The Bloody Sunday Inquiry/Day 322: A former British paratrooper told the Bloody Sunday inquiry yesterday he found neither weapons nor explosives on the bodies of three men shot dead by members of the lst Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in the Bogside area of Derry in January 1972.
The retired paratrooper told the inquiry into the killings of 13 civilians that he found the bodies of three young men lying on a rubble barricade after paratroopers had fired. With several colleagues, he picked the bodies up and put them into the rear of an armoured personnel carrier.
The witness, known as Soldier 006, denied he had treated the bodies, believed to have been those of victims John Young (17), William Nash (19) and Michael McDaid (20), with "complete and utter contempt".
The allegation was made by barrister Mr Tom McCreanor, who represents many of the families. Soldier 006 replied "no" when Mr McCreanor said the bodies had been "treated with the utmost disrespect", thrown into the vehicle" and "piled on top of one another".
Soldier 006 said before he was ordered towards the rubble barricade, he had seen bullets fired by paratroopers striking it.
"I remember the army's firing as being very controlled."
He said the three bodies were placed on top of each other in the rear of the armoured vehicle.
"There was not enough room to lie the bodies side by side. We then got into the back and had to sit with our feet on top of them, it was the only way we could get in because of lack of space."
He told Mr Michael Mansfield QC, who represents the Nash family, he did not see any weapons, explosives, acid bombs or petrol bombs in the vicinity of the barricade, nor did he see a cache of explosives.