Ten people killed in Belfast in 1971 after an Army operation were 'entirely innocent', a coroner rules
The shootings in Ballymurphy happened after an operation in which paramilitary suspects were detained without trial
The inquest, which began in 2018, heard almost 100 days of evidence from more than 150 witnesses
The coroner accepts the Army was justified in opening fire in several instances, but says there was no justification for the 10 deaths
In two of the fatalities, she notes the activities of IRA gunmen had put civilian lives in danger
The coroner found there was no sign of petrol or explosives on the body of a man who was shot by the Army in Ballymurphy in August 1971.
Mrs Justice Keegan accepted that petrol bombs were being thrown in the area at the time and there was a lot of noise and commotion but she concluded that Edward Doherty was "an innocent man who posed no threat".
In relation to the deaths of Joan Connolly, Noel Phillips, Daniel Teggart, Joseph Murphy, the coroner found that members of the Army's Parachute Regiment must have been responsible.
Mrs Justice Keegan acknowledged that the Army was coming under fire from gunmen in the area at the time but she concluded that the use of force against the deceased was "clearly disproportionate".
She said they were innocent, unarmed, and were "posing no risk".
The coroner said it was clear that the environment was difficult at the time with many people, including children, out on the streets but she said the state had failed to establish that the shootings were justified.
Ruling on a claim by a soldier that 33 rounds of ammunition were found in a pocket on clothes worn by Daniel Taggert, she said if this was the case it was "quite an amount of ammunition" yet it was not mentioned by other soldiers.
She concluded that she is not satisfied that "this fact is proven".
Kevin Sharkey
BBC News NI
The coroner found that a Catholic priest who was shot dead in Ballymurphy was "a peacemaker".
Fr Hugh Mullan was shot twice in the back.
The coroner, Mrs Justice Keegan, found that Fr Mullan was shot as he was going to assist a man who had been shot on waste ground.
She rejected a Ministry of Defence suggestion that Fr Mullan could have been shot be a UVF sniper.
She said the suggestion "does not add up".
Sinn Féin’s Paul Maskey congratulates the Ballymurphy families on their “long, hard fight for the truth”.
In a tweet, the MP for west Belfast tells the families they have “done your loved ones proud”.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The inquest into the shootings began in November 2018.
The court heard almost 100 days of evidence from more than 150 witnesses.
These included more than 60 former soldiers, more than 30 civilians and experts in ballistics, pathology and engineering.
Image source, pacemakerA coroner rules that the 10 people shot dead at Ballymurphy, in west Belfast, in 1971, were innocent.
She says their deaths were without justification.
Speaking ahead of the release of the findings, John Teggart, whose father, Danny, was among the victims, said it would be a hard day, but the families were praying for a positive result.
"We're very anxious of what the result will be," he said.
Image source, Pacemaker"After campaigning for 50 years, we're going to get the result of the findings.
"We're confident in the work that we have done, and the amount of eye witnesses, and we're confident it will be a good day."
Will Leitch
BBC News NI
Families of the Ballymurphy victims are in Belfast to hear the findings of the coroner in the inquest, which began in November 2018.
They walked up the broad sweep of pavement beside the Waterfront Hall this morning, watched by dozens of cameras as the world’s media watched them arrive.
Image source, PacemakerSeveral confessed to a sleepless night and nerves about what the coroner may find.
Inside the large hall where the coroner is delivering her findings, the families are sitting in socially distanced groups.
The victims of the shootings were:
Read more here.
Welcome to the BBC News NI live page.
We will be bringing you all the latest news and reaction from the findings of the Ballymurphy Inquest.