Captain defends Bloody Sunday soldiers

A British army captain has claimed that the soldiers who killed 13 unarmed civilians on Bloody Sunday in Derry would never have opened fire without provocation.

Speaking at the Saville Inquiry in London, the officer, identified only as INQ406, said the paratroopers responsible for the killings would have been "highly keyed up" ahead of their operation, but would have retained their military discipline.

"It is inconceivable that they simply started firing of their own initiative without provocation," he said.

INQ406 was based in the RUC station at Victoria Barracks on Bloody Sunday and did not witness any of the shooting.