A former paratrooper has gone on trial accused of killing two men on Bloody Sunday more than 50 years ago.

The veteran, known only as Soldier F, is accused of the ‘unnecessary and gratuitous’ shooting of James Wray, 22, and William McKinney, 26, who were killed.

He is also accused of the attempted murders of Patrick O'Donnell, Joseph Friel, Joe Mahon, Michael Quinn and an unknown person during a protest in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on January 30, 1972.

Shielded by a black screen to protect his anonymity, Soldier F sat in the dock at Belfast’s Laganside Courts on Monday morning as prosecutor Louis Mably KC said he and others ‘falsely claimed’ the civilians shot were armed to ‘justify the shooting.’

It is alleged Soldier F, who is said to be in poor health, and other soldiers followed men who were attempting to ‘escape’ violence which had broken out at a civil rights march.

‘They opened fire with self-loading rifles, shooting at civilians as they ran away,’ he said.

‘The results were the casualties I have described. Two deaths and four men wounded. The prosecution case is that the shooting was unjustified. The civilians did not pose a threat, nor could the soldiers believe they did.

‘They were unarmed and were shot as they were running away.’

There was a large demonstration prior to the trial’s opening in Belfast attended by relatives who lost loved ones on Bloody Sunday.

A number of veterans are also attending the trial in support of Soldier F, who is anonymous for fear of reprisals.

Thirteen civil rights protesters were shot dead by soldiers in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday in what was one of the darkest days of what became known as the Troubles.

The shootings became one of the defining moments of the 30-year conflict, and resulted in an apology from then prime minister David Cameron in 2010 for the ‘unjustified and unjustifiable’ deaths.

The deaths were the subject of the Saville Inquiry, conducted by Lord Saville, also known as the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, which was set up in 1998 and lasted for 12 years.

Costing around £200million, it was the longest and most expensive public inquiry in British legal history.

A murder investigation was launched when the report concluded that those killed were innocent.

The decision to charge Soldier F was taken by Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service [PPS] in 2019.

He was one of 18 former soldiers initially reported to the PPS as a result of the Saville Inquiry but he was the only one charged.

The trial is proceeding without a jury under proceedings known as a Diplock court, introduced in Northern Ireland to deal with terrorism offences and avoid jury tampering.

Mr Mably told the court three of the four men who Soldier F allegedly attempted to kill are alive and will give evidence about the day.

‘After 50 years they are ready to give evidence before the court and give their accounts of Bloody Sunday,’ he said.

‘Their account of how they came to be shot by the British Army.’

Concluding the prosecution opening, he added: ‘In the middle of their deployment in the Bogside, these soldiers lost control of themselves. 

'It was unprofessional, they failed in the exercising of their basic duties. Shooting people as they ran away is an appalling act and disgraced the British Army. It is also murder.’

The court heard that four soldiers, including Soldier F, who was a Lance Corporal, are accused of firing at Mr Wray and Mr McKinney.

Two of the suspects are now dead and the other is not a defendant or witness in the case.

Mr Mably added: ‘It is not possible to identify which soldier show which casualty but the statements [made in the aftermath of the shooting] show the defendant [Soldier F] was acting together with others.

‘In doing so they were assisting and encouraging each other to shoot as civilians who were running away.’

Ahead of the hearing, John McKinney, a brother of victim William McKinney, spoke at a demonstration.

He said: ‘Today marks a momentous day in our battle to secure justice for our loved ones who were murdered on Bloody Sunday.

‘It has taken 53 years to get to this point, and we have battled all the odds to get here.

‘Everything that we have achieved to this point has been through relentless commitment and a refusal to lie down.

‘We will shortly occupy a courtroom very proudly with our heads held high and in the knowledge that, regardless of the ultimate outcome, that we are on the right side of history.

‘A matter of a few metres away from us in the courtroom will sit Soldier F, cowering behind a curtain, waiting to go on trial for two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.’

Soldier F denies the charges.