Daniel Hegarty: Decision not to prosecute soldier can be challenged

Daniel Hegarty, 15, was shot dead by a soldier during Operation Motorman in 1972

The family of a teenage boy shot dead in 1972 have been given permission to challenge a decision not to prosecute the soldier who killed him.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel Hegarty was shot twice in the head by a solider in Londonderry.

Last year, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced it was dropping the prosecution of the veteran known as Soldier B.

A judicial review of that decision was granted in the High Court on Wednesday.

It is due to take place in January.

Des Doherty, solicitor for the Hegarty family, said the granting of a judicial review was "positive and welcome news".

The Soldier B case had not progressed to court when the PPS moved to drop the prosecution.

Daniel, who was a labourer, was shot twice in the head during an Army operation in the Creggan area of Derry on 31 July 1972.

In 1972 there were a number of "no-go areas" for the Army in Derry

It was during Operation Motorman, the name given to a military operation by the Army to reclaim "no-go areas" set up by republican paramilitaries in towns across Northern Ireland.

At the time it was largest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956.

Daniel's cousin Christopher Hegarty, who was 16, was wounded in the same incident.

In 2011, an inquest jury unanimously found Daniel posed no risk and had been shot without warning.

An initial inquest was held in 1973 and recorded an open verdict.

The second inquest was ordered by the attorney general in 2009 following an examination by the Historical Enquiries Team.

In 2007, the British government apologised to the Hegarty family after describing Daniel as a terrorist.