Army Apologise For Shooting Man 40 Years Ago

The Chief of the General Staff of the British Army has officially apologised to the family of a man shot dead by a soldier in Londonderry 40 years ago.

Billy McGreanery, 41, was killed by a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in 1971 as he walked past an army observation post.

Earlier this year, the Historical Enquiries Team found Mr McGreanery "was not carrying a firearm and he posed no threat to the soldiers."

In his letter, Sir Peter Wall said an official apology was right and proper and that the soldier who shot Mr McGreanery "was mistaken in the belief that he had a weapon and this error, tragically, resulted in the death of an innocent man."

In a statement, Billy McGreanery and Marjorie Roddy, the surviving nephew and niece of the late Billy McGreanery acknowledged the apology but said it was too late for those closest to Mr McGreanery.

They also took issue with the MoD claim that the soldier "was mistaken in his belief that he… (Billy)… had a weapon."

They stated: "The MoD have acknowledged that Billy... was a totally innocent man who posed no threat. We feel we have finally set the truth free and somewhat righted a terrible wrong."

At the time of the shooting, the RUC chief superintendent in the city, Frank Lagan, said the soldier responsible should have been charged with murder.

Soldier 'A' was never prosecuted on the advice of the attorney general, who said that whether he acted wrongly or not, the soldier was "at all times acting in the course of his duty."

An excerpt of the HET report released by the McGreanery family said: "An examination of the original case file reveals that there were clear doubts over the veracity of soldier 'A's account yet nothing was done to challenge it or investigate further."

It also acknowledged the "very real" threat against soldiers at the time, 49 were killed in 1971 and that when questioned about the incident soldier 'A' said he was petrified.

The report went on to say: "Thirty-eight years later, the soldier still maintains his original account of events during that evening. He does accept however, that he made a mistake, albeit an honest one."

(JG/GK)