The tribunal refused yesterday to grant an application by two soldiers for screening from the public when they give evidence in London and commented it was not convinced they had real fears for their safety.
Lord Saville pointed out that the soldiers already had the advantages of anonymity and of giving their evidence in London instead of in Derry. He noted that in ordering these measures, the English Court of Appeal had stressed that the inroads on the public and open nature of the inquiry would be limited because the soldiers would be seen by the families and the public when they gave evidence.
Lord Saville cautioned against the prospect of mass applications for screening by the approximately 200 soldiers who are to be called as witnesses in London from next September.
He said such a prospect "seems to us to be calculated to have such an adverse effect on the openness of the inquiry and the confidence of the people in the inquiry" that the balance would have to fall on the side of refusing screening.
Counsel on behalf of Soldier H and Soldier 104 had argued that if their faces were visible in the witness box, terrorist groups might try to trace them and carry out revenge attacks for the Bloody Sunday killings.