Bloody Sunday Inquiry sees classified documents

A new tribunal of inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday opened at the Guildhall in Derry this morning. The inquiry has seen classified British military and government documents, which considered the prospect of an army operation in no-go areas of the city in the early 70s. A top secret signal from the head of the army, General Michael Carver, to the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath, suggested it may be imperative to go into the Bogside and root out paramilitaries and hooligans. The document was drawn up three months before paratroopers opened fire during a civil rights demonstration in the city in 1972, with the loss of 14 lives.

This is the biggest enquiry in British legal history and is set to run for two years. Lawyers for the tribunal have taken over 1,500 witness statements and have traced over 2,000 military personnel. Lord Saville and two other tribunal judges will re-examine the sequence of events that led to the shooting dead by British paratroopers of fourteen men who were taking part in a civil rights march in the city more than 28 years ago. In his opening statement, counsel for the enquiry said that their task was to uncover the truth, no matter how painful that might be.

Christopher Clarke said that the ability of the inquiry to get to the truth was dependent on the extent and quality of the evidence available to it, and secondly to the assistance that was provided to it. Lord Saville and two other judges, Canadian William Hoyt and Sir Edward Somers from New Zealand, will re-examine the sequence of events, that led to the shootings. The inquiry began this morning with the opening statement from Counsel to the Tribunal. Christopher Clarke said that, if the truth of what happened in January 1972 is to be told, then now is the time to do it.

Mr Clarke said that the inquiry was faced with a formidable and daunting task. He said that the events of Bloody Sunday happened a long time ago and evidence may be hampered by witnesses' ability to remember the events of that day. However, Mr Clarke said that this inquiry has many advantages over the original Widgery Inquiry, namely the extent of material available to it and the length of time open to it to complete its work. He also defended the integrity of the inquiry saying that while some people had made up their minds that it will not go after the truth and that the result is already decided, on the contrary, he said, the inquiry's commitment to trying to discover what happened is absolute.

Before the inquiry opened this morning, a group of about sixty people, including relatives and friends of the dead, walked to the city's Guildhall carrying a banner that read "Time for Truth". They were followed shortly afterwards by Lord Saville and the two other members of the tribunal. Around 2,000 people took part in a candlelit vigil in Derry last night on the eve of the inquiry.