Military statements regarding 1984 SAS killings in Derry expected to be ready within weeks

William Fleming (19) from the Waterside and Danny Doherty (23) from Creggan were shot after being knocked off a motorbike they were travelling on at the time.

Mr Fleming was shot four times in the head and 56 times to the body while Mr Doherty was shot three times in the head and 21 times to the body.

A new inquest is set to begin on April 17 this year in Banbridge and is scheduled to last for around six weeks.

At Friday's hearing a barrister representing Devonshire solicitors, who represent most of the soldiers, said that they hoped to be able to provide statements from military witnesses 'on a rolling basis' and have them completed by March 31.

A previous hearing heard that a medical report was being prepared on one witness known as Soldier A . That hearing also heard that a medical exclusion certificate may be sought.

Karen Quinlivan KC for the next of kin said that Soldier A was 'a pivotal witness' and said that the situation needed clarified.

The hearing was also told that expert reports from ballistics, pathology and a site engineer were ready and a report from a road traffic collision expert was awaited.

Fiona Doherty KC for the Coroner said that once all the interested parties had received the ballistic report they could indicate if they felt the need to get a report from their own expert.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 15 2023.

At a previous preliminary hearing in the inquest into the deaths of two Derry men shot dead by the SAS has been told that a helmet being worn by one of the deceased had not been recovered despite searches for it.

Counsel for the PSNI said that searches for the helmet worn by Mr Fleming had been made but had proved unsuccessful.

The hearing on Wednesday, November 16 last year, heard that a motorcycling helmet worn by Mr Doherty had been recovered and had been handed over to the PSNI for examination.