'Protected' para to face Bloody Sunday inquiry

The first of the Bloody Sunday paratroopers was today giving evidence into the killing of 13 unarmed men on a civil rights march on January 30, 1972.

The paratrooper, identified only as Soldier 027, was giving evidence shielded by a screen at the Saville Inquiry in central London.

His eye witness testimony of the bloodshed in the Bogside on January 30, 1972 was expected to be devastating for his former colleagues in the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, who hotly contest his account.

He is in a special protection programme, paid for by the Northern Ireland Office, to ensure that he co-operates with the government-appointed public inquiry. The package ends immediately after he finishes his evidence to the inquiry.

It is believed that 027 fears retribution from his former colleagues, against whom he has made serious allegations in the past about their actions on Bloody Sunday.

Soldier 027 joined the Parachute Regiment in 1971 when he was 19-years-old and was a radio operator in the regiment’s anti-tank platoon on Bloody Sunday.

His account is believed to back claims from bereaved relatives that their loved ones were shot, and another 14 people injured, without proper reason.

Previously he has claimed the security forces were not being attacked with guns and nail bombs when they opened fire.

He has also alleged that his colleagues, believing there would be an IRA attack, were geared up for battle.