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.