Prosecution spent more than £350k on barrister fees in Soldier F case

Soldier F was found not guilty of murdering James Wray (left) and William McKinney

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) spent more than £350,000 on barrister fees in the case of Soldier F, the former British Army paratrooper acquitted of Bloody Sunday murder charges.

That day 13 people were shot dead and at least 15 others injured on 30 January 1972 at a civil rights demonstration in the Bogside area of Londonderry.

The figures were released by the PPS under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

BBC News NI asked it to provide a breakdown of its total costs for the case, after it emerged the government spent £4.3m on the veteran's defence.

Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, faced charges of murdering James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, as well as five charges of attempted murder.

The case took six years to reach trial and involved multiple preliminary hearings and a judicial review.

The PPS said counsel costs to date are £362,552, including the judicial review and the five week trial at Belfast Crown Court.

Soldier F was also found not guilty of five charges of attempted murder on Bloody Sunday

It added some fees "are yet to be processed" but said the overall cost to the PPS could not be quantified.

"In the absence of detailed records of time spent on individual cases, it is not possible to produce precise costs, or even average costs for a particular type of case," the PPS said.

"This is because the amount of time required to take individual decisions as to prosecution (and for related administrative tasks) will vary depending upon a range of factors, including the complexity of the case."

It said its counsel fees are, however, "identifiable" costs.

Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, had been charged with murder and attempted murder in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday.

Soldier F was found not guilty at a trial in October.

• EXPLAINER: The 50-year-road to a soldier standing trial for murder

• ANALYSIS: Why did the judge acquit Soldier F in Bloody Sunday trial?

• BACKGROUND: What happened on Bloody Sunday?

Who is Soldier F?

Soldier F is the only military veteran who has been prosecuted over the shootings.

The five charges of attempted murder related to two teenagers at the time 16-year-old Joe Mahon and 17-year-old Michael Quinn as well as Joseph Friel, who was 20, and Patrick O'Donnell, 41, and an unknown person.

The case was heard by a judge sitting without a jury at Belfast Crown Court and lasted five weeks.

To protect his identity, Soldier F was screened from public view and his name not disclosed, as a result of a court order.

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in 2019.

He was one of 18 former soldiers reported to the PPS as a result of a police investigation, which followed the public inquiry into Bloody Sunday conducted by Lord Saville.

But he was the only one charged.

Two years later, the PPS dropped the case after the collapse of the trial of two other veterans who had been accused of a 1972 murder in Belfast.

But the prosecution resumed in 2022 after a legal challenge.