Bloody Sunday report clears Civil Rights March victims

Joy for families and relatives as the long-awaited Lord Saville Inquiry concludes that the civilians killed on Bloody Sunday died as a result of "unjustifiable firing" by British soldiers.

Joy for families and relatives as the long-awaited Lord Saville Inquiry concludes that the civilians killed on Bloody Sunday died as a result of "unjustifiable firing" by British soldiers.


Published on June 15th, Lord Saville's report is a re-investigation of Northern Ireland's Bloody Sunday, where 14 civilians were killed and 13 others injured after British troops opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry on January 30th 1972.

Established in 1998, the inquiry gathered evidence from around 2,500 people including civilians, military personnel, police officers, paramilitaries, journalists, politicians, priests and forensic scientists. The evidence was complied in 160 volumes of data with an estimated 30 million words, and cost over €220 million, making it the most expensive and longest public inquiry in British history.

Lord Saville's report now supersedes the controversial Widgery inquiry, published shortly after the killings in 1972, which claimed that many of the victims were armed and absolved the soldiers of any blame.

The Saville inquiry found that the British troops opened fire on the civilians, "none of whom was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury". The report said that no warnings were given, and there was "serious and widespread loss of fire discipline" by some of the soldiers.  

The report also acknowledged that many of the British soldiers involved "knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing."

In the city of Derry thousands of people gathered in Guildhall Square to follow the reactions to the Saville report in a large outdoor screen, and a media centre was set up for almost 500 media representatives from all around the world.

Reacting to the report, the British Prime Minister David Cameron told the UK Parliament: "These are shocking conclusions to read and shocking words to have to say. But you do not defend the British Army by defending the indefensible."

"What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong."

"The Government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the Armed Forces. And for that, on behalf of the Government, indeed on behalf of our country, I am deeply sorry."

Families and relatives of the victims were greeted with applause by the crowd in the Guildhall as they appeared with placards bearing photographs of the victims with the words "Set the Truth Free".

Amid emotional scenes, the families told the report had vindicated the victims and it would now be the verdict of history for all time.

"The victims of Bloody Sunday were innocent and their names have been cleared", said a relative of the victims.