Seven British Army veterans at the centre of historic Northern Ireland allegations from the Troubles could have cases against them dropped - after a separate murder trial of two soldiers collapsed for relying on old statements. The Public Prosecution Service, based in Belfast, is re-examining files on the former soldiers, who were either being considered for charge or already proceeding through the courts. They are specifically checking whether any of the cases rely on statements from the Historic Enquiries Team, a now disbanded police group which had looked at British services roles in deaths during the Northern Ireland conflict. It comes after the murder trial of two veterans over the shooting of IRA commander Joe McCann collapsed last week, with them being formerly acquitted yesterday.