Veterans welcome acquittal of Soldier F over Bloody Sunday killings

Veterans will welcome the acquittal of Soldier F, Northern Ireland’s advocate for ex-service men and women has said.

Veterans Commissioner for the region, David Johnstone, acknowledged the sensitivity of the moment outside Belfast Crown Court on Thursday after the former paratrooper was found not guilty of two murders during the Bloody Sunday shootings in 1972.

He said the case had “brought into sharp focus the deep pain and division that events from over 50 years ago continue to cause”.

“The veteran community in Northern Ireland will welcome today’s outcome based on precedent and similar legacy court cases,” he said.

“It has become increasingly clear that the admissibility of certain types of evidence, particularly those based on decades old recollections, remains deeply problematic.

“Soldier F has faced legal scrutiny in various forms for more than a quarter of a century, and it is my hope that today’s ruling by Judge Lynch brings that long and arduous process to a close.”

Mr Johnstone said, as Veterans Commissioner, he will “continue to advocate for a legacy process that ensures fairness for all” and “does not facilitate the wholesale demonisation of those who served”.

He said nine out of 10 deaths during the Troubles were caused by terrorist organisations, adding that many veterans are concerned at attempts to “shift focus” from that.

He added that the vast majority of those who served “did so with restraint and professionalism, with the sole motivation, in the main, to protect all sections of our community during the turbulent years of our conflict”.

Paul Young, national spokesman for the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement, said veterans would be “heartened by this verdict today”.

He received some heckles as he addressed the media, with some shouting “shame” as he spoke about the veterans community.

He referred to elderly soldiers “being hounded”, and singled out the case of Dennis Hutchings, who was in his 80s when brought to trial charged with the attempted murder of John Pat Cunningham in Co Tyrone in 1974.

Mr Hutchings died after contracting Covid-19 before the trial concluded.

Mr Young added: “Soldiers across the United Kingdom will be happy with this (the not guilty verdict for Soldier F), and I hope that… no more soldiers (are) brought to the courts here with evidence that has actually no way of going through.”