An inquiry into the shootings is taking place

"Any money we give goes directly to the film makers," said the spokesman.

"The grant was given before production, when the producers were looking for financing - Granada is another financer."

The real-life events are currently under the scrutiny of the Saville Inquiry.

"The film is based on information publicly and widely known," said the Film Council spokesman.

Guildford Four

"But it's not saying 'This is what happened' - it's not a political film in that sense.

"It's a being made as a fictional piece of work - it's not a documentary or a re-enactment," he added.

The film, which cost some �3m to make, is directed by Paul Greengrass and produced by Jim Sheridan.

Both are well-known in the film industry - Mr Sheridan's company Hell's Kitchen made 1993's In The Name of the Father, a film about the wrongful imprisonment of the Guildford Four starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

Sundance

Day-Lewis also appeared in Sheridan's My Left Foot, which won supporting actress Brenda Fricker an Oscar.

Greengrass made The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, the dramatisation of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the teenager's murder.

Bloody Sunday, which features Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt, is to be launched later this month at the prestigious Sundance film festival in the US.

It will receive an ITV screening later in January, which will be followed by a theatrical release.