BLOODY SUNDAY TRIBUNAL: A former British army paratrooper yesterday described the 26 civilians shot by members of his regiment in the Bogside area of Derry on Bloody Sunday as "casualties of war".
Known as Inquiry 5, the former soldier told the inquiry into the killing of 13 civilians and the wounding of 13 others by paratroopers in Derry on January 30th, 1972, that he stood by the "casualties of war" comment he made to a journalist who was researching the events on Bloody Sunday.
Mr Arthur Harvey QC, who represents many of the families of the Bloody Sunday victims, referred to the transcript of an interview in 1997 between the witness and journalist Lena Ferguson, who was then researching a television programme for Channel 4.
The witness said he still stood over his 1997 description that the victims were "casualties of war" and he added that innocent people did not riot or take part in illegal marches. "They were all illegal and I have maintained that later in this statement, you know, if they had not gone on an illegal march, none of this would have happened and we would not be here today."
He denied Mr Harvey's allegation that he spoke to four journalists about the events of Bloody Sunday was "because you believed it was your duty to advance a case which justified the unjustifiable, namely the deaths of 13 people and injuries of 13 others, because you believed that the regiment that you were committed to was being besmirched".
The witness also told the inquiry that as soon as he was deployed into the Bogside, he came under both small arms and heavy calibre gunfire.
Meanwhile, counsel to the inquiry, Mr Bilal Rawat, said it had received a statement from another soldier, known as Inquiry 2597, who said he was at the meeting between the witness and Ms Ferguson.
In his statement, Inquiry 2597 said Ms Ferguson said during their 1997 meeting that Channel 4 had obtained civilian and media photographs of Bloody Sunday. She had said "that she believed it was significant that Martin McGuinness is shown in the photographs during the early part of the day but appears in none of the photographs taken during the critical period when shooting was taking place.
"I asked her why she thought this was significant and she said words to the effect that it was obvious that Martin McGuinness was one of the gunmen."
Mr McGuinness has consistently denied that he was armed on Bloody Sunday but has admitted that he was second in command of the Provisional IRA in Derry at the time.
The inquiry continues.