Decision to charge Bloody Sunday soldiers expected on Thursday
The British ministry of defence has promised to pay for the legal defence of any soldiers prosecuted for the killings on Bloody Sunday, in a move that is being widely interpreted in London and Dublin as a sign that the Northern Ireland Prosecution Service will announce a decision to charge the soldiers on Thursday.promised that the solders would be represented in any prosecutions “entirely at the Ministry of Defence’s expense”.
The soldiers will be entitled to retain their own lawyers “without limit of time or cap on expenditure”, Mr Williamson said. The soldiers will not be means tested nor required to contribute to their own legal costs. The letter, issued just minutes before the Brexit vote on Tuesday night, says that decision on legal representation would be “not driven by considerations of cost, but of offering veterans the best possible representation”.
While the ministry says that it is committed to helping all former soldiers facing such investigations, British officials have contacted all the Bloody Sunday soldiers under investigation to assure them the state will pay for their legal defence. The letter goes on to say that the ministry of defence is seeking legislative changes to protect soldiers against prosecution noting that it is “unwaveringly committed to finding ways to give appropriate legal protection to serving and former members of the armed forces in situations where they currently face repeated investigations and potential prosecution following events that happened many years ago”.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bloody Sunday families nervously await Public Prosecution Service decisionSome want British soldiers to be prosecuted for role in 14 killings in Derry in 1972
Read more »
Bloody Sunday decision time: 'The people who were killed have nothing'January 30th, 1972: Survivors speak ahead of Thursday’s prosecution announcement
Read more »
Bloody Sunday families prepare to hear PPS decisionFrom the day 13 people were shot dead by members of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment on 30 January 1972, the families disputed British army claims that those killed were IRA gunmen
Read more »
Decision due on charging individuals over Bloody SundayDecision is expected at around 11am. Immediately before that families of the victims and the suspects will be told of the Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service's plans
Read more »
Explainer: Why, almost 50 years on from Bloody Sunday, ex-British soldiers could face murder chargesIt's emerged that a number of former British soldiers could be charged with murder in relation to Bloody Sunday killings. Here's how we got here and what will happen next
Read more »