Families to receive legal aid in civil case against John Downey

The families of four soldiers killed in the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombings have been granted legal aid to take a civil case against one of the alleged bombers.
66 year John Downey, who is based in Donegal, has denied murdering the soldiers.
He was arrested in London in May 2013, and sent for trial, but the trial collapsed in February 2014 when it emerged he had been given a written guarantee he would not be prosecuted.
In February 2014, the case against John Downey was dropped when a judge ruled an official assurance meant he could not face trial. He had a so called “on the run” letter telling him he was no longer a wanted man.
The letter, which he had received in 2007, assured him he would not face arrest and prosecution for IRA crimes. He was one of 187 people to receive such letters as part of the peace process.
The then prime minister, David Cameron, described the letter as a “dreadful mistake”, but the judge in his case accepted the letter, even though he said it was given in error.
The Hyde Park attack on 20 July 1982 killed Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, Lieutenant Anthony Daly, Trooper Simon Tipper and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young.
Today, The Sun reported the Legal Aid Agency had confirmed that it was providing funding to the families of the victims, who are taking the civil case against Mr Downey.
The BBC says the case could begin by the end of the year.