Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Some Bloody Sunday shootings 'were unlawful'

Updated at 5:01 pm on 12 June 2010

A long-awaited report into the Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland will reportedly conclude that some of the fatal shootings of civilians by British soldiers were unlawful.

Lord Saville's 12-year inquiry into the deaths of 13 unarmed civilians in Londonderry in 1972 is the longest public inquiry in British legal history.

The killings led to international condemnation because the men responsible were British soldiers and the men killed were marching in a civil rights demonstration.

The British Government subsequently suspended the Unionist administration in Belfast and took over control of law and order in Northern Ireland.

The ABC is reporting that the Guardian newspaper claims to know what is in the report, which is due to be released on Tuesday.

The paper says the inquiry's findings will put severe pressure on the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland to prosecute British soldiers.

Copyright © 2010, Radio New Zealand