Army sorry for fatal shooting

The army has apologised to the family of a man shot dead 40 years ago.

Billy McGreanery, 41, was killed in Londonderry in 1971 by a soldier from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who said he had been armed when he walked past an army observation post.

The Historical Enquiries Team of detectives said the victim was not carrying a firearm and posed no threat when he was targeted.

Sir Peter Wall, chief of the army’s general staff, wrote to the dead man’s family, saying: “It is evident that the soldier who shot him was mistaken in his belief that he had a weapon and this error, tragically, resulted in the death of an innocent man.”