Prosecution of Soldier F for Bloody Sunday murders to resume

A fresh review of the case against Soldier F – who is facing two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in Derry on 30 January 1972 – has been carried out as the result of a recent Divisional Court ruling.

The PPS said that, after careful consideration of the Court ruling made on the 23 March 2022, it has been decided to continue with proceedings against Soldier F which were put on hold by the PPS in July 2021. By that date, the prosecution of Soldier F had reached committal stage at Derry Magistrates’ Court and the proceedings were part-heard.

The PPS now intends to reactivate the case on its next scheduled court date, after which it is expected that the committal hearing will move towards completion.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Michael Agnew said: “The judgment delivered by the Divisional Court in March 2022 has been carefully examined and a fresh review of this case carried out. It has been concluded that, in order to give effect to the Divisional Court judgment, the original decision to prosecute Soldier F should stand. Therefore, the committal proceedings that were put on hold should now proceed.

“The PPS has written to representatives of the families and victims directly involved in the prosecution of Soldier F to confirm this decision. We have offered to meet with the families to answer any questions they may have and to outline the next steps to be taken to progress the case. Soldier F’s legal representatives have also been informed.

“I am very conscious of the upset caused to the Bloody Sunday families by the PPS decision to withdraw proceedings against Soldier F last year. It is our role to keep under review the evidence presented in every case. This case has presented difficult and complex legal issues for prosecutors, as was acknowledged by the Divisional Court. The PPS is committed to progressing court proceedings against Soldier F without any further delay.”

In response to the decision, Mickey McKinney, brother of William McKinney today said: “We are delighted that the prosecution of Soldier F will resume next week.

“We hope that the PPS secure an early date for the resumption of the committal proceedings and that Soldier F is returned for trial to the Crown Court without further delay. We hope to meet with the PPS to discuss the future progress of the case in the coming weeks.”