PPS urged to 'think hard' about victims' families

Relatives of a Derry teenager shot and killed by a British soldier over 50 years ago has urged the  Public Prosecution Service (PPS)  to “think hard” about what it was doing to victim’s families.

The soldier acussed of shooting Daniel Hegarty passed away last week, leaving the Hegarty family in legal limbo.

Daniel was 15 at the time he was shot twice in the head at an army patrol in the Creggan area during Operation Motorman.

Following the revealation of the death of Soldier B, the family said they have now been denied justice.

Speaking to Derry News on Wednesday, Daniel’s sister, Margaret (Brady) said the whole family was still in shock. Margaret received the call from the PPS at 5pm on Friday, completely out of the blue.

“We can’t believe it. We weren’t expecting that news. We thought we were getting a phone call to say they were bringing him to court. The last thing I expected to hear was he had passed away. May God have mercy on him,” said Margaret.

According to Margaret, the PPS has told her the case is over.

“They said there will be no prosecution,” said Margaret, “but technically, there was another soldier involved when Daniel was murdered.

“There were two statements handed in in 1973 by Soldier A and Soldier B. When we asked about this Soldier A, they actually told me they don’t know where he is. They don't even know if he is dead.

“So, we feel Soldier A has definitely got questions to answer. He could shed more light on Daniel’s case. I have already asked the authorities where Soldier A is. I remember Mr Lecky [former coroner] God rest him actually saying, ‘Did Soldier A fall off planet earth?’

“They are saying they don’t know where he is but yet they have all of these soldiers in the Ballymurphy Inquest and the Bloody Sunday Inquiry but they can’t get one soldier to come forward and say, ‘This is what happened that day’.”

Margaret said she had repeatedly asked about Soldier A yet she feels the authorities never even went and checked whether he was living or dead.

“They should be doing that now,” said Margaret. “That man might want to clear his conscience.”

Margaret added that the PPS needed to “think hard” about what it was doing to victim’s families.

She said: “They are part of this and they denied us justice and they can word it whatever way they want in the media, they can wrap it a bow, but they know, they have done it from the day Daniel was murdered, they have helped to cover it up. They have helped to protect those who did it.

“They need to stop doing it. Stop putting families through hell. It is the families who are suffering. Families have done no wrong. They are asking justifiable questions but they are being treated like criminals. 

“There is an attitude from the authorities of ‘How dare you ask us to do this for you. Get over your brother’s death’. It is totally wrong what they are doing. They will answer too for covering this murder up.”

Des Doherty, the Hegarty family solicitor, told Derry News Daniel’s case demonstrated a “massive blot on prosecutorial integrity” in this jurisdiction. 

He added: “There is now going to be an erosion of trust and respect for the rule of law that Daniel’s family clung to.

“The conduct of the case is a horrifying miscarriage of justice and institutional failure that requires scrutiny as a matter of urgent public importance.”

In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the Hegarty family said: “The behaviour of the PPS amounts to nothing more than deliberate and crass maladministration at the highest levels from 1973 to 2023.

“They acted unlawfully, protecting the interests of Soldier B, the Ministry of Defence and the British Army. A number of critical judgements from senior judges here confirm the unlawfulness of the actions of the PPS.

"The effect of all this is to make a mockery of justice, the rule of law, state accountability, fairness and due process.

"The behaviour of the PPS has been described by senior judges as ‘irrational.’ To us it was all deliberate and by design. They never really wanted to prosecute Soldier B for murdering a child. They had to be dragged by us to that position during the course of almost 15 years of painful litigation.”

Meanwhile, the Hegarty’s have offered and attended a Mass for the repose of the soul of the British soldier who murdered their brother.

The Mass took place in St Mary’s Church in Creggan on Wednesday.

Daniel’s cousin Thomas also got a Mass said for Soldier B in Manchester.

Thomas and his brother Christopher  were with Daniel on the day. Christopher was shot in the head and survived and Thomas was dragged away by the British army.

Margaret said: “At the end of the day, you can’t speak ill of the dead. I never would anyway. 

“I don’t know if the man ever prayed but if he did and his prayers were from his heart, who is to say God didn’t forgive him and let him into heaven. 

“We pray that he is forgiven and that’s the way I feel about it. We are all sinners so we have to show a bit of compassion and a bit of forgiveness.”