A former paratrooper who joined the Ulster Defence Association after Bloody Sunday told the Saville Inquiry today he served a sentence in the Maze Prison for firearms offences.
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Soldier 203, who gave his evidence from behind a screen at Central Hall in Westminster, said he joined the loyalist paramilitary group after leaving the Army in 1975 - three years after Bloody Sunday.
He confirmed he was imprisoned in 1977 after wounding a member of the rival Ulster Volunteer Force in a UDA social club. When police raided his home, they found a pistol and ammunition.
"I pleaded guilty to the offences. I served the first period of my sentence in the Maze Prison but became disillusioned with the strategy of the UDA and resolved to have no further involvement with paramilitary organisations," he said.
The former soldier, who was an arms storeman for the Parachute Regiment in 1972, denied stealing or attempting to obtain arms and ammunition on behalf of any paramilitary group.
Soldier 203, who was born in Northern Ireland, denied he felt any hatred towards the nationalist community during Bloody Sunday and said he was not sympathetic to the UDA in 1972.
The Saville inquiry is investigating the events of January 30th, 1972, when 13 civilians were shot dead during a civil rights march in the Bogside area of Derry.
PA