Soldier F trial told ex-MP Ivan Cooper had to ‘live with responsibility’ of leading people to Derry streets on Bloody Sunday

Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene’s Cathedral in Londonderry (Niall Carson/PA)

Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper felt he had to “live with the responsibility” of having led the people of Londonderry on to the streets on Bloody Sunday, Belfast Crown Court has heard.

Mr Cooper, one of the founders of the SDLP, made a statement to the criminal investigation into the shootings in 2015 before his death in 2019 which was read during the trial of a former paratrooper accused of two murders.