Bloody Sunday Summary

Bloody Sunday prosecution charges 'unlikely'

The British government apologised for the army's actions after the publication of the report which took 12 years to complete. The report concluded that none of the victims were armed, that soldiers gave no warnings before opening fire and that the shootings were a "catastrophe" for Northern Ireland. 

None of the witnesses were granted blanket immunity from prosecution. However all witnesses were immune from prosecutions on the grounds of self incrimination. This meant that the evidence given by a witness could not be used against them in any future legal proceedings.  Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service said it was considering whether to prosecute anyone, adding this decision would be taken "as expeditiously as possible" although it gave no date.

"The Director of Public Prosecutions, together with the Chief Constable, will consider the report to determine the nature and extent of any police enquiries and investigations required to enable informed decisions to be taken¨. Some legal experts, however, said wriggle room remains for prosecutions and, more likely, civil lawsuits against retired soldiers, particularly as some of the them were found to have lied to the Saville Inquiry.

When Mr Pollard, the lawyer representing British soldiers, was asked whether the report paved the way for the soldiers involved in Bloody Sunday to face criminal charges, he said: "No, it doesn't." "He cherry picked the evidence," the lawyer said, referring to Lord Saville.Meanwhile the head of the British army, General David Richards, backed the apology by the British Prime Minister David Cameron."The report leaves me in no doubt that serious mistakes and failings by officers and soldiers on that terrible day led to the deaths of 13 civilians who did nothing that could have justified their shooting".

The inquiry was originally budgeted to cost £11m and report findings were expected by 2002.The final bill was estimated at nearly 200 million pounds - making it the longest and most expensive inquiry in British legal history.