clarke QC, on its 32nd day of hearings in Derry's Guildhall, to hold interlocutory hearings for the rest of this week.

The man who sought anonymity is alleged to have given evidence to a journalist about "certain paramilitary involvement" in events of Bloody Sunday, his lawyer Brian Fee QC said.

His client's account of non-army fire appeared to conflict to a degree with other accounts "from what might be regarded as a nationalist or republican position and certainly from views put forward by the paramilitary organisations", he said.

Mr Fee added: "He believes that he is at risk, particularly from dissident groups on the republican side and the possibility also remains that he would be at risk from organisations, not currently active, but which retain the capacity to strike at some future time."

Given the allegations about Mr Fee's client in the document, the nature of his work and the fact that he lived and worked in Northern Ireland, he believed there were reasonable grounds for genuine fears that he may be regarded as a legitimate target for republicans and loyalists, counsel added.

Security assessment

Counsel to the Inquiry Alan Roxburgh earlier told the tribunal that submissions made on behalf of the families of the dead and the injured argued that the man concerned was well-known in Derry and "indeed that his name is known in the context of the firing of a non-military shot", but suggested that others who had given similar evidence faced no hostile response.

An assessment obtained from the police suggested that nothing currently suggested a threat to the man, but that if the document was published, the possibility of a threat may become a reality.

Delivering the tribunal ruling, Lord Saville said: "In these circumstances, despite the suggestion that this applicant's safety would be put at risk, we consider that there are compelling reasons for the production and publication of this document."

Allegations military withholding evidence

The tribunal also heard allegations that military authorities could be deliberately withholding photographs and film footage, which may show the Bloody Sunday shootings because they reveal "extremely discreditable conduct" by soldiers.

A lawyer for relatives of one of the 13 men shot called for a separate hearing into the whereabouts of 1,000 photographs taken by army photographers on the ground on Bloody Sunday.

Barry Macdonald said the failure of the Ministry of Defence to produce a single picture of the "maximum coverage" ordered that day may suggest that "a deliberate concerted policy" was in place to keep the evidence out of the Inquiry's hands.

It also emerged that Colin Wallace, the former army press officer in Northern Ireland, is to be asked about photographic evidence as part of a statement he is providing.