Bloody Sunday: Ex-Para dies before police questioning

Former paratroopers have been questioned over their actions on Bloody Sunday as part of a murder investigation being conducted by the PSNI.

The news was revealed as families of those killed and wounded on January 30, 1972 by members of the British Parachute Regiment received an update on the murder investigation from the PSNI this week.

In a statement from the PSNI the family liason officer for the relatives of the victims wrote: “I have today been informed of the death of one former soldier who was scheduled to be interviewed. I am not in a position to name or identify this soldier but have notified the immediate family of a deceased on Bloody Sunday that a soldier linked to the death of their loved one passed away prior to interview.”

However, at the time of going to press last night it had not emerged which of the Bloody Sunday families have been affected by the revelation. The ‘Journal’ contacted the Bloody Sunday Trust but John Kelly from the organisation said that as yet no one has contacted him.

The statement also confirmed that to date a total of 15 soldiers have now been interviewed by police in relation to the killings and that a further two soldiers are to be interviewed under caution in the coming weeks.

The PSNI statement also said: “As further interviews are scheduled I am not in a position to confirm which soldiers have been interviewed to date. Once the remaining two former soldiers have been interviewed, it will be my intention to update all families as to the progress of the investigation.”

Several former Parachute Regiment soldiers lodged objections at the High Court last November successfully blocking attempts to bring them to Northern Ireland for questioning in relation to the killings.

This followed the arrest of the soldier known as ‘Lance Corporal J’ in Antrim. The 66-year-old is understood to have been questioned in relation to the killings of William Nash, Michael McDaid and John Young and also the wounding of William Nash’s father Alex.

Some family members of the victims of Bloody Sunday have been seeking prosecutions of the soldiers responsible for the killings.