Daniel Hegarty: PPS seek to challenge Soldier B prosecution ruling

Daniel Hegarty, 15, was shot and killed during Operation Motorman in 1972

The PPS is seeking to challenge a court ruling relating to its decision not to prosecute a now deceased soldier accused of killing a teenager.

It has applied for leave to appeal an earlier ruling that quashed its decision not to prosecute the veteran, known as 'Soldier B'.

Soldier B was facing the prospect of being prosecuted for shooting Daniel Hegarty in Londonderry in July 1972.

The Hegarty family was notified of Soldier B's death last week.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel was shot during Operation Motorman, the name given to an operation by the Army to reclaim "no-go areas" set up by republican paramilitaries in towns and cities across Northern Ireland.

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

In 2019, it was announced Solider B was to be prosecuted for the murder of Daniel.

The case was then dropped by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) after a review following the collapse of a separate trial involving two ex-soldiers for Troubles-era offences.

That decision was subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal in June.

A PPS spokeswoman said the move to challenge the court's decision "has been considered carefully" and that the PPS believes it is necessary to "seek clarity on a number of legal issues raised by the ruling".

She said the judgement "raises questions of law of general public importance that are still relevant after Soldier B's death and have the potential to impact future cases".

"We appreciate that this development has understandably added distress to the family of Daniel Hegarty so soon after the death of Soldier B," the spokeswoman added.

"We do not wish to add to their upset in any way."

The Hegarty family says the decision by the PPS "feels like an act of final exquisite cruelty against us"

In response to the PPS seeking to legally challenge the Court of Appeal ruling, the Hegarty family said that they "were lost for words".

"This feels like an act of final exquisite cruelty against us," Daniel's sister Margaret Brady said in a statement.

"It perpetuates this never-ending nightmare of a miscarriage of justice we have suffered.

"We are lost for words, apart from to repeat that what has happened in Daniel's case since 1972 requires detailed public scrutiny."

'Insult to injury'

Foyle MP Colum Eastwood has said the Hegarty family have been "treated disgracefully by public agencies" throughout their long campaign for Daniel.

"This application by the PPS, and the speed with which it was undertaken, adds insult to injury," Mr Eastwood said.

"There should be a full review of how this process has been conducted," he added.