By politics.co.uk staff

The Saville Report into Bloody Sunday has been criticised by some of the paratroopers who served that day.

Six men, none of whom were accused of shooting anyone on the day the incident took place, focused their disapproval on criticism of Lt Col Derek Wilford.

Col Wilford is singled out for blame in the report. It concluded that he ordered an incursion into the Bogside area without authorisation from Brigadier Pat McClellan.

The report concluded that the breakdown in discipline among British troops was partly attributable to the absence of a clear chain of command.

But speaking to the BBC Northern Ireland’s Spotlight programme, six soldiers suggested the criticism of Col Wilford emerged merely because there was a political need to attack someone of rank.

Col Wilford, who commanded the infamous First Parachute Regiment (1 Para) on Bloody Sunday, consistently claimed his men were fired on first – a finding flatly contradicted by yesterday’s Saville Report.