Shortly after taking over , Widgery was handed the politically sensitive job of conducting an inquiry into the events of 30 January 1972 in Derry , where troops from 1st Battalion , Parachute Regiment had murdered 13 civil rights marchers , commonly referred to as Bloody Sunday ( a 14th person died shortly after Widgery 's appointment ) . Widgery heard testimony from the paratroopers , who claimed they had been shot at , while the marchers insisted that no one from the march was armed . Widgery produced a report that took the British Army 's side . Widgery put the main blame for the deaths on the march organisers for creating a dangerous situation where a confrontation was inevitable . His strongest criticism of the Army was that the " firing bordered on the reckless "
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
John Widgery, Baron Widgery