An Official IRA witness told the Bloody Sunday inquiry yesterday that three of his colleagues opened fired on British soldiers, but only after members of the Parachute Regiment had fired at civilians, killing 13 and wounding 13 others.
Another Official IRA witness also rejected an assertion by the inquiry's counsel, Ms Cathryn McGahey, that the Official IRA had opened fired first in the Bogside area of Derry on January 30th, 1972.
Six men, all of whom were members of the Official IRA on Bloody Sunday, have come forward to give evidence to the inquiry. All have been granted anonymity but will give their evidence unscreened in the main hall in Derry's Guildhall.
The first witness, known as Official IRA 2, was a member of the organisation's command staff. He said that on Bloody Sunday "there were no active units operational on that day" and that members of his organisation "had specific orders that we were not to take part in any active operations during the march".
The witness rejected Ms McGahey's suggestion that he and a colleague had gone to the Bogside with the intention of firing at the British army. He also rejected the assertion that the Official IRA had opened fire first "as part of an attack" and not with the policy "of defence and retaliation".
Lord Saville also told the witness that because he had refused to name to the inquiry his Official IRA colleagues, the inquiry "might have to come back to that topic".
Meanwhile another witness, known as Official IRA 5, said that at a meeting of the command staff just hours after the killings, he was told of three retaliatory shooting incidents carried out by his colleagues.
One involved a gunman who had fired two shots towards "approaching armoured personnel carriers" from a gable wall at the end of Chamberlain Street. He also became aware that another Official IRA gunman had fired a single rifle shot at a soldier from Colmcille Court and that in another incident, "a volunteer had been injured in an exchange of fire with army soldiers. His injuries were relatively minor, he was treated with dressings in Derry".
He said that he had also been delegated by his command staff to attend a meeting called by the march organisers, the Civil Rights Movement, on the night of the killings. "I proposed that a general strike be called until after the funerals. I believe that the call for a strike may have been seconded by Martin McGuinness," he said.
At the command staff meeting, it had been agreed that there should be no further military action until after the funerals. "It was also agreed that any retaliatory action should be decided upon in conjunction with the general headquarters staff and that units should not be drawn into firefights dictated and determined by the British security forces," he added.