End of immunity for 1 Para: Bloody Sunday troops face murder arrests 41 years after massacre

Retired British Paratroopers will be questioned under criminal caution
Twelve-year Saville Inquiry concluded murdered protestors were unarmed
Soldiers could face murder, attempted murder and criminal injury charges for deaths which occurred in 1972

PUBLISHED: 01:16, 20 October 2013 | UPDATED: 01:55, 20 October 2013

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As many as 20 retired British soldiers could face being arrested for murder in connection with the Bloody Sunday shootings of 1972.

Attempted murder and criminal injury charges could also be brought against the men, most of whom are now in their sixties and seventies.

The soldiers face questioning under criminal caution for their involvement in the incident which killed 14 Catholic civil rights protestors in Londonderry, Ireland.

An armed soldier attacks a protestor on Bloody Sunday when British Paratroopers shot dead 14 civilians on a civil rights march in Derry City

As many as 20 British Paratroopers could face murder charges for the deaths of Irish protestors on Bloody Sunday in 1972

The development comes three years after a £200m inquiry by Lord Saville into the shootings produced its report based on 12 years of investigation.

Its findings concluded that all those shot by paratroopers during the march in the Bogside area of Londonderry were unarmed, rendering their deaths 'unjustified and unjustifiable'.

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The judge added the army had lost control of the situation which is known as one of the most poignant incidents of the Troubles.

Colonel Edward Loden commanded the unit involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings

The Ministry of Defence has started sourcing legal representatives on behalf of the soldiers, who have never been formally interviewed by police in relation to the shootings.

Colonel Edward Loden, who commanded the unit involved in the attack, was killed earlier this year in Kenya.

Loden was exonerated by the Saville Inquiry into the killings, which said that he did not realise his soldiers might be firing at people who did not pose a threat.

A source close to the case told The Sunday Times: 'It is possible that some of the soldiers will be prosecuted', adding that action would be 'imminent'.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland however said the case could take a little longer.

A spokesman said: 'Preliminary work has begun into what will be a lengthy and complex investigation into the events of January 30, 1972.

'For the investigation to be as comprehensive and effective as possible, police will be asking for public support in the form of witnesses who gave evidence to the Saville inquiry.'

The representative also revealed detectives would be prohibited from including Saville testimony to pursue criminal charges.

Fourteen unarmed protestors were murdered at the march which was campaigning for Catholic civil rights in Londonderry

Fourteen unarmed protestors were murdered at the march which was held in the name of Catholic civil rights in Londonderry

A mural by by the Bogside Artists, in Bogside, Derry, pays homage to the protestors whose lives were taken by British paratroopers on Bloody Sunday

The soldiers gave anonymous evidence at the Saville Inquiry which cannot be used to pursue criminal charges

A Catholic priest prays above one of the shooting's victims on Bloody Sunday which killed 14

The expensive Saville inquiry concluded that 26 British Army soldiers had opened fire although not all of their shots hit demonstrators.

By-standers hover over one of the 13 men who were killed in the riot on January 30 1972

Two soldiers, identified only as Lance Corporal F and Soldier G, may have shot as many as eight or 10 people between them, it suggested.

Most of the soldiers involved are still alive though their identities have been protected to safeguard them from reprisals.

They each gave anonymous evidence at the Saville inquiry, in the hope their testimony would help resolve the situation once and for all.

The soldiers were given legal assurances their testimony would not later be used against them in pursuit of criminal activity.

Their accounts relied on the defence they acted under 'yellow card' rules of engagement which permits soldiers to open fire if a legitimate threat to life is identified.

Several of the men claimed they believed they were under fire, though the shots they heard were in fact echoes of those being fired near a block of flats by their colleagues.

Thirteen were killed on January 30 after soldiers opened fire on the streets of Londonderry.

A fourteenth protestor died as a result of injuries sustained on the same day.

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John Nwesttwo, birmingham, Ireland, 3 hours ago

Soldiers are supposed to uphold the law..the age of the soldiers or duration of time since the murders should not matter...same way some nazi's are being charged now some 60 years later

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Mike, York, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago

This is a disgrace - our soldiers deserve better than this - and if this is the future for soldiers serving the Crown, the sooner they all resign the better for their own well being, for it is clear politicians and the courts will not support them when they are doing the impossible.

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Johnny Johnson, Lost in the middle of nowhere, 3 hours ago

Even the idea they should face prosecution is an absolute disgrace!

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patto69, Belfast, 3 hours ago

If they are charged and found guilty they will benefit from the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. They will be released after only two years in jail. Many will be shocked that two years in jail is the penalty for mass murder. They had the best years of their lives with their families.

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tcullen, South Shields, 3 hours ago

If this goes ahead, every Member of her Majesty's forces should resign.

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Pompey boy, Malaga, Spain, 3 hours ago

If they can be prosecuted so should the IRA who killed very many more absolutely innocent people!

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Patrick, Belfast, 3 hours ago

This happened. Will it happen again?..........Very likely, for as long as there is still the "Us and You" attitude, there could very well be repeats of this. Evidence of this....read the comments for stories about Scotland and many about Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom has no "Patriotism", no sense of "Standing United"