One of the organisers of the Civil Rights march on Bloody Sunday said yesterday that firm assurances were received from both wings of the IRA that they would not be actively involved that day.
However, Mr Tony Martin, who is English and had long service in the British navy, also said he was told at one point on the day that there was a car loaded with guns parked in Glenfada Park, where many of the killings had taken place.
Mr Martin said he was on the local Civil Rights Committee. Its chairwoman, the late Mrs Brigid Bond, had informed the city's senior RUC officer, Chief Supt Frank Lagan, that there would be no paramilitaries on the march planned for January 30th, 1972. They had contacted both IRA wings and got assurances that there would be no IRA flags or guns on the march.
Mr Martin said what happened on Bloody Sunday was "cold-blooded murder".
He was familiar with army practice and the yellow card rules, and he believed the army's actions that day were completely unacceptable.
The inquiry resumes on Monday.