The British Defence Minister, Mr Geoffrey Hoon, has informed the Saville tribunal that the interests of national security would be seriously damaged if the physical identity or appearance of a military witness known as Soldier B are disclosed to the public.
Mr Hoon has signed a certificate seeking public interest immunity (PII) for Soldier B, who is believed to have been the first, or one of the first, British paratroopers to open fire in the Bogside on January 30th, 1972, when 13 civilians were shot dead.
The certificate also asserts that if Soldier B gives evidence unscreened, his life will be endangered.
The PII application will be made to the tribunal at today's session, and there is considerable speculation about the alleged threat to national security. All the other soldiers have been granted anonymity, but not screening. Moreover, it is a matter of record that Soldier B gave evidence unscreened at the Widgery Inquiry in 1972. It is surmised, therefore, that the sensitivity over his physical identity must be due to circumstances that have arisen subsequently. He must in some manner have become a public figure in that his face must be known.
There is no hint of an explanation in the certificate signed by Mr Hoon. The Minister states that to reveal any more "would risk frustrating the (PII) claim by causing the very damage that I seek to avoid". The three judges of the tribunal alone have been supplied with a "confidential annex" on the potential damage to national security and the public interest.
Mr Hoon's certificate admits that Soldier B opened fire on Bloody Sunday, and that it is likely that either he or Soldier A shot and wounded Damien Donaghy and John Johnston on waste ground at William Street. This incident occurred about 15 minutes before paratroopers stormed into the Bogside, and the soldiers involved were concealed or sheltering in a derelict building.
Soldier B's evidence to Widgery was controversial. He described two nail bombs exploding close to the derelict building and then seeing a man attempting to light what looked like a nail bomb. He said he fired three shots at the man, who fell and was carried away.
The PII application wants Soldier B to be screened from the public and the media and seeks arrangements to prevent his photograph being taken coming or going from the Guildhall.
The soldiers on duty in Derry on Bloody Sunday are due to begin giving evidence in London in September.