John Pat Cunningham family wants Dennis Hutchings memorial removed

Dennis Hutchings, 80, died while on trial over a fatal shooting during Northern Ireland's Troubles

The family of a man who was shot dead while running away from an Army patrol has challenged the UK government over a memorial to an ex-soldier accused of his killing.

The memorial to Dennis Hutchings was put up at Palace Barracks in Holywood, County Down.

Mr Hutchings died in October 2021 while on trial over John Pat Cunningham's fatal shooting.

Mr Cunningham was 27 when he was shot near Benburb, County Tyrone, in 1974.

The Ministry of Defence said as the memorial was in a private memorial garden it was put up and maintained at private expense.

Mr Hutchings, who was 80 when he died, had denied attempting to murder and cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Cunningham.

In a statement issued through the Pat Finucane Centre, Mr Cunningham's family said they were "unable to find peace because of this provocation".

"We have no wish to revisit this traumatic event but have been left with no alternative because of the callousness of others."

They said the Hutchings family should place the memorial in Mr Hutchings home county of Cornwall, where they could then grieve.

John Pat Cunningham was 27 at the time of his death but had a mental age of between six and 10

Before his death, the Life Guards veteran's trial had been adjourned for three weeks due to illness and a positive test for Covid-19.

His friends in Northern Ireland organised a memorial service for him and his family on Saturday, when the memorial stone was unveiled in the Memorial Garden at the barracks.

The family of Mr Cunningham, who had a learning difficulty, have called on the Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to have the stone removed.

An Army spokesperson said: "The Palace Barracks Memorial Garden is not an officially recognised MoD memorial.

"As this is a private memorial garden we do not determine what is included and the memorials are erected and maintained entirely at private expense."

The MoD is not believed to have been approached about the memorial in advance, which is common practice for such memorials.