Not one of more than 1,000 army photographs of the Bloody Sunday march shows a gunman or bomber, the Saville Inquiry was told in London yesterday. The photographs have since disappeared.
Former British army information officer Mr Colin Wallace said he looked at all army photographs, including helicopter cinefilm footage, of January 30th, 1972. He claimed the operation had been a politically motivated publicity stunt.
Under questioning by Mr Barry MacDonald QC, counsel for many of the bereaved families, Mr Wallace agreed there was not a single photograph that showed "a gunman, a civilian gunman or petrol bomber or nail bomber or anything of that kind". The photographs were taken at different sites along the route.
Mr Wallace told the inquiry: "We had photographers along the route and in addition we had some pictures around the barricades, where again we had groups of people throwing stones at the troops but I do not remember anything in that that was in any way negative to the army's point of view."
The chairman, Lord Saville, asked Mr Wallace: "Do you remember any photographs that could be said to assist the army's case, not so much with regard to rioting around the barricades, but the army's case that they were fired on as they came into the Bogside?" Mr Wallace replied: "No, certainly not, because that would have been very, very important to us and I am satisfied that, from the army's point of view, no such photograph came to us."
None of the photographs was shown to the original Widgery Inquiry, Mr MacDonald said, and "every single one of these, well over 1,000 army photographs, appear to have disappeared or been destroyed."
Mr Wallace described this mystery as "very strange". Part of his job had been to locate any images that were "harmful" to the army's case - and there was none.
Bloody Sunday had been part of a "politically motivated" publicity coup by the British army to dispel unease that it could not handle marchers, he alleged. It was part a "big stunt" by the army, which had been stung by criticism over its handling of the Magilligan anti-internment rally the week before, in which paratroopers were captured on television beating marchers.
He said: "There was pressure on the Derry traders to the Unionist government initially to do something about the march and then, secondly, from the Stormont government to Downing Street, again to do something about the march." He insisted there was no intelligence to suggest that the IRA was going to use the march as an excuse for a gun battle.
At such a "politically sensitive" time, Downing Street would have given the go-ahead for paratroopers to be sent in for the scoop-up operation. "There is no way it did not go to Downing Street," Mr Wallace said. "It would have had to have political clearance."
The inquiry continues today. - (PA)