Trial of British ex-soldier to open in Belfast

THE first ever trial of a former British soldier accused of murdering victims of the Bloody Sunday massacre opened yesterday in Belfast, in a landmark moment in Northern Ireland’s conflict-scarred recent history.

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The ex-paratrooper — identified only as “Soldier F” - faces two murder and five attempted murder charges over the 1972 atrocity, one of the most significant events in the three-decade-long “Troubles” that plagued the British territory.

He has pleaded not guilty and last year applied to have the case against him dismissed, but a judge rejected his claim.

The former soldier is charged with murdering civilians James Wray and William McKinney, and with the attempted murder of five others, during the crackdown on a civil rights protest in Londonderry - also known as Derry - more than half a century ago.

British troops opened fire on protesters in the majority Catholic Bogside area of Londonderry, Northern Ireland’s second-largest city, on January 30, 1972, killing 13 people.

A 14th victim later died.

Hidden from public view by a large curtain, Soldier F replied “not guilty” when each of the seven charges were put to him last year.