Saville: UK govt expected civilian casualties

It has emerged that the British government discussed the possibility of numerous civilian casualties in a military operation to restore law and order to Derry just weeks before Bloody Sunday.

The Saville Inquiry was told the discussion took place at a Cabinet meeting on January 11, 1972, which was chaired by then Prime Minister Edward Heath.

It concluded that a military operation to re-impose law and order in Derry would require seven battalions and probably the commitment of four battalions to the city for an undefined period of time.

A former cabinet office advisor on Northern Ireland told the Inquiry it would be a major operation, necessarily involving numerous civilian casualties.