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Bloody Sunday: 'Job well done' says former soldier | Bloody Sunday: 'Job well done' says former soldier |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A former paratrooper being investigated for his part in Bloody Sunday has said he still believes it was a "job well done". | A former paratrooper being investigated for his part in Bloody Sunday has said he still believes it was a "job well done". |
The soldier also told a BBC Radio 4 documentary he refused to answer any questions when recently interviewed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. | |
The documentary is to be broadcast on Tuesday night. | The documentary is to be broadcast on Tuesday night. |
The soldier was arrested by PSNI officers as part of the investigation into the 1972 killings. | |
Thirteen people died after soldiers opened fire in Londonderry on 30 January 1972. A 14th person died later. | |
He was questioned at a police station in England. | He was questioned at a police station in England. |
"I served my country and I've served that, I think, well for 22 years," the former solider told the programme presenter, journalist Peter Taylor. | |
"Now I'm being told I'm a murderer." | |
Peter Taylor put it to the soldier that when he interviewed him in 1992 about Bloody Sunday, he said it was a "job well done", and asked: "You still believe that?" | |
The soldier replied: "I still believe that. They were not all innocent." | |
He also insisted the three people he fired on that day were all armed, despite the findings of the Saville Inquiry. | |
Asked about the prospect of being prosecuted and sent to jail, the former soldier said: "Stick me in a jail, for what end? | |
"To what end would that help the situation in Northern Ireland?" he asked. | "To what end would that help the situation in Northern Ireland?" he asked. |
The Public Prosecution Service is currently considering a file from the PSNI and is expected to decide if former soldiers will be prosecuted for the killings on Bloody Sunday. | The Public Prosecution Service is currently considering a file from the PSNI and is expected to decide if former soldiers will be prosecuted for the killings on Bloody Sunday. |
Ida McKinney, whose husband, Gerry, was one of the 13 men shot dead told the programme she forgives the soldier who killed him. | Ida McKinney, whose husband, Gerry, was one of the 13 men shot dead told the programme she forgives the soldier who killed him. |
"We forgive them all for what they've done. I've no bitterness against them," she said. | "We forgive them all for what they've done. I've no bitterness against them," she said. |
But she would like to see the former soldiers stripped of the medals they received. | But she would like to see the former soldiers stripped of the medals they received. |
"They got them for a job well done and a job well done isn't exactly what happened, because they [the victims] were all innocent," her daughter Regina McGloughlin told the programme. | "They got them for a job well done and a job well done isn't exactly what happened, because they [the victims] were all innocent," her daughter Regina McGloughlin told the programme. |
The programme also considers calls for a statute of limitations on prosecutions for former members of the security forces. | The programme also considers calls for a statute of limitations on prosecutions for former members of the security forces. |
Former chief of the defence staff Lord Richards said he believes an amnesty would draw a line under the Troubles, but it would have to apply to former paramilitaries. | Former chief of the defence staff Lord Richards said he believes an amnesty would draw a line under the Troubles, but it would have to apply to former paramilitaries. |
"My instinct is that it probably would have to be applied to both sides," he said. | "My instinct is that it probably would have to be applied to both sides," he said. |
"How much longer are these people on both sides you know, getting into their middle if not old age now - how much longer have they got to put up with this? | "How much longer are these people on both sides you know, getting into their middle if not old age now - how much longer have they got to put up with this? |
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told the programme that he expects to have a solution early in the new year to prevent former service personnel being brought before the courts. | Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told the programme that he expects to have a solution early in the new year to prevent former service personnel being brought before the courts. |
Drawing A Line Under the Troubles will be broadcast on Tuesday 11 December at 20:00 GMT on BBC Radio Four. | Drawing A Line Under the Troubles will be broadcast on Tuesday 11 December at 20:00 GMT on BBC Radio Four. |