Soldier F has been found not guilty of committing two murders and five attempted murders on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972.

Delivering his judgement, Judge Patrick Lynch said the evidence presented against the former paratrooper fell “well short” of what was required for conviction.

However, he said that members of the Parachute Regiment had shot dead unarmed civilians, and those involved should “hang their heads in shame”.

Fifty-thee years after the events of 30 January 1972 the criminal process has ended with no conviction.

Speaking after the judgement the brother of William McKinney said that Soldier F's acquittal was "one million miles away from being an honourable discharge".

The UK government has said it is committed to “finding a way forward that acknowledges the past” in Northern Ireland following the verdicts.

There will be further reaction from Derry and Belfast on BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra at 17:00, BBC Newsline at 18:30, The View at 22:40 and on The State of Us podcast.

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

The case of R v Soldier F was one of the most controversial, significant and high-profile trials over killings from the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The fatal shootings of 13 people by the Army on Bloody Sunday was one of the most consequential days during 30 years of violence known as the Troubles.

Mr Justice Lynch's remarks about what happened on that January afternoon were scathing.

He said troops had "lost all sense of military discipline", as they shot unarmed civilians "in the back…as they were fleeing from them, on the streets of a British city".

Furthermore, the judge said he had no doubt "the soldiers who opened fire did so with the intention to kill" – and they "did not act in lawful self-defence".

Image source, Reuters

However, he explained that the burden of proof in criminal cases lay with the prosecution – they had to prove who fired the shots.

Therefore, the whole case rested on the evidence which came from two statements given by two other former soldiers – G and H – to the initial investigations in 1972.

Bereaved families who had pushed for a prosecution feel vindicated, to a degree, by the judge's remarks about the Parachute Regiment's actions that day.

Representatives of veterans are welcoming the acquittal – and re-emphasising that paramilitaries killed 90% of the people who died during the Troubles.

Read more here.

In a statement, the Public Prosecution Service says it respects today's verdict, reached after "thorough consideration of the legally admissible evidence".

Director of public prosecutions, Stephen Herron, says the case presented "complex legal and evidential issues", adding that “the challenges of prosecuting legacy cases are well-documented".

“Our thoughts today are foremost with the Wray and McKinney families, those who were wounded, and the loved ones of all killed and injured on Bloody Sunday," Mr Herron adds.

"We understand that today’s outcome comes after a prolonged and painful process for those families."

He thanks the Bloody Sunday families "for the constructive and dignified way they engaged with us over a number of years".

Ahead of today's judgement, John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday, returned to the scene of the killings with BBC News's Ireland Correspondent Chris Page.

"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide," Mr Kelly says.

"And they reckon within 90 seconds, that's all it took. For all that shooting, 90 seconds."

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

The legacy of today's verdict will be felt for some time and may shape future decisions when it comes to Troubles related prosecutions.

It has also triggered a predictable political reaction with unionists raising questions about pursuing such cases against military veterans.

They are demanding answers from those in the Public Prosecution Service and judiciary for allowing the trial to get this far after the judge ruled the evidence fell far short of what was needed to secure a guilty verdict.

It is worth remembering the Public Prosecution Service had previously dropped the case against Soldier F and only resumed the action after a successful legal challenge by the families.

Today’s verdict also raises big questions for politicians when it comes to shaping a legacy process which offers families a pathway to justice.

While securing convictions remains a massive challenge families like the Bloody Sunday relatives will argue those pathways must remain open.

All the parties agree on the need for a proper legacy process which priorities victims and their families but they are a long way short of agreeing what that process should include.

Image source, PA Media

Dealing with the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland has been a fraught and contentious issue over the years.

In September 2023, the then Conservative government brought in the Legacy Act.

It offered a conditional amnesty to those accused of killings during the Troubles, and also stopped any new Troubles-era court cases and inquests being held.

There was widespread opposition to it and it faced a number of legal challenges.

Labour had pledged to repeal the act if they won the election.

Last month, the Labour UK government and the Irish government announced their plans for dealing with the past.

In a statement the Shadow Defence Secretary of State James Cartlidge says "whilst mindful of the pain felt by those on all sides who lost loved ones in the Troubles, the not guilty verdict for Soldier F should now draw a line under this long running case".

"I hope that we can persuade the Government to recognise the questions raised by cases that rely on evidence from half a century ago," he says.

"In particular, by repealing our Legacy Act, far from drawing a line under the Troubles, Labour risk exposing many more elderly veterans to legal investigation in relation to events decades ago.”

Let's recap on what's happened so far today:

• A former paratrooper has been found not guilty of all the charges against him
• Soldier F, whose anonymity is protected by a court order, faced charges of murdering James Wray and William McKinney, as well as five charges of attempted murder, in Londonderry in 1972

• Judge Patrick Lynch said the sole evidence against Soldier F was from two other veterans, Soldiers G and H, and said there were difficulties in relying on it
• However, he stated that Soldier F, along with Soldiers G, H, and E "had totally lost all sense of military discipline" on that day
• Speaking afterwards Mickey McKinney, whose brother William was shot and killed on Bloody Sunday, said the British state and police "failed to investigate the murders on Bloody Sunday properly or indeed at all"

• Following the verdict, a government spokesperson said the Ministry of Defence is "committed to finding a way forward that acknowledges the past, whilst supporting those who served their country”
• Northern Ireland's first minister, Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill, said the verdict was a "continued denial of justice", DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was a "common sense judgement"

Image source, PA Media

In a post on X, Jim Allister, TUV leader and North Antrim MP says the acquittal "raises the fundamental question of why this veteran was put through the ordeal of the last few years, given the self evident inadequacy of the ’evidence’!"

