Up to 400 former British soldiers who were involved in the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry's Bogside almost 30 years ago will give their evidence to the Saville Inquiry into the killings by means of a video conference link.
The inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, said in a statement yesterday that it "is currently minded" to continue sitting in Derry's Guildhall, rather than transfer the inquiry to another location in England.
Earlier this week the Appeal Court in London ruled that the inquiry had failed to prove Derry would be a safe location for the soldiers to travel to for the purpose of giving their evidence.
However the inquiry's three judges said that although the location for the soldiers to give their evidence had yet to be selected, it was intended that the public would have access to the location.
The legal representatives for the families of the 13 Bloody Sunday victims as well as the legal representatives for the former soldiers have already expressed their opposition to the video link option. They've now been asked by the inquiry to submit their objections in writing before January 14th.
Mr Charles McGuigan, whose father Barney (41) was the oldest of the victims, said his family would now be denied the "right" to look into the face of the soldier who killed their father.
"At the beginning we were promised an open inquiry but that is now in question.
"We and the families of the other victims are only seeking an explanation as to why our loved ones were killed.
"Part of the healing process for us is to be able to see in the flesh those who killed our loved ones. Now we are to be denied that," he said.