'Soldier F' not guilty of Bloody Sunday murders

A FORMER paratrooper known as Soldier F has been found not guilty of committing two murders and five attempted murders on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972.

- JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE, REBECCA BLACK AND HELEN CORBETT

Delivering his judgment at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Patrick Lynch said the evidence presented against the veteran fell "well short" of what was required for conviction.

However, the judge said that members of the Parachute Regiment had shot dead unarmed civilians, and those involved should "hang their heads in shame".

The UK Government has said it is committed to "finding a way forward that acknowledges the past" in Northern Ireland following the verdicts. In the packed public gallery at Court 12, gathered relatives of the Bloody Sunday victims gave no visible response as the veteran was found not guilty on all counts.

There was also no reaction from those in the public gallery supporting the former paratrooper.

Soldier F had been accused of the murders of James Wray and William McKinney on Bloody Sunday, regarded as one of the darkest days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The veteran had also been accused of attempting to murder Michael Quinn, Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon and an unknown person.

Thirteen people were killed when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in the city. The non-jury trial heard evidence across four weeks which included statements by two of Soldier F's colleagues.