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| - Two former soldiers were on Tuesday acquitted of murdering an IRA paramilitary, when a trial exposing British military intervention in Northern Ireland collapsed within days of starting. The veterans of the Parachute Regiment -- made anonymous by court order -- were formally cleared at Belfast Crown Court of the 1972 shooting of Official Irish Republican Army (IRA) member Joe McCann. Prosecutors could offer no further evidence against the men, who are now both in their 70s, after judge John O'Hara decided on Friday to exclude previous statements they made in 1972 and 2010. The trial started last Monday and had been due to last four weeks. It promised to unpick the messy legacy of British military operations in Northern Ireland. McCann was shot while evading arrest in the Markets area of Belfast at the height of "The Troubles", when soldiers patrolled streets of the British-ruled province amid fierce sectarian conflict. The decision to prosecute kindled anger in serving and former members of Britain's military and has seen the government vow to legislate to prevent further prosecutions. Prosecutions from the era of "The Troubles" remain fraught with controversy in Northern Ireland, which remains split along sectarian lines despite a 1998 peace deal. British soldiers arrived in the province on a mission to keep the peace in 1969 but were involved in some of the bloodiest chapters of the conflict, which saw a total of 3,500 killed on all sides. Some feel soldiers' actions were state-sanctioned and legitimate by comparison to shadowy paramilitaries operating amongst pro-Ireland nationalist and pro-UK unionist communities. Others feel servicemen should be held to higher standards than paramilitaries and that a blanket amnesty would imply guilt amongst all soldiers. Lawmaker Johnny Mercer, who quit as UK veterans minister in protest at slow progress in protecting soldiers who served in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, welcomed the acquittal. "Should never have happened," the former British Army officer wrote on Twitter. "Hopefully this marks the lowest point in this nation's treatment of her veterans." Lawyer Niall Murphy, representing the McCann family, said: "This ruling does not acquit the State of murder. This ruling does not mean that Joe McCann was not murdered by the British Army." He said the family will now ask for the former soldiers to give evidence at a coroner's inquest and be cross-examined. According to Ulster University's Sutton Index of deaths, the British Army was responsible for around 300 killings over the course of operations, which officially ended in 2007. Six former military personnel have been charged with offences relating to "The Troubles", according to a UK parliament briefing paper published in February. The McCann trial last week heard he was a senior member of the Official IRA who was suspected of involvement in a number of attacks. Statements the soldiers gave to Royal Military Police in 1972 were ruled inadmissable owing to several deficiencies -- including the fact the soldiers were ordered to give them and were not given legal representation. The prosecution argued the 1972 statements should become admissible because the defendants accepted them in a 2010 engagement with the region's Historical Enquiries Team (HET). But O'Hara said it was not legitimate to put the 1972 evidence before the court "dressed up and freshened up with a new 2010 cover". jts/phz/bp
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