The commander of the British army unit which fired more than 100 shots on Bloody Sunday claimed today he did not see four people shot dead by soldiers within yards of his position.
Colonel Ted Loden was the major in command of the Parachute Regiment's Support Company on the day 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead in Derry. A 14th man died later.
Col Loden told the Saville Inquiry in London he clearly recalled hearing a burst of incoming automatic gunfire after he got out of an armoured vehicle in Rossville Street in the Bogside area on January 30th, 1972.
However, he said he did not see Michael Kelly and John Michael Young, both 17, William Nash, 19, and Michael McDaid, 20, shot dead at a rubble barricade on the same street.
Christopher Clarke, QC, counsel to the Inquiry, showed Col Loden a number of photographs of the rubble barricade, the first of which showed Michael Kelly, who was shot by a soldier from Kells Walk.
Mr Clarke asked: "You presumably did not see that?"
"No," replied the colonel.
Mr Clarke: "Did you become aware that shooting was taking place by soldiers towards the rubble barricade?"
"Yes I did," replied the colonel.
Mr Clarke: "Did you look to see who was shooting and what they were shooting at?"
"Yes, I did," he replied.
Mr Clarke: "What did you see?"
"Well, I, as I recall I saw people behind the barricade, but not like this," he replied.
Mr Clarke then showed the colonel a second photograph. "There is walking through the gap in the barricade, the boy in a checked jacket whom we saw in the photograph we looked at yesterday, called Michael McDaid.
"What cannot be long after this photograph was taken, he fell at the barricade having himself been shot, as did two young men called William Nash and Michael Young. Did you not see any of that?"
"I do not recall this picture," Colonel Loden replied.
Mr Clarke: "Your view would have been looking from the left of this picture towards the barricade that we see?"
"That is correct, yes, but it was not the only place I was looking," he replied.
Col Loden said he did not see any civilians armed with guns or bombs on Bloody Sunday, however, he was in no doubt there was incoming fire.
PA