Derry inquest exposes British Army killer as a liar

DANIEL HEGARTY | SHOT DEAD DURING ‘OPERATION MOTORMAN’, 1972

BY PEADAR WHELAN

British troops and tanks swarm nationalist areas of Derry during Operation Motorman

THE solicitor representing the family of Derry teenager Daniel Hegarty, shot dead by a British soldier during Operation Motorman on 31 July 1972, has accused the killer of lying about the events around Daniel’s death.
Solicitor Des Doherty was speaking after a fresh inquest held in Derry Courthouse between 5 and 9 December 2011 into the 15-year-old’s death exonerated the victim and found that the youngster “posed no threat to anyone”.
The inquest came in the wake of a Historical Enquiries Team report which labelled the original RUC investigation “hopelessly inadequate and dreadful”.
Speaking after the verdict, the family solicitor accused the British soldier who shot Daniel at a range of eight feet of being “an out and out liar”.
The killer, identified as ‘Soldier B’, claimed that Daniel, who was with his two cousins when he was killed, was about to throw a nail-bomb when he opened fire with a General Purpose Machine Gun and further claimed three warnings had been shouted.
The inquest jury rejected the killer’s claims.
The jury also highlighted the fact that the British Army platoon responsible offered no medical assistance to Daniel or his cousin, Christopher, who was wounded in the incident.
Coroner John Leckey is said to be considering referring the case to the Public Prosecution Service.
The infamous ‘tea and sandwiches’ agreement arrived at between the heads of the British Army, the RUC and the Attorney General in 1970, saw the British Army’s own Royal Military Police (RMP) take the lead in investigating incidents involving British soldiers.
Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said:
“In effect, there was no investigation. The RMP did not take weapons and examine them. Sometimes the paperwork would not even be handed over to the RUC.
“There were 150 people killed by the British Army in the early 1970s and they were never fully investigated.”