TUV voices dismay over jailing of soldier for contempt of court 'while there is no justice for so many IRA victims'

The ex-military man is known by the codename Soldier F (though it is understood to be a different 'Soldier F' from the one involved in Bloody Sunday, or the one involved in the Military Reaction Force shootings, both of whom are now facing murder charges over those incidents).

He was recently handed a six-month contempt of court sentence for refusing to appear at inquest hearings when ordered.

Reacting to this, a TUV spokesperson said many people will detect “double standards” at work – in the sense that innumerable paramilitaries have never been brought to book for their crimes.

“While there is no justice for those who suffered at the hands of terrorists, those who served in the security forces are treated harshly,” it said.

"There are countless victims of IRA terrorists who have never seen a republican stand in the dock when it came to the inquest into the death of their loved ones."

The whole case dates back to June 3, 1991, when Anthony Patrick Doris (Ms O'Neill's cousin), Lawrence Joseph McNally, and Michael James Ryan died in a hail of bullets during an ambush by the army in the tiny village of Coagh, east Tyrone.

All three were in the IRA and were armed.

An ongoing inquest has been told that one soldier was inside the Hanover House Hotel as a lookout, and at 7.30am he saw a Cavalier car travel into the village at speed across the Coagh Bridge, swing into the car park and come to a stop.

He saw someone in the car trying to aim a rifle in the direction of another soldier, and "gave the 'GO' order".

This meant the targeted soldier dived for cover while others opened fire on the car, killing the occupants.

Soldier F was involved in planning the operation, and had opened fire himself too.

Soldier F had been called upon to give evidence at a hearing in Belfast last summer, but did not appear.

He had earlier asked to be excused on medical grounds, but said he would give written responses to questions.

This was refused and he was served with a writ to attend in person, a month later than originally scheduled.

He didn't, so the coroner in Northern Ireland contacted the courts in Scotland, where a judge found Soldier F guilty of contempt of court at a hearing on February 9 this year.

On February 26 the judge, Lady Carmichael, imposed a jail term of six months on Soldier F.

Soldier F last week stated he will appeal.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard on Friday, March 22.

The inquest is still going on, and thanks to the Tories’ recent Troubles amnesty law, all evidence must be taken by May 1 this year.