Sailor tells of IRA role

The tribunal is entering the final stages of hearing evidence

A former Royal Navy sailor has told the Saville Inquiry that he was a quartermaster in the Official IRA on Bloody Sunday.

Reg Tester, who is originally from Nottinghamshire, said he was given orders to keep all the Official IRA guns out of the Bogside in case the Army tried to move into the Creggan area during the civil rights march.

The 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.

However, Mr Tester said he lost his cool when he heard that people had been killed and tried to fire a rifle at soldiers on Rossville Street.

"I had taken a new weapon that I was unfamiliar with rather than an old one because the M1 had a higher rate of fire," he said.

"However, the gun jammed and because I was unfamiliar with such a new weapon, I was unable to unjam it, so I returned to the car."

Closing stages

The inquiry is to continue its sessions at the Guildhall in Londonderry for a number of weeks until all the remaining witnesses have been heard.

After the end of oral evidence, the inquiry will move into the closing stages including submissions and the closing speech by counsel to the inquiry.

These closing stages are likely to last for some months, after which the tribunal will retire to write their report.

Publication of the report will take place towards the end of 2004 at the earliest.

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

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.