The chairman of the Bloody Sunday inquiry yesterday criticised the BBC for failing to meet its deadline in making a written submission to the inquiry.
The submission related to whether a freelance journalist, Mr Peter Taylor, should be compelled to disclose his research notes in respect of work he carried out for a 1992 BBC programme, Remember Bloody Sunday. At the outset of yesterday's hearings in Derry's Guildhall, which are expected to last three days, Lord Gifford QC, counsel for the family of one of the 13 men shot dead in the Bogside on January 30th, 1972, said he had not been informed until last Wednesday that the BBC had submitted material one week after the deadline had passed.
The inquiry chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, also criticised the BBC. "The BBC did not meet their deadline and we were getting extremely restive about it", he said. Mr Andrew Caldecott QC, for the BBC, said if Mr Taylor was ordered to hand over his research notes relating to the programme, the vital watchdog role of the press could be undermined. He said Mr Taylor had spoken to several civilian and military witnesses on the basis that their identities would not be revealed.
"This trust was not the work of a fleeting visit. Mr Taylor has been working here since 1972 and over 27 years he had been able to build up relationships of trust with people from all sides", he said.
"Mr Taylor is not concerned that his sources per se should be revealed, he is concerned that they should not be revealed by him", said Mr Caldecott. Lord Saville, however, said the legitimate public interest would be lessened without the sources of information.
Mr Christopher Clarke QC, for the tribunal, said it was entitled to call for, and if necessary to subpoena, all documentation which embodied all relevant information about the events of Bloody Sunday. "There is substantial material of great relevance to the subject matter of the inquiry which is bound to be revealed", he said.
"If one does not know who is said to be the source of information, one cannot know to whom one's questions should be primarily directed", he added.
Lord Saville said the three-man tribunal would rule on the issue of Mr Taylor's disclosure of his notes "as soon as possible". Meanwhile, counsel for the MOD and military witnesses and for Soldier H each made separate applications for their clients to remain anonymous.
A former British DPP, Sir Allan Green, said he represented Soldier H. "I put him in a different category. Not only is he separately represented but I can see where he has more to answer for. He fired 22 rounds in the total of 108 the various soldiers accounted for", he said.
"As far as the people who are at risk are concerned, those who have real and genuine fears, if anybody has grounds for genuine and reasonable fears in all the circumstances, it is Soldier H", he said. The inquiry continues today.