Two former soldiers will not face trial over three deaths during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Soldier F was to be prosecuted for the murder of two men, James Wray and William McKinney, who were shot during a civil rights demonstration in Derry on Bloody Sunday 49 years ago. He has also faced five counts of attempted murder.
Thirteen people were shot dead and 15 were wounded in the city when the Parachute Regiment opened fire on demonstrators on 30 January 1972.
Soldier B was to be prosecuted for the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty in Derry six months after Bloody Sunday, as well for wounding with intent in relation to the shooting of his 17-year-old cousin Christopher Hegarty.
However, on Friday the families of the victims were informed of the decision to halt the proceedings, one made after a review of evidence in the cases.
The Bloody Sunday families said in a statement that the decision to not put Soldier F and Soldier B on trial was a “damning indictment of the British justice system” and that they would be challenging it.
“The actions of Soldier F resulted in the two women being robbed of their husbands, 12 children being orphaned of their father, and dozens of young men and women deprived of a brother,” they said.
“These are the clear findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the responsibility that it attaches directly and unequivocally to the actions of Soldier F.”
The Hegarty family solicitor Des Doherty said: “I want to make this clear, under instruction from the family, and under much protest – and we made that clear, that it was under protest – we accepted letters from the PPS [Public Prosecution Service] advising that they no longer would be proceeding with the prosecution of Soldier B for murder.”
The PPS said that given “related evidential features” it was concluded “there was no longer a reasonable prospect of key evidence in proceedings against Soldier F and Soldier B being ruled admissible”.
“Without this evidence, the test for prosecution was no longer considered met,” the statement read.
Reviews of the cases were prompted by the collapse of another murder trial in May of two other veterans for Troubles offences.
The court had ruled that statements made in 1972 by Soldiers A and C, who had been accused of murdering Joe McCann, a leader of the Official IRA, were inadmissible. The pair were acquitted.