Former soldiers face prosecution over alleged 1972 murders of official IRA man

Two former soldiers are to be prosecuted for allegedly murdering an Official IRA man in Northern Ireland.

Joe McCann, 24, was shot dead in disputed circumstances in Belfast on April 15 1972.

Soldier A, now 67, and Soldier C, 65, are surviving members of the Parachute Regiment patrol which fired on Mr McCann, prosecutors said.

A Public Prosecution Service (PPS) spokesman said: "Following a careful consideration of all the available evidence it has been decided to prosecute two men for the offence of murder."

The case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Northern Ireland Barra McGrory QC by Northern Ireland's attorney general John Larkin QC in March 2014 and has been under review since then.

Mr Larkin had received representations from the dead man's family for a new inquest.

The PPS said: "The decision was reached following an objective and impartial application of the test for prosecution that was conducted in accordance with the code for prosecutors and with the benefit of advice from senior counsel."

They are likely to appear in court next year.

Mr McCann had been one of the Official IRA's most prominent activists in the early days of the Troubles.

He was shot by an Army patrol in Joy Street in the Markets area of Belfast city centre. A third member of the unit who fired at Mr McCann died in the intervening years, the PPS said.

The original Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) investigation was conducted in 1972 and a decision based on the evidence available then was taken not to prosecute any individual.

The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) was established to probe unresolved killings in Northern Ireland and carried out an investigation into Mr McCann's death in 2012.

The McCann case is thought to be the second military prosecution involving Northern Ireland since the 1990s.

Another former soldier was charged last year with an unrelated Troubles killing. Retired corporal Major Dennis Hutchings, from Cornwall, was accused of an attempted murder in Co Tyrone in 1974.

In 1999 Paratrooper Lee Clegg was cleared of the murder of a Belfast teenager.

Files on the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings by soldiers in Londonderry are with prosecutors.

Mr McCann's widow, Aine, welcomed the decision.

Her solicitor Kevin Winters said: "This is some measure of justice after all these years."

He added the review of the decision had been a "logical" step.