A FORMER BRITISH soldier is set to be charged with the murder of Patrick McVeigh in Belfast in 1972, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Northern Ireland has announced.
The former soldier, known as Soldier F, will be charged with the fatal shooting of McVeigh at the junction of Finaghy Road North and Riverdale Park South on 13 May 1972.
The same soldier will also be prosecuted for the attempted murder of four other people who were wounded in the same incident.
The PPS said that Soldier F, along with three other soldiers - known as Soldiers B, C and D – will also face charges for the attempted murder of two people during a separate shooting incident in Slievegallion Drive in Belfast on 12 May 1972.
The soldiers all belonged to the Military Reaction Force (MRF), an undercover British Army unit.
The PSNI have been investigating the MRF since the release of a BBC Panorama documentary, in which former members of the unit said that its soldiers had killed unarmed civilians.
The unit consisted of around 40 undercover soldiers who patrolled West Belfast in unmarked cars. They operated for around 18 months, before being disbanded in 1973.
Files of evidence were sent to the PPS by the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch (LIB) in relation to the MRF.
It was decided that there would be no prosecution in the case of 18-year-old Daniel Rooney, who was shot dead at St James’ Road on 26 September 1972. A second man suffered a gunshot wound in the same incident.
According to the PPS, this shooting involved a second, separate MRF unit.
Two former soldiers, known as Soldiers A and C, were reported and considered for the potential charge of murder and attempted murder.
The PPS said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute any individual for any offence. The reasons included difficulties with the admissibility of accounts obtained from the soldiers at the time, as well as problems with forensic evidence.
The PPS said that Soldier F, Soldier A and Soldier C are not the same individuals involved in any previous or ongoing prosecution relating to events in Northern Ireland in 1972.
A shooting on the Glen Road on 6 May 1972, in which one person suffered a gunshot wound, was also investigated. No decision was issued in that case as all of the suspects are now dead.
It was decided not to prosecute the one surviving suspect in relation to a shooting incident at Silvio Street on 26 May 1972 in no injuries were reported.
It was also decided not to prosecute the one surviving suspect in relation to an incident at the Glen Road Bus Terminus on 22 June 1972 in which four victims suffered gunshot wounds.
PPS Assistant Director Martin Hardy said all victims and families involved in the investigations were informed of the decisions today.
“Regardless of the differing outcomes in relation to each incident examined, we in the PPS recognise that this is a painful day for all victims and families involved and that they have waited a long time to reach this stage of the process,” Hardy said.
He said that criminal proceedings will begin in due course and the PPS will keep in touch with the relevant victims and families as the cases progress.
He also assured victims and families connected to the cases which will not be prosecuted that the prosecution team, which included an independent senior barrister, “considered the available evidence thoroughly, independently and impartially”.
He added that these victims and families had received a detailed written explanation of the reasons not to prosecute, along with an offer to meet with the prosecution team.
PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan, head of Legacy Investigation Branch acknowledged the PPS’s decision in a statement this afternoon.
“We recognise that this will undoubtedly be a difficult and emotional time for all of the families involved and we are reflective of the long journey this has been for the families. Our thoughts are with every one of those families today,” she said.
Due to the timing of the PPS’s decision, the case will not be affected by the UK’s controversial Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act.
The Act allows for all ongoing criminal investigations, inquests, and prosecutorial decisions to continue until May of this year.
The Legacy Act received royal assent in September 2023 despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims’ organisations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government.
Aspects of the laws include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
The new Act will also halt future civil cases and legacy inquests.
The Government has launched an inter-State case against the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights over the Act.
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