Bloody Sunday soldier anonymity hearing starts

A defence barrister for Soldier F, the only soldier to charged in connection with the Bloody Sunday killings, has said the case ‘is no different from any other homicide.’

Mark Mulholland QC was speaking at the beginning of a hearing to determine if the former paratrooper should retain his anonymity in the ongoing preliminary inquiry.

Soldier F is facing two counts of murder and five of attempted murder in relation to the Bloody Sunday shooting in January 1972.

Mr Mulholland said that a request by the legal team representing the sister of Jim Wray one of the dead to be allowed to object to witnesses and cross examine them was without merit.

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He said there was no authority that allowed a third party rights in a criminal case to do anything other than make representations if invited to do so by the court.

Earlier Fiona Doherty QC had argued that the court had the discretion to allow legal representatives of interested parties to ask questions and raise objections.

She argued that given the nature of this particular case and the way that anonymity had been granted in the first hearing her client, Ms Wray, should be allowed to make representations on the issue of anonymity.

Judge Magill said he suspected that no matter what way he ruled ‘someone is going to appeal me’. He adjourned the case until Tuesday to allow submissions to be put in writing.