Skip to content

Bishop questions Bloody Sunday perjury decision

David WilsonBBC News NI
News imageBBC Bishop Donal McKeown is standing inside a cathedral, wearing a black jacket and shirt with white clerical collar. Rows of church pews and an altar are in the backgroundBBC
Bishop Donal McKeown says 'truth and justice have to come out at some stage'

The Bishop of Derry has questioned the decision not to prosecute former soldiers who were investigated for given false evidence over Bloody Sunday.

Thirteen people were shot dead when soldiers opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside area of Londonderry on 30 January 1972.

Last week, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) upheld its April 2024 decision not to prosecute eight surviving soldiers out of the 15 who were investigated for perjury at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

At an event to mark the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Bishop Donal McKeown said "truth and justice have to come out at some stage" and "sometimes it seems impossible through the legal systems".

News imagePacemaker A picture taken on 30 January 1972 - Bloody Sunday. A group of men are carrying a lifeless body - they are accompanied by a priest waving a wife handkerchief. There are soldiers at the side of the picture and in the foreground.Pacemaker
Thirteen people were killed and 15 wounded on Bloody Sunday

"The struggle continues", McKeown told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

He said the Bloody Sunday families "deserve our full support and our full encouragement".

"We will encourage them to keep going as far as they can, for as long as they can."

News imageMickey McKinney has short grey hair. He is wearing glasses and has a green coat on with a blue shirt and jumper. He is standing in a reception area with a lift in the background.
Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was killed on Bloody Sunday, says they will now consider a judicial review of the PPS decision

Following the PPS decision, Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was killed on Bloody Sunday, told the BBC he and other victims' families were "not happy" with the decision.

He said the families will now consider a judicial review of the PPS decision and added: "If that's what it takes, that's what it takes."

Hundreds of people took part in a march in Derry on Sunday, from Creggan to Free Derry Corner in the Bogside, to remember those killed on Bloody Sunday.

News imageDavid Latimer. He has grey wavy hair and shirt beard, wearing a blue polo neck. Tress and houses are blurred in the background.
Rev David Latimer says he stands with the Bloody Sunday families

Speaking at a separate commemoration earlier in the day, Reverend David Latimer, formerly the minister at First Derry Presbyterian Church, said he did not agree with the PPS decision.

"That's why all the more I'm happy to stand with these families, let's unite on them, justice must be top of the agenda," he said.

Latimer said the PPS decision, coming months after a former paratrooper known as Soldier F was found not guilty of two charges of murder and five of attempted murder on Bloody Sunday, was "enough to knock these families down".

"But you know something, we've learnt from observing them in the past, if they do go down they don't stay down for long and they're up," he said.

News imageA collage of black and white photographs of the 13 people killed on Bloody Sunday. The victims, top row (l to r): Patrick Doherty, Gerald Donaghey, John Duddy, Hugh Gilmour, Michael Kelly, Michael McDaid and Kevin McElhinney. Bottom row : Bernard McGuigan, Gerard McKinney, William McKinney, William Nash, James Wray and John Young
The victims, top row (l to r): Patrick Doherty, Gerald Donaghey, John Duddy, Hugh Gilmour, Michael Kelly, Michael McDaid and Kevin McElhinney. Bottom row : Bernard McGuigan, Gerard McKinney, William McKinney, William Nash, James Wray and John Young

In 2010, Lord Saville's report into Bloody Sunday stated that some soldiers had knowingly given false accounts.

In April 2024, the PPS said there was "insufficient" evidence to prosecute 15 former soldiers and a former member of the Official IRA for perjury.

The PPS was asked by some of the Bloody Sunday families to review the decision relating to the eight surviving soldiers who had been investigated.

The families and those soldiers were told last week that the original decision stands.

In a statement, the PPS said criminal convictions required proof beyond reasonable doubt and prosecutors must assess the prospects of conviction based on admissible evidence.

A spokesperson said detailed written explanation had been provided to the families to help them understand the decision.

"These decisions do not diminish the findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.

"Public inquiries and criminal trials follow very different rules and much material available to the inquiry cannot be used in court."