“The PPS was right the first time in declining to prosecute, but wholly wrong to succumb the second time. Just as the Court of Appeal is now shown to be wrong in its determination.

“It is probably too much to ask, but all, including those who have agitated for years on this matter, should now accept the verdict of Not Guilty in respect of Soldier F and allow him to live in peace.”

Mark Simpson
BBC News NI

We got the verdicts at just about half past 12 this afternoon after almost three hours of a hearing.

The judge went through all the evidence in the case.

He said that while the soldiers who shot unarmed civilians on Bloody Sunday should “hang their heads in shame”, the evidence against Soldier F fell well short of what is required for a conviction.

Soldier F was sitting only a matter of feet away from me in court 12.

I couldn’t see his face or his reaction to the verdicts because he was covered by a blue curtain – there is a court order preventing us from saying anything about his identity.

So we don’t know what his reaction was.

The families and friends of Bloody Sunday victims were in the other half of the court, listening in a very dignified silence.

Speaking outside court, Paul Young, of the Northern Ireland Veterans' Movement, says veterans across the United Kingdom who served in Northern Ireland with "honour and courage" will be "heartened" by the verdicts.

"Soldiers have been hounded, elderly soldiers have been hounded and I'm mindful of Dennis Hutchings who was here in this very court and died trying to clear his name," Mr Young says .

Mr Hutchings died in October 2021 while on trial over John Pat Cunningham's fatal shooting. Mr Cunningham was 27 when he was shot near Benburb, County Tyrone, in 1974.

Colum Eastwood, the Social Democratic and Labour Party MP for Foyle, says it is "a very difficult day for the families but they should hold their heads up high".

"After 53 years they have shown the world what actually happened on Bloody Sunday," he says.

"It is absolutely clear that those soldiers, including Soldier F, shot and killed people on Bloody Sunday.

"These were innocent people, no weapons, just on a civil rights march, mowed down by the parachute regiment of the British Army. That's what happened and that's absolutely clear."

Soldier F has been found not guilty of murder and attempted murder.

Eastwood says the soldiers who gave evidence were "lying through their teeth in those statements" and "that was always going to make it difficult to convict".

Liam Wray, who lost his brother James on Bloody Sunday, says today is emotional.

"It takes you back to the horror of [Bloody Sunday]" - he says - to "the wounds Jim had, the situation, the fear, the terror..."

People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll says "justice has been cruelly denied" to the Bloody Sunday families.

He adds that "few people had faith that the justice system would do right by the victims".

Image source, PA Media

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, DUP leader and Belfast East MP Gavin Robinson says he "welcomes" today's "common sense judgement".

"Soldier F trial has been a painful and protracted process. There needs to be a better way of dealing with the legacy of the past and to ensure no rewriting of it."

Image source, PA Media

In a statement following the verdicts, Ulster Unionist justice spokesperson Doug Beattie MLA says that this is "not the verdict the families would have wanted".

However, he says the hearsay statements from two soldiers would "never achieve the guilty verdict the families so desperately wanted".

"The question now needs to be asked: why was this show trial allowed to proceed in the first place when the evidence was so clearly flawed?"

Beattie says Soldier F must now be "allowed to move on with his life after the not guilty verdict".

"The families will continue to look for accountability for the loss of their loved ones and our thoughts must also rest with them after this long and tiring ordeal."

The summary of today's judgement states that "whatever suspicions the court may have about the role of F, this court is constrained and limited by the evidence properly presented before it".

"To convict it has to be upon evidence that is convincing and manifestly reliable."

Judge Lynch says the evidence failed to "reach the high standard of proof required in a criminal case; that of proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

"Therefore, I find the accused not guilty on all seven counts on the present bill of indictment."

Image source, PA Media

Following the acquittal of Soldier F, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the "the continued denial of justice for the Bloody Sunday families is deeply disappointing".

"Fifty three years ago, the British Army indiscriminately murdered civilians on the streets of Derry. Over 15 years ago, the then British Prime Minister publicly acknowledged the role of British soldiers on Bloody Sunday.

"Yet, not one British soldier or their military and political superiors has ever been held to account," she said, calling it an "affront to justice."

The first minister commended the "courage and determination" of the Bloody Sunday families.

"For more than five decades, they have campaigned with dignity and resilience for justice for their loved ones, their deeply cherished sons and fathers, uncles and brothers," she said.

The first minister added that she would continue to support families in their "pursuit of justice".

Court documents detailing today's ruling stated that there is "no concept of “collective guilt” in this jurisprudence".

"An individual is only responsible for his or her own actions and to establish guilt, in this case, the Crown must establish that the defendant was knowingly and intentionally assisting in the shootings, with intent to kill or was shooting himself with that intention.

"The court noted that the sole evidence against the defendant on this issue is that of Soldiers G and H and it had already indicated the difficulties in relying upon their evidence."

Judge Lynch said "delay" had "seriously hampered the capacity of the defence to test the veracity and accuracy of the hearsay statements", and that Soldiers G and H had been "serially untruthful" and had "committed perjury".

According to a summary of today's judgement, the court was satisfied that the following facts regarding 30 January 1972 had been established:

• That soldiers G, H, F and E were "part of the initial group of soldiers who entered Glenfada Park North and were responsible for the deaths [Mr McKinney and Mr Wray] and woundings" of "four (possibly five) others"
• Soldiers G, H, F and E "had totally lost all sense of military discipline"
• "Those who fought valiantly against SS Panzer Divisions in 1944, have had their Regiment sullied by some of their successors, shooting in the back unarmed civilians fleeing from them in the streets of a British city. Those responsible should hang their heads in shame”