Bloody Sunday 'Soldier N' Dies

One of the former paratroopers facing potential charges over Bloody Sunday has passed away, it has emerged.

Prosecutors were informed last week that 'Soldier N' had died.

Thirteen people were shot dead when members of the British Army opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in L'Derry in 1972.

A fourteenth person died later.

An evidence file on the soldier, a lieutenant in the Parachute Regiment at the time of the shootings, had been under consideration by prosecutors in Northern Ireland, with a decision on whether to pursue a criminal case due next month.

Decisions on the other 17 soldiers, as well as the two former members of the Official IRA who were also involved in Bloody Sunday, are still expected in late February.

It is understood Lieutenant N was not under investigation in relation to any of the fatalities. The landmark Saville public inquiry found he was responsible for shooting and wounding 25-year-old Mickey Bridge, a claim the ex-Paratrooper had denied.



(JG)