A former Ulster Defence Regiment soldier admitted today seeing a "civilian" gunman on Bloody Sunday - and saying nothing about it in a statement at the time.
Mr Bernard Gillespie said he saw the seven or eight people arguing with the assailant who he spotted behind a fence in the minutes after the first two casualties were shot by troops on the fringe of Derry's Bogside.
"The group of men were all talking at the same time, saying words to the effect of, he wasn't to do anything with the rifle but was to go away'," he stated.
"He was arguing back to them but I couldn't hear what he was saying."
Mr Gillespie is one of several witnesses who have described a confrontation with a gunman in roughly the area of Columbcille Court or Kells Walk after the shootings of Mr Damien Donaghy and Mr John Johnston. Mr Johnston died six months later.
In his statement to the Saville Inquiry currently investigating the shootings, Mr Gillespie said he provided a statement in the day afterwards.
But he added: "I didn't mention the civilian gunman at the time because I was very angry at what had happened that day and I was not going to give any help to the British Army in saying that anyone had provoked what they did.
"I didn't see any civilian fire that day or any civilians throwing nail bombs or anything else. I just saw that one man with a gun and everyone telling him not to use it."
PA