Henry Thornton inquest: Ex-soldier says he believed he was under fire

The Army's fatal shooting of Henry Thornton near a west Belfast police station in 1971 sparked serious rioting in the area

An ex-soldier who witnessed the Army's fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Belfast in 1971 has told an inquest he believed he was under fire at the time.

Henry Thornton, 29, was shot after the van he was driving passed Springfield Road police station in west Belfast.

The witness, who was a member of the Parachute Regiment, did not fire the shots that killed the father of six from Crossmaglen, County Armagh.

The fatal shots were fired by a man known as Soldier A who has since died.

'Pointed a weapon'

The witness, referred to only as Soldier C, gave evidence from behind a screen during the inquest into Mr Thornton's death.

The ex-serviceman was on a four month tour of duty with 2nd Para, based at Springfield Road police station, close to the junction with Belfast's Falls Road.

Soldier C told the inquest that at about 07:30 BST on 7 August 1971 he was on duty in a watchtower outside the station and observed the shooting of Mr Thornton.

He said he believed a passenger in the van had pointed a weapon out the window of Mr Thornton's van and fired it twice.

Soldier C told the court he did not believe the two bangs he heard were the backfiring of the van driven by Mr Thornton.

'Lie after lie'

He said there was a distinct difference in sound, and he was certain he heard the crack of gunfire passing close to him.

Counsel for the Thornton family suggested the witness had told "lie after lie" to cover up what had really happened, something that Soldier C denied.

Following Mr Thornton's death there was sustained rioting in west Belfast.

Within days, 10 other people had been shot dead by the Army in a period that the bereaved families refer to as the Ballymurphy Massacre.

Known as "Harry" to his family, Mr Thornton was an unarmed civilian who had no connection to any paramilitary group.

In 2012, the government wrote a letter of apology to his widow Mary, confirming that her husband had been an "innocent man".

At the opening day of his inquest on Tuesday, she said she just wanted justice for her husband.