low graphics version | feedback | help
|
| Front Page |
| World |
| UK |
| England |
| Northern Ireland |
| Scotland |
| Wales |
| UK Politics |
| Business |
| Sci/Tech |
| Health |
| Education |
| Entertainment |
| Talking Point |
| In Depth |
| AudioVideo |
|
A total of 14 people were killed after British paratroopers opened fire on unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers in the city of Londonderry in 1972.
On Monday the Guardian newspaper quoted from what it said was a secret memo by the senior officer in charge of British troops in Northern Ireland in 1972, Major-General Robert Ford.
In it the major-general had said rubber bullets and CS gas "were no longer keeping rioters at bay in Catholic enclaves".
"The minimum force necessary to achieve a restoration of law and order is to shoot selected ringleaders... after clear warnings have been given," the Guardian quoted the memo as having said.
Concerned that standard large-calibre bullets would pass through their targets and hit other people, Ford had suggested modifying the rifles "to enable ringleaders to be engaged with less lethal ammunition".
This is a very serious area and you can rest assured it is a key issue  |
Peter Madden
|
Peter Madden told the Guardian:"We need to know if the modified rifles were used."
"This is a very serious area and you can rest assured it is a key issue."
Inquiry will not be delayed
The claims by the Guardian newspaper came on the same day an application which could have delayed the opening of the second Bloody Sunday inquiry was withdrawn in the High Court.
The inquiry was ordered by the British government, after the relatives of the victims argued the original Widgery Inquiry smeared the reputations of the dead and whitewashed the army's actions.
The inquiry, headed by Lord Saville, is due to open in Derry on 27 March.
 Lord Saville: Heading inquiry
|
It had been claimed that a "substantial body of the most relevant material" had not been disclosed to lawyers.
But on Monday the families' lawyer Reginald Weir, QC, told the court the issue had been resolved.
"The concerns which prompted the issue of these proceedings have now been resolved by discussion to our clients' satisfaction.
"The application is therefore withdrawn."
Controversy surrounds inquiry
The opening of the Saville inquiry later this month comes amid growing controversy.
In February the Ministry of Defence admitted destroying two rifles it had promised to keep for the new inquiry into Bloody Sunday shootings.
The three senior judges conducting the inquiry have asked the MoD for an explanation as to how the destruction of the weapons happened.
Last July former paratroopers won a legal battle to protect their anonymity while giving evidence at the Saville Inquiry.
Three senior judges dismissed an appeal by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry tribunal against a High Court decision in London allowing the 17 soldiers to keep their identities secret.
Relatives of people who died criticised the ruling, saying it would "damage the inquiry's openness and transparency".
It was recently disclosed in the House of Commons that the investigations being carried out by the inquiry have already cost £13m.
|
Search BBC News Online |
|
|
 Advanced search options | |
| |
 | |
 | |
| |
 | BBC RADIO NEWS |
| |
| |
 | BBC ONE TV NEWS |
| |
| |
| WORLD NEWS SUMMARY |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 | PROGRAMMES GUIDE |
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
E-mail this story to a friend
~RS~a~RS~international~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~52~RS~)