Ninteen police witnesses in the Bloody Sunday inquiry will know today if they can still give their evidence while screened off from relatives of the dead and injured. Mr Justice Kerr is due to deliver his decision in the High Court in Belfast this morning.
At lunchtime yesterday he gave leave for a judicial review of Lord Saville's decision allowing the 19 witnesses to be seen only by the three-man tribunal and lawyers. But Mr Christopher Clarke QC, for the tribunal, then argued that leave should be set aside, on the basis that the application for a review had no reasonable prospect of success.
He referred to the ruling in a higher court, the English Court of Appeal, which allowed some soldiers to be screened and others to give their evidence in England, because of fears for their safety. It would be inconsistent, he said, not to allow serving and retired police officers a much lesser measure of protection.
Seamus Treacy QC, for Ms Mary Doherty, a sister of Gerard Donaghy, one of those shot dead in 1972, said if the screening decision was not reversed all the families would be excluded from a substantial part of the police evidence.