Prosecutors drop Troubles murder cases against ex-British soldiers dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Michelle O Neill pulls out of meeting with Prince Charles The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to Belfast City Hall in Donegall Square, Belfast. Picture date: Tuesday May 18, 2021. 19 May, 2021 08:41
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall signing the visitor s book during a visit to Belfast City Hall in Donegall Square, Belfast. Picture date: Tuesday May 18, 2021.
Northern Ireland’s deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that it was not possible for her to meet with the Prince of Wales at Hillsborough Castle during his two-day visit.
In her statement, it did not outline the reason. RTE News reported that it is thought the recent ruling in the Ballymurphy massacre inquest played a role in Michelle O’Neill’s decision, because of Prince Charles’s position as colonel in chief of the Army’s Parachute Regiment.
BBC News
Published
image captionJoe McCann was shot near his home in the Markets area of Belfast in April 1972
Statements given by two soldiers after the fatal shooting of an IRA man are to be excluded from evidence in their trial, a judge has ruled.
Two former members of the Parachute Regiment - Soldiers A and C - are standing trial in Belfast on a charge of murdering Joe McCann in April 1972.
The 24-year old was fatally wounded after he was shot by paratroopers as he was evading arrest while unarmed.
Shortly afterwards Soldiers A and C both admitted firing shots at the man.
BBC News
Published
image captionThirteen people were killed and 15 wounded on Bloody Sunday
The High Court has granted permission to the families of five men killed on Bloody Sunday to challenge a decision not to prosecute former soldiers.
It follows a legal challenge against a 2019 Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decision to bring charges against no more than one soldier.
Permission was given on Thursday for a judicial review.
Solicitor Fearghal Shiels said the families warmly welcomed the decision .
The judicial review is due to begin in September.
Mr Shiels said the families of Jackie Duddy, Michael Kelly, John Young, Michael McDaid and William McKinney look forward with confidence to the full hearing in the autumn .
Soldier F is accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney on January 30, 1972, when British troops opened fire on demonstrators in the Bogside area of Derry, killing a total of 13 people.