Retired bishop of Derry Edward Daly leads a group carrying the body of Jackie Duddy (17) from the Bogside on Bloody Sunday

A KEY military figure on Bloody Sunday in Derry has died aged 91.

General Sir Robert Cyril Ford was the British Army’s Commander Land Forces during the shooting dead by the Parachute Regiment of 14 unarmed civilians on January 30, 1972.

Ford was in charge of the military operations during the civil rights march on the day of Bloody Sunday and gave the order for paratroopers to enter the Bogside to carry out arrests.

During the subsequent shootings, 13 people were killed, with a 14th victim dying a few months later from his injuries.

General Ford was criticised in the Saville Report into the Bloody Sunday massacre for deploying soldiers to the Bogside.

It said soldiers reacted by losing their self control and firing, forgetting or ignoring their instructions and training, and failing to satisfy themselves that they had identified targets posing a threat of causing death or serious injury.

"In our view his (Ford's) decision to use 1 Para as the arrest force is open to criticism but he did not know his decision would result in soldiers firing unjustifiably,” the report stated.

General Ford died last week, it has been reported.