MoD did not anticipate 'shooting war'

Thirteen civilians were killed on Bloody Sunday

No "shooting war" was anticipated on the day the Bloody Sunday killings took place, the Saville Inquiry has heard.

A senior Ministry of Defence official at the time said Whitehall had not expected any bloodshed on the civil rights march in Londonderry.

On 30 January 1972, paratroops opened fire on civilians at a civil rights march in the Bogside in Londonderry killing 13 people. Another man died later.

I do not think it is true to say that anyone, in London at any rate, anticipated that bloodshed would occur

Anthony Stephens
MoD

Giving evidence on Monday, Anthony Stephens, who was head of the MoD's defence secretariat at the time, said: "It was obviously possible that there might be some form of bloodshed at some stage of the march on January 30, and the expected size of the event naturally gave rise to rather more apprehension than usual.

"But I do not think it is true to say that anyone, in London at any rate, anticipated that bloodshed would occur."

Mr Stephens worked closely with Army officers and drafted reports to ministers on Northern Ireland.

He told the inquiry tactics for Bloody Sunday were decided by the Joint Security Committee (JSC) - the government committee responsible for security matters in Northern Ireland.

The committee included General Officer Commanding Sir Harry Tuzo, Prime Minister Brian Faulkner and several Northern Ireland ministers.

Mr Stephens said he was not aware of a memo from Commander of Land Forces General Sir Robert Ford that the best way to restore law and order was to shoot selected hooligan ringleaders.

He said Northern Ireland's government wanted stricter enforcement of law and order, but did not recall this being related specifically to Derry.

The former MoD official said he was not aware that the Parachute Regiment was selected for the arrest operation.

Witnesses

The tribunal is currently sitting in London to hear evidence from military witnesses.

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.

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