The Bloody Sunday inquiry could become a McCarthyite inquisition if intelligence material about witnesses is introduced, lawyers for one of the 13 men killed claimed today.
Lord Gifford QC and barrister Mr Richard Harvey alleged the proposal being considered by the tribunal, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, had implications of "utmost gravity" for witnesses and the inquiry itself.
Earlier, the tribunal at Derry's Guildhall was told MI5 and the Ministry of Defence have material on file about a "significant" number of people who have given evidence to it.
Counsel to the inquiry, Mr Christopher Clarke QC, said some was "but a passing reference" but other material "reflected participation in or association with paramilitary groups" or crime.
The inquiry investigating the killings during a civil rights march in Derry 29 years ago spent the day hearing legal argument over whether it should admit the material - and, if so, in what form.
Lord Gifford and Mr Harvey, who represent the family of Jim Wray, claimed a fictional intelligence summary circulated as an example of what was proposed had caused consternation among the people of Derry.
"The use of a summary such as this, in so far as it alleges lawful activities [such as attending a Bloody Sunday commemoration march; attending a civil rights meeting; applying to visit a prisoner; making negative comments about the prospects of a ceasefire] could cover the activities of thousands of Derry nationalists," their written submission said.
"It raises the spectre of a McCarthyite inquisition which would cause the inquiry to forfeit all the goodwill which it has enjoyed in Derry to date."
Witnesses who fear that "scurrilous" allegations may be sprung on them while giving evidence have been excused from testifying until the matter is resolved.
PA