Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
A former British soldier will be charged with murder after the shooting of a 44-year-old man during the Troubles in Northern Ireland over 50 years ago. Patrick McVeigh, a father-of-six, was killed after he was shot at from a car on a west Belfast street in May 1972. The veteran, known only as Soldier F, will also be prosecuted for the attempted murder of four other people in the same incident. Soldier F is not the same person involved in any previous or ongoing prosecutions related to events in Northern Ireland. Along with three other former soldiers, he is also being prosecuted for the attempted murder of two people the day before McVeigh’s death. As the decision to prosecute has already been taken, it will not be affected by the controversial Legacy Act which comes into force later in 2024, which grants conditional immunity from prosecution in Troubles cases.