Soldier denies plan to withhold Bloody Sunday evidence

A former British soldier has denied telling a British reporter that he intended to withhold evidence from the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry more than 31 years ago.

The unnamed paratrooper, identified only as Soldier J, confirmed today that he had spoken to Daily Telegraph reporter Toby Harnden in May 1999 about his recollection of Bloody Sunday, when 13 Catholic civil rights marchers were shot dead by the British army.

However, he claimed he was misquoted by the journalist.

In his article, Mr Harnden had quoted Soldier J as saying: "I was grilled for several hours this year by lawyers acting for the Saville Inquiry. I told them the bare minimum and said that I could not really enlarge on anything said to Widgery or contained in my original statement the day after Bloody Sunday."