The British army's most senior officer in Derry on Bloody Sunday today denied that he ordered paratroopers in to the Bogside on that day.
General Sir Robert Ford, the Commander of the Land Forces, maintains that he was only an observer at the January 30th, 1972 civil rights march when British paratroopers shot and killed 13 unarmed men.
Today he told the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, sitting in central London, that he did not pressurise Brigadier Pat MacLellan, Commander of 8th Brigade, who was in charge of all the paras in Derry, by telling him to get "a move on".
Gen Ford was shown excerpts from an interview he gave in 1984 to journalist Desmond Hamill.
He was also shown excerpts from an interview Brigadier MacLellan gave to Mr Hamill that year, in which the officer appears to back suggestions that Sir Robert lobbied for the paras to go in.
Brigadier MacLellan, who was based at brigade headquarters at Ebrington Barracks, was responsible for all tactical decisions that day, Gen Ford claims.
Gen Ford was at Barrier 14 when the paras burst into the Bogside, allegedly to drive back rioters and arrest so-called troublemakers, at about 4.10 p.m.
He said; "Go on, 1 Para, go and get them and good luck," as they moved off. Water canon with purple dye and CS gas had been used against the stone-throwing crowd, who had been chanting "IRA IRA", Gen Ford said.
He told the inquiry: "It appears to me, from the narrow view that I had, that was probably a very good opportunity to launch the arrest operation, but I was not in command and it was not for me to say.
"Inside myself I am sure, at the time, it seemed to me to be a good time to do it."
In the Hamill interview Gen Ford recalls he was with the company commander on the ground when 1 Para asked to send in the arrest unit.
In the interview he said: "The brigade commander held them off. He wanted to make sure the march proper was away from the hooligans.
"On the secure net to MacLellan I sent a message suggesting he got a move on. Being on the ground I got the 'feel' that it was the right time to move though.
Pat MacLellan could probably 'see' more through his helicopter above."
In his Hamill interview Brigadier MacLellan says a message was relayed over Gen Ford's secure radio and passed on to him by a Brigade Major. Sir Robert did not contact him while he was out on the ground.
In the interview Brigadier MacLellan is recorded saying: "I recall that at one stage he got on, saying 'why are you not going in', or 'is it not time you went in?' - that was relayed to me by the Brigade Major.
"One of the dilemmas is the command control in a set up operation like this. It is very difficult to see in the streets wherever you place yourself".
Gen Ford now says his comments to Mr Hamill were "mistaken". He struggles to remember the interview and cannot understand why he made the error.
Gen Ford told the inquiry he could not have made this contact because he did not have a secure radio. He doubted whether the message would have been relayed in any other way.
Of Brigadier MacLellan's recall of the event, Gen Ford commented: "I think his memory too is at fault, and I have no idea why."
PA