Bloody Sunday paras chief 'did not hear first army shots'

The officer in command of paratroopers in Derry on Bloody Sunday today said he did not hear any army shooting before he sent his men into the nationalist Bogside area.

Colonel Derek Wilford told the Saville Inquiry in London he was not aware soldiers had already opened fire on civilians, before he sent paratroopers through a crowd control barrier, until days after January 30, 1972.

The inquiry has heard two soldiers in Machine Gun Platoon fired five shots between them, two of which struck the first two people to be wounded, before paratroopers entered the Bogside.

A total of 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead by soldiers on Bloody Sunday, while a 14th civilian died five months after being wounded.

Colonel Wilford told the tribunal the first shot he heard on the day was incoming from a southerly direction and hit a drainpipe near his position.

However, he admitted he did not know the Machine Platoon soldiers fired from that general direction until days after Bloody Sunday.

Senior counsel for the inquiry Christopher Clarke QC asked the colonel: “Did you ever hear those shots or become conscious of the fact that two soldiers had fired from that place in that direction?”

He replied: “No, I did not.”

Col Wilford, 69, was in charge of the first battalion of the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday and went into Little James Street through a crowd control barrier with his men.

He said his troops intended to arrest as many rioters as possible on January 30, 1972 and only opened fire when shot upon.

Col Wilford spent his second day in the witness box at Methodist Central Hall in London today.

He has told the tribunal he saw or heard nothing which led him to believe that paratroopers were out of control at any stage on Bloody Sunday.

He said his troops came under fire and he also heard two “crump” sounds which he believed were nail or blast bombs thrown by rioters.

Under questioning from Mr Clarke, Col Wilford said when people were rioting there was a “mesmeric effect” and they drew strength from each other.

He said it was very important to go in “very hard and very fast to break up that cohesion”.

Brigadier Pat MacLellan, the army’s most senior soldier in Derry on Bloody Sunday, said in his evidence to the inquiry last year it appeared that paratroops disobeyed his orders by driving right into the Bogside in armoured cars.

However, Col Wilford has rejected this and insisted there was nothing to stop him going into the Bogside.

The retired officer will only give evidence in the mornings and is expected to be in the witness box for up to two weeks.

The Saville inquiry, which usually sits at the Guildhall in Derry, is currently hearing evidence from military witnesses and others in London because of concerns for their safety.

Lord Saville of Newdigate and the Commonwealth judges accompanying him on the Bloody Sunday inquiry began their work nearly four years ago and are not expected to report back until late 2004.

The inquiry was established in 1998 by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair after a campaign by families of those killed and injured.

They felt that the Widgery Inquiry, held shortly after the shootings, did not find out the truth about what happened on Bloody Sunday.