Kitson gives evidence to Bloody Sunday inquiry

General Frank Kitson has given evidence at the Bloody Sunday Tribunal in London. He was the British Army commander in Belfast at the time of the shootings.

He said he had very little involvement in or recollection of events leading up to the shootings. Kitson, now 75, fought in Kenya and also served in the British army putting down rebellions in Malaya and Cyprus.

In his statement to the tribunal, he said he had no recollection of events leading up to Bloody Sunday and that the Parachute Regiment were experienced and professional with a high degree of discipline, compassion and even-handedness who were disliked by both sides in the North because of their effectiveness not because of any brutality.

He was asked about a newspaper report, published in the week before Bloody Sunday, which highlighted the alleged roughness and brutality of the Parachute Regiment and that fellow British officers, calling them "thugs in uniform", wanted them kept out of sensitive areas.

Kitson said it was an interesting article but the Parachute Regiment would never be deployed unless requested. He said he didn't think the report was convincing or true at all.