On Sunday 30 January 1972, 13 civil rights marchers were shot dead and another 13 wounded when British soldiers opened fire during an anti-internment civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The initial 1972 inquiry by Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery – branded the Widgery Whitewash by many – suggested that the soldiers had been fired on first and that there was a strong suspicion that some of the victims had fired weapons. After a sustained campaign by the families of the victims and in the light of new material collected by the Irish Government, a new Inquiry was set up in 1998 as part of the Northern Ireland Peace process.

Over the past six years the Saville Inquiry has heard evidence from over 1000 witnesses, including civilians, military, paramilitary, media, experts and forensic scientists, politicians and civil servants, priests and members of the RUC.