Call to release Bloody Sunday report

Families bereaved in the British Army killings on Bloody Sunday today repeated calls for the publication of the inquiry into the affair, as new plans for its eventual release were announced.

Government lawyers are examining the report compiled by Lord Saville on the events of January 1972 when soldiers opened fire during a civil rights march in Derry, killing 14 people.

Two members of each family will now be allowed to read the report on the day of its release, despite initial plans to allow only one relative to read the document in the hours before it goes public.

Gerry Duddy, whose 17-year-old brother Jackie was shot dead on Bloody Sunday, said: "This development is obviously a lot better than one person being granted prior access to the report. It was widely felt that the pressure on one person would have been too much to bear.

"How they expected one person to absorb the findings of this colossal report is beyond us, especially considering that it is taking up to two weeks for legal experts to scrutinise these same documents."

Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said he is obliged to have the document checked to ensure the safety of individuals will not be compromised by its contents and to avoid legal challenges to the document. He warned that if an election was called before the process is completed, its publication could be delayed.

Mr Duddy said: "Our families have waited over 38 years for the findings of this inquiry... The time has come for the British establishment to acknowledge their wrongdoings and set the truth free."