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London:
British veterans marched through London on Saturday to protest against the arrest of a former comrade on suspicion of murdering three people during Northern Ireland's Bloody Sunday in 1972.
The march was to show support for a comrade "arrested for following orders", organisers said, as they appealed for veterans' support.
"We want to show our country that we stand together as brothers before this happens to me or you."
Around 100 marchers, many of them ex-servicemen wearing their medals and regimental berets, congregated at the Cenotaph, the national war memorial.
Bloody Sunday was one of the most notorious incidents of Northern Ireland's troubled past.
Last week's arrest of a 66-year-old ex-soldier was the first since a murder investigation was opened in 2012 into the killings of 13 Catholic civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1972, and another victim who died months later of his injuries.
The organisers of Saturday's march called for the arrested soldier's identity to be protected.
They also said veterans should not face prosecution because paramilitary fighters have been released early from prison and others told they will not face prosecution as part of Northern Ireland's peace process.
An online petition calling for all troops involved in Bloody Sunday to be given immunity from prosecution has attracted more than 24,700 signatures.
Michael Harris, who attended Saturday's rally, served in Northern Ireland with 2nd Battalion the Grenadier Guards.
"We were sent out there by our government to clear up a mess that had been made in Northern Ireland. We did our job," he told AFP.
"Everybody did a professional job and what they thought was right at the time.
"We don't seek pardon, because that would be admitting that we'd done something wrong.
"We just want justice and the justice is: leave us be now. We did our job; we came home."
Bloody Sunday helped bolster support for the Irish Republican Army paramilitary group during 30 years of unrest in Northern Ireland, a period known as The Troubles, in which around 3,500 people died.
The IRA waged a campaign of violence to drive Britain out of Northern Ireland until the unrest largely ended with a 1998 peace deal.
The march was to show support for a comrade "arrested for following orders", organisers said, as they appealed for veterans' support.
"We want to show our country that we stand together as brothers before this happens to me or you."
Around 100 marchers, many of them ex-servicemen wearing their medals and regimental berets, congregated at the Cenotaph, the national war memorial.
Bloody Sunday was one of the most notorious incidents of Northern Ireland's troubled past.
Last week's arrest of a 66-year-old ex-soldier was the first since a murder investigation was opened in 2012 into the killings of 13 Catholic civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 1972, and another victim who died months later of his injuries.
The organisers of Saturday's march called for the arrested soldier's identity to be protected.
They also said veterans should not face prosecution because paramilitary fighters have been released early from prison and others told they will not face prosecution as part of Northern Ireland's peace process.
An online petition calling for all troops involved in Bloody Sunday to be given immunity from prosecution has attracted more than 24,700 signatures.
Michael Harris, who attended Saturday's rally, served in Northern Ireland with 2nd Battalion the Grenadier Guards.
"We were sent out there by our government to clear up a mess that had been made in Northern Ireland. We did our job," he told AFP.
"Everybody did a professional job and what they thought was right at the time.
"We don't seek pardon, because that would be admitting that we'd done something wrong.
"We just want justice and the justice is: leave us be now. We did our job; we came home."
Bloody Sunday helped bolster support for the Irish Republican Army paramilitary group during 30 years of unrest in Northern Ireland, a period known as The Troubles, in which around 3,500 people died.
The IRA waged a campaign of violence to drive Britain out of Northern Ireland until the unrest largely ended with a 1998 peace deal.
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