Saville: Army chief apologises for error

A former Army information chief today apologised at the Bloody Sunday inquiry for saying in the hours after the killings that four of the dead civilians were on a wanted list.

Maurice Tugwell, then Colonel General Staff (Information Policy) at Headquarters Northern Ireland, also said in a statement to the inquiry that he went as an observer to the march in Derry on January 30, 1972, when British paratroopers shot dead 13 unarmed people.

Mr Tugwell told in the statement how he heard automatic gunfire from around the Rossville Flats.

He said he gave a radio interview at 1am the day after the killings.

“During the course of the interview I stated that four of the civilians who were dead were on a wanted list. Later, I am not sure when, I discovered that the allegation that four men were on a wanted list could not be sustained.”

But they could not put out a news release to correct this since, from February 1 that year until the publication of the Widgery Report – the first inquiry into the killings – there was a blackout on them saying anything at all about the event.

Mr Tugwell said he wanted to check if there were “intelligence traces” on any of the dead.

“I would have obtained the information about intelligence traces orally, either by phoning and asking, or by being given it by one of the Ops Room staff officers who obtained it for me.

“On reflection, I think the latter more likely, because if I had spoken directly to Intelligence, I would surely have remembered who gave me the information.”

A statement was drafted for the Widgery inquiry confirming that, though four of the civilians had traces from Intelligence, and were people who would have been put aside for questioning if they had been arrested, they were not people who were actively being sought, he said.

“I apologise for this error. It was a mistake.”

Mr Tugwell said in the statement that he went to Derry as an observer and took his private camera with him to take photographs for his own collection.

He said he left an observation post and went to ground level and behind Barrier 14, where he had heard baton rounds being fired by the Royal Green Jackets who were trying to control rioters.

He took a few paces forward from Barrier 14, and it occurred to him that he was alone and that people could come out from any angle.

“I knew that any one single person falling into the hands of a mob could be dead in half a minute. I decided to get out of the area.

“I was just turning to go when I heard a burst of automatic fire. It is very clear in my mind. The gunfire appeared to come from the area at the bottom (southern end) of Chamberlain Street and around the Rossville Flats.”

It sounded like eight rounds were fired, he added.

Almost immediately afterwards, he believed he heard a crackle that might have been single shots being fired from some distance away, beyond Chamberlain Street.

“My reaction to hearing the fist burst of gunfire was to think ’Bugger it - what now?’.

“I had almost been celebrating the fact that everything had gone so well at this stage. The firing changed the situation to one that had the potential for difficulties. I was surprised and angry that this had occurred.”

He then withdrew from the area, his statement said.

The inquiry, headed by Lord Saville, is currently sitting in London.