Bloody Sunday Report: Damning catalogue of failure and loss of control

From the beginning, the British troops were in the wrong with the report stating the soldiers of the support company who went into the Bogside, where the march was taking place, did so "as a result of an order which should not have been given".

Lord Saville said the commanding officer of the paratroopers, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, disobeyed an order not to enter troops into the nationalist Bogside estate.

The report concluded "on balance" the first shot in the vicinity of the march was fired by British soldiers. None of the casualties was carrying a firearm and, while there was some shooting by republican paramilitaries, "none of this firing provided any justification for the shooting of civilian casualties".

In no case was any warning given by the soldiers before opening fire and the support company "reacted by losing their self-control ... forgetting or ignoring their instructions and training". The result was a "serious and widespread loss of fire discipline".

Afterwards, many of the soldiers involved "knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing".

Lord Saville concluded the commander of land forces in Northern Ireland, Major General Robert Ford, would have been aware the Parachute Regiment had a reputation for using excessive force but would not have believed there was a risk of them firing unjustifiably.

The inquiry found that some of those who were killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to the assistance of others who were dying.

It did find that Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, second in command of the Provisional IRA in Derry at the time, was "probably armed with a Thompson submachine gun." But though it was possible he fired the weapon, this cannot be proved and the report concluded: "He did not engage in any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire."

Asked about the finding yesterday, Mr McGuinness denied having a sub-machine gun and added: "He (Lord Saville) fully pointed the finger of blame for what happened directly at the British Parachute Regiment."

The report referred to one person who was shot while "crawling ... away from the soldiers" and another who was probably shot "when he was lying mortally wounded on the ground".

A father was "hit and injured by Army gunfire after he had gone to ... tend his son".

"The immediate responsibility for the deaths and injuries on Bloody Sunday lies with those members of the support company whose unjustifiable firing was the cause of those deaths and injuries," the report said.

It added that "none of the casualties was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury, or indeed was doing anything else that could on any view justify their shooting".

Answering controversy about nail bombs found in the pockets of Gerald Donaghey, 17, an IRA youth member who was hit in the abdomen by a bullet that had already fatally wounded another man, Lord Saville said while it was probable he was in possession of the bombs when he was shot, he was not preparing or attempting to throw a nail bomb at the time and was shot "while trying to escape from the soldiers".

Mr Cameron said: "These are shocking conclusions to read and shocking words to have to say. But you do not defend the British Army by defending the indefensible.

"There is no point trying to soften or equivocate what is in the report. It is clear from the tribunal's authoritative conclusions that the events of Bloody Sunday were in no way justified."

Across the Irish sea, memories of the Bloody Sunday dead boomed out across Derry's Guildhall Square as bereaved relatives read out the names of loved ones to an audience of thousands packed into the space in front of the city's walls.

As each relative in turn came to the microphone on the steps of the venue, they read out a name of one of those killed, before shouting the word: "Innocent."

The report detailed the grim circumstances of each of the deaths.

Corporal E, Lance Corporal F, Private G and Private H entered the area of Glenfada Park, with the report noting they killed William McKinney and James Wray, who were both shot in the back, while also injuring four or possibly five other people.

The soldiers claimed to have shot at individuals holding or about to use bombs or guns.

THE FINDINGS

British soldiers shot first, without provocation. None of the 14 who died posed a threat.

Some of those who were killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to the assistance of others who were dying.

Soldiers lied about provocation – no evidence of anyone throwing or threatening to throw petrol or nail bombs

A number of soldiers "knowingly put forward false accounts" of what happened on the day

Soldiers did not give any warning before opening fire

There was a "serious and widespread loss of fire discipline".

"On balance" the first shot in the vicinity of the march was fired by British soldiers.

There was some shooting by republican paramilitaries, but "none of this firing provided any justification for the shooting of civilian casualties".

Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, second in command of the provisional IRA in Derry in 1972, was "probably armed with a Thompson submachine gun". It is possible he fired the weapon but this cannot be proved.