Army

Bloody Sunday Paratroopers In Fight Over Arrests

Mural in Londonderry commemorating the Bloody Sunday killings

Seven former British paratroopers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings have asked High Court judges to issue an order preventing them from being arrested and taken to Northern Ireland for questioning.

The legal action follows the arrest of a 66-year-old ex-soldier in Co Antrim earlier in November. He was later taken to Belfast for questioning before being released on bail. It was the first such move since 2012 when the PSNI launched a murder inquiry into the 1972 killings.

At the time the officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison, said the arrest marked a "new phase in the overall investigation", adding that it would continue for "some time".

The seven men say they will co-operate fully by voluntarily attending police interviews held in England and Wales but not in Northern Ireland.

James Lewis QC told judges: "We would seek an order from this court prohibiting the defendant (Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland) from arresting the claimants in order to interview them under caution in Northern Ireland."

13 civil rights demonstrators were killed by members of the Parachute Regiment on the streets of Derry in January 1972, while another victim of the shootings died months later.

The probe was initiated after a government-commissioned inquiry undertaken by Lord Saville found that none of victims were posing a threat to soldiers when they were shot.

Following the publication of the Saville report in 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the Army's actions, branding them "unjustified and unjustifiable".

In September, the PSNI announced their intention to interview former soldiers about their involvement on the day.

Meanwhile tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the British soldiers involved in Bloody Sunday to be granted immunity from prosecution.