Two British army veterans will not face prosecution over the deaths of a 14-year-old schoolgirl and an unarmed civilian in separate shootings in Derry in 1971, prosecutors have announced. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said there was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction in either case.
Annette McGavigan was shot dead while wearing her school uniform during rioting in the Bogside area on 6 September 1971. The PPS considered whether to prosecute a veteran known only as Soldier B, but concluded it could not be determined if he fired the fatal shots, and that shots may have been aimed at a gunman in self-defence.
William McGreanery, a 41-year-old shop assistant, was shot on 15 September 1971 as he walked past an army observation point near the Bogside. While prosecutors were satisfied that McGreanery was unarmed and posed no threat, they said admissible evidence was insufficient to prove that Soldier A was responsible.
The decisions were made ahead of a 1 May deadline imposed by the controversial Northern Ireland legacy act, which prevents further prosecutions for Troubles-related deaths after that date. The PPS cited a failure to conduct effective investigations at the time, the passage of decades, and the deaths of key witnesses as factors.
Martin Hardy, PPS assistant director, acknowledged the decisions would be deeply disappointing to the victims' families. Shortly after the announcement, Northern Ireland's attorney general granted a fresh inquest into McGavigan's death, though it is expected to be curtailed by the 1 May deadline.
Labour has pledged to repeal the legacy law if it wins the next election. The legislation is opposed by victims' groups, Northern Ireland's main parties, and the Irish government, which has taken an interstate case to the European Court of Human Rights challenging its compliance with human rights laws.
