But veterans’ lawyers say that a number of future cases in the province are now in jeopardy because they rely on interviews British soldiers were forced to give at the time.
Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British Army from 2006 to 2009, urged the British Prime Minister to intervene and stop such prosecutions going ahead.
“Boris Johnson promised he would stop these prosecutions but they are still going on,” he said.
Gen Sir Peter Wall, who served as British Army chief from 2010 to 2014, also called for proceedings to end. It s an utter disgrace that former soldiers going about their duty can be brought to court on such flawed evidence 50 years on,” he said.
The BBC was criticised today for allowing the daughter of an Official IRA leader to refute claims that he murdered 15 soldiers during an interview on Radio 4.
Aíne McCann, 52, was three when her father Joe McCann was shot dead aged 24 in Belfast in 1972 in disputed circumstances, allegedly by a group of three soldiers.
At the time a police investigation failed to result in a prosecution, and nearly 50 years on the witch-hunt trial of two former soldiers collapsed yesterday.
But Ms McCann told BBC Radio 4 s Today programme this morning that her father had been defamed during the court case and faced ridiculous accusations .
Ex-soldiers acquitted of 1972 murder of Official IRA leader
SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press
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LONDON (AP) Two former British paratroopers accused of the 1972 murder of an Official IRA leader in Belfast were formally acquitted Tuesday after the veterans’ trial collapsed.
Joe McCann, 24, was allegedly evading arrest when he was shot dead by paratroopers in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972.
The trial of the two veterans, now in their 70s and identified only as A and C, opened last week at Belfast Crown Court. It was the first in years that involved charges against former military personnel who served in Northern Ireland’s bloody conflict, known as the Troubles.
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Joe McCann: Murder trial of two former soldiers accused of killing IRA commander in 1972 collapses
The trial of two former British soldiers for the shooting dead of an IRA commander in 1972 has collapsed at the Crown Court in Belfast.
Joe McCann, 24, was unarmed when soldiers opened fire on him in Joy Street, as he ran from them in a bid to evade capture.
The case against the two veterans, identified only as Soldiers A and C, fell apart when evidence deemed central to the prosecution was ruled inadmissible.
Soldiers A and C acquitted after prosecution offers no more evidence
PPS insists they were right to pursue prosecution
Updated
Joe McCann s family leave court on Tuesday along with solicitor Niall Murphy (Image: Jonathan Porter/PressEye)
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Thank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourprivacy notice Two former paratroopers accused of the murder of an Official IRA leader were formally acquitted yesterday after prosecutors offered no further evidence at their trial.