Soldiers 'overreacted' when they shot five people dead in Belfast, judge says

He said: "Soldier A is much more likely to have shot John Dougal."

The court also heard that there was no evidence that Soldier A shouted a warning at the teenager before firing the fatal shot.

The court heard that John Dougal was a member of Na Fianna Éireann (the youth wing of the IRA) but on the balance of probabilities he "had not progressed into the adult IRA".

The court also heard there was "no military intelligence to support that John Dougal had joined the IRA".

Mr Justice Scoffield concluded that he was "not satisfied" that John Dougal "was armed nor satisfied that he was acting innocently", but said he "should not have been shot dead by the Army".

His brother Jimmy Dougal said: "The British lost their identity.

"We want justice and those soldiers to be brought to the book for what they done."

The court heard that Fr Noel Fitzpatrick and father-of-six, Patrick Butler posed "no threat to anyone" at the time of their deaths and were shot and killed by the same bullet.

Mr Justice Scoffield said it was "inherently implausible that either of them were armed or engaged in any attack on the army".

The court heard the men likely "stepped out of cover" and were killed. Both men were shot in the head.

The judge said they "should be seen as wholly innocent victims".

Patrick Butler's daughter, Jacqueline Butler said "after a lifetime of fighting" her father was "finally declared innocent".

"His only crime was his kindness, helping those who were injured – for that he was killed and wrongly labelled a gunman - that lie has burdened three generations of our family," Butler said.

"We were determined that no matter how long it took his name would be cleared, not only for us but for our children and grandchildren who will no longer have to carry this burden.

"Today we restore his dignity and today we can finally let him rest in peace," she said.

The court concluded that David McCafferty "was not armed" and "posed no threat to anyone" and was "assisting" Fr Fitzpatrick and Patrick Butler after they'd been shot.

The 15-year-old was shot in the back.

The court heard he was a member of Na Fianna Éireann (the youth wing of the IRA) "on the Official IRA side rather than the Provisionals".

Mr Justice Scoffield said David McCafferty was "unarmed at the time he was shot and was not engaging in activity at the time he was killed. He should be viewed as an innocent victim".

His sister Betty Kennedy said the ruling "brings a long-awaited clarity and justice to our family and to all those who lost their loved ones on that tragic day".

Kennedy paid tribute to both her and David's parents who "dedicated their lives to seeking justice and clearing his name".

"While no ruling can undo the loss suffered, it is our hope that the decision will allow our family and the others affected to begin the process of healing.

"The burden of blame and prejudice that has lingered for so long has now been lifted, and the record has now been set straight," Kennedy said.

On 9 July 1972 three Catholic teenagers, a father-of-six and a priest were shot dead in the Springhill estate, west Belfast.

Their deaths came amid rising tensions. The previous summer eleven people had been shot dead in the neighbouring Ballymurphy area, and just five months earlier 13 people had been killed in Londonderry in a shooting that became known as Bloody Sunday.

A few weeks after the Springhill shooting, on 21 July 1972 19 Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs exploded across Belfast killing nine people and injuring 130 others in what became known as Bloody Friday.

The original inquest into the Springhill shootings was held in 1973, with the coroner returning an open verdict.