No prosecution in Billy McGreanery killing

The British soldier who shot Derry man Billy McGreanery (41) will not face prosecution.

Mr McGreanery's nephew and namesake Billy McGreanery and his neice Marjorie Roddy were informed of the  Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decision this morning (Monday, December 8, 2025).

Speaking to The Derry News about the PPS's decision not to prosecute Soldier A, Mr McGreanery said it was "really disappointing after the 18 month wait for that decision but at the same time it was not surprising".

"We were hoping against hope," he added. 

"We have this morning sent the PPS report outlining the reasons it is not proceeding with a prosecution of Soldier A to our barrister. We want him to read it and see if there are grounds for us to take a Judicial Review of the PPS's review.

"I don't know if there is any light at the end of the tunnel with that course of action at all but if not, the last card for us as Billy's family to play is to go ahead with a new inquest into his death, although I don't know what the timescale of that would be. 

"However, what I did notice in the PPS report was that it said it couldn't use Soldier A's service records to identify him. We suggested this alternative method of determining Soldier A's identity to the PPS when the Ministry of Defence cipher file identifying him went missing or was destroyed. We have been told this morning that is not possible under the terms of the Legacy Act which came into effect on May 1, 2024, unless the matter is under criminal investigation. I am left wondering why it took the PPS 18 months to do a review if it knew this all along.

"Marjorie and myself are disappointed by the PPS decision but not surprised because of all the disappointments and let downs that other families have endured. We just have to look at the Bloody Sunday families, they got to court and the rug was pulled out from under them. It is the same thing. It is a tick-box justice system that they have. 

"They have cracks in it to ensure that families will fall through them and not get the justice that we rightly deserve. That is basically the way it is. It is a minefield of injustice that path you have to walk. It is set up from day one to protect the security forces in every single way, so that justice is never administered," said Mr McMcGreanery, who added, "This is what the anonymity and labelling them 'Soldier A' and 'Soldier B' was all about".

"It was to protect their identities," said Mr McGreanery. "They have played the whole system. They are experts, after centuries of doing it, they are experts in the field. They have thought everything through. 

"Obviously there is major disappointment because a six-week review took 18 months. That gave us false hope. They build you up and then drop you like a hot poker," he added.

"But, I will say this, it is not finished, not quite yet. The fight for justice goes on," said a clearly emotional Mr McGreanery.

"It is only but right that I play my cards right to the end. We are fighting a system that is stacked against us, it is as simple as that.

"I wasn't supposed to ever get to where I got to. I am disappointed but at the same time I am proud. I have done my best for my Uncle Billy and my father. 

"But it is not just our family. I think about other families in the same situation. It is a battle that we are all in together. We are like different regiments in the same war. We are all having our own we personal battles and hopefully they are having an impact.

"One wee gain here and one wee gain there, it helps other families, and that is what I am hoping, that my experience will help somebody else and give somebody else a wee heads up that if we can't do it his way, we'll do it that way instead.

Billy McGreanery (41) was shot by a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards at the junction of Eastway, Lonemoor Road and Westland Street in Derry, on the evening of September 14, 1971. He underwent surgery at Altnagelvin Hospital but died in the early hours of September 15.  

In September past, on the 54th anniversary of McGreanery’s murder, his nephew and namesake, Billy McGreanery said, in May 2024 the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) had undertaken what was supposed to be a six-week review into its decision not to prosecute Soldier A who had admitted killing Mr McGreanery.

18 months later, on Friday morning past, Mr McGreanery received an email from the PPS which said: “I am writing to advise you that the decision letter in this matter [William McGreanery] will issue by way of email on Monday, December 8 at 9.30am. I have also advised your solicitor, Gary Duffy.”

Marjorie Roddy and Billy McGreanery whose Uncle Billy was shot dead in Derry in 1971.

Speaking to The Derry News before the PPS decision was announced, Billy McGreanery said he and his sister, Marjorie Roddy, Mr McGreanery’s niece, were glad the PPS had made a decision and it was going to be made public because the PPS’s “procrastination is holding me back from taking the last possible step that I can take for my Uncle Billy and that is going for a new inquest”.

“I have been granted a new inquest but I could not request that to be put into operation until the PPS took the decision whether or not to prosecute Soldier A,” he added.

“There was a year and a half wasted. In addition, there is a backlog of inquests. I will be put into a queue for an inquest and the legislation is changing next year.

“I asked the question at one stage if the PPS was ‘playing for time’ here,” said Mr McGreanery, who added the family knew very little about Soldier A.

“He revealed some information about himself, not under caution, to the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which was passed on to us,” said Mr McGreanery. 

“He said he realised he had made a mistake but in the same circumstances he would do exactly the same thing again,” he added. 

“However subsequently, when he was officially interviewed under caution by the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB), on my Uncle Billy’s 50th anniversary, Soldier A did a five and a half hour, no comment interview.

“If I shot somebody dead, I would like to think I wouldn’t make that same mistake again,” said Mr McGreanery.

He added: “My family was later contacted by another member of the British Army, whose name we know and who made a statement to the PSNI’s LIB, members of which interviewed him in England.

“In that statement he said, Soldier B - a Royal Artillery soldier - who was in the sangar along with Soldier A, said he [Soldier A] had said, ‘The next person around that corner is going to get shot’. 

“Interestingly, Soldier B never backed Soldier A up, no matter what Soldier A, the shooter said.

“Our family was later told the PPS was unable to formally identify Soldier A who las labelled through a cipher file, which went missing between 2010 and 2012, after the HET had used it to identify Soldier A. So, they retained the cipher file for nigh on 40 years, over 40 years, but when it was really needed, they lost it,” said Mr McGreanery.

While waiting on confirmation from the PPS on whether or not it was going to prosecute Soldier A, Mr McGreanery said he would want him charged with murder.

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He explained: “No matter how lenient you want to be, the man took another man’s life. 

“My Uncle Billy’s death destroyed our family. It destroyed my father. It broke his heart. My father died two years and four months after his brother. He had already lost my mother, his wife, who died of leukaemia at the age of 30,” he added.

“And it was all down to the denial of justice that he had fought hard for. He felt as if he had let down his brother and his mother. That one bullet killed two men, my Uncle Billy and my father. The bullet that killed my father never pierced his skin. 

“I will have to accept whatever decision the PPS makes on Monday. There is nothing I can do about that. The only recourse I have now is an inquest. 

“If it is a ‘yes’ my job is done and I will let the justice system take care of him. I know he will not be dealt with harshly at all but I will have done what I set out to do and get him charged.

“It has been a very long road. Hopefully it will come good.”