Bloody Sunday: Only one British soldier charged

Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson has expressed disappointment at the decision not to prosecute more British soldiers for their role in the Bloody Sunday massacre. 

Paying tribute to the Bloody Sunday families for their strength and determination, the Foyle MLA said: “This is another deeply disappointing day for the Bloody Sunday families.  We share that disappointment given the well documented actions of the British army on Bloody Sunday."

Anderson added: “I want to pay tribute to the Bloody Sunday families for their strength and determination for over 48 years in their ongoing campaign for truth and justice. Bloody Sunday was a massacre of the innocents and this was acknowledged by the British Prime Minister David Cameron when he said it was unjustified and unjustifiable."

Anderson continued: “The British Government must end their block on the establishment of the Legacy mechanisms agreed in the Stormont House Agreement as the only way to deal with legacy issues. Sinn Féin will continue to support the Bloody Sunday families in their ongoing fight for justice.”

A review by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS), published on Tuesday, confirmed that only one former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, should face charges.

BACKGROUND

Thirteen people were killed and 15 people wounded after members of the Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside - a predominantly Catholic part of Londonderry - on Sunday 30 January 1972.

The day became known as Bloody Sunday - one of the darkest days of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Victims' families waited 47 years to see if there would be prosecutions.