A TV news journalist was confronted by a group of people on Bloody Sunday enraged by his report claiming troops had fired upon gunmen, the Saville Inquiry heard today.
Witness Mr Frank Bosco Elliot said ITN's Martin Lewis was "visibly shaken" in the incident, as the full extent of the army operation that killed 13 in the city on January 30th, 1972, became apparent.
"The first news report said that the soldiers in Derry had fired upon gunmen. They said that three terrorists had been reported dead at the time. It gave the impression that the troops had been fired upon first," Mr Elliot said.
Mr Elliot, who described himself as coming from a staunch nationalist background, sought out Mr Lewis at the City Hotel in Derry.
He said: "At about the same time other people also arrived to confront him. He was visibly shaken by this and he turned the colour of white chocolate as the full extent of the army operation had now become clear and it was apparent the number of dead was in excess of earlier quotes.
"Martin Lewis replied that he had only been relaying reports that had been furnished to him by people on the ground.
"I think he said that he had runners on the ground. He left by saying: 'I'm a Welsh nationalist'. I now believe that the aggression directed at him was probably unfair as he was only relaying what he had been told, but we were so angry at the implication of the report."
PA