Inquiry moves into new phase

Lord Saville is investigating events on Bloody Sunday

BBC Northern Ireland's reporter at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Paul McCauley, looks back at the events which have dominated the tribunal in 2002.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry entered a new and potentially crucial phase when it moved to London in September to start hearing evidence from soldiers, senior politicians and civil servants.

It's investigating the shooting dead of 13 men by the British army during a civil rights march in Londonderry in January 1972.

The tribunal has moved to London because a number of soldiers successfully argued, right up to the Court of Appeal, that their lives would be more at risk if they had to travel to the Guildhall in Derry to testify.

The evidence is currently being heard at Methodist Central Hall a couple of hundred yards from Downing Street where the prime minister in 1972, Sir Edward Heath, discussed the plans for the civil rights march a couple of days before Bloody Sunday.

Sir Edward Heath: The inquiry hopes to hear his evidence in the new year

A unique moment in British legal history was missed when Sir Edward, aged 86, fell a few days before he was due to enter the witness box and was unable to testify. The inquiry hopes to hear his evidence in the new year.

Arrangements for the evidence of a number of former RUC witnesses were also debated in the Court of Appeal.

Disruption was caused to the inquiry's schedule at the start of the year when a number of former and serving police officers told the tribunal, shortly before they were due to testify, that they wanted to do so from behind screens in order to protect their identities.

They won the case in the Court of Appeal and while they were named as they gave their evidence to the tribunal, they were only seen by the judges and the legal teams.

In November, the soldier in charge of the army's operation on Bloody Sunday told the Inquiry that the Parachute Regiment had disobeyed his orders by driving deep into the Bogside in a number of armoured cars.

However, Brigadier Pat MacLellan said that he had left most of the details of the army operation to the Officer Commanding the First Battalion the Parachute Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, who is expected to testify some time in 2003.

Evidence

Before the inquiry left Derry to move to Westminster, forensic science and ballistics experts appointed by the Saville Inquiry delivered their reports after re-examining the forensic evidence from 1972.

Dr John Lloyd said that evidence, which helped Lord Widgery to find that some of those killed had been firing or handling guns, was worthless.

He also said that, if anything, the evidence indicated that those killed were not gunmen.

Other medical and ballistics experts said the most likely explanation for one of the gunshot wounds to one of the victims, Jim Wray, was that he was lying on the ground when he was shot.

Also expected in 2003 is that the inquiry will hear the evidence of some of the soldiers who fired live rounds and therefore killed people on Bloody Sunday.

The majority of them will tell the tribunal that they only fired at identified gunmen and bombers.

This evidence will be vigorously challenged by the legal teams representing the families of those killed.

The tribunal has so far cost about £100m and the cost could rise to £150m as the tribunal is not expected to finish until some time in 2004.