Prosecutors in Northern Ireland have upheld a decision not to prosecute 15 soldiers in connection with the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre.

Last year, it was announced that just one soldier would face prosecution for his alleged part in the massacre at a civil rights march in Derry on January 30th, 1972.

Fourteen people died after British soldiers opened fire on the crowds, with a further 15 people injured.

Last year, Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service (NIPPS) said it had examined allegations against 17 soldiers and two suspected IRA members and concluded that just one soldier – known as ‘Soldier F’ – should face charges.

The prosecutor has been carrying out a review of that decision ever since and today, it announced that it should be upheld.

The offences it considered included murder, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily injury with intent.

A silent crowd form a cordon 10 or more deep, lining both sides of the 250 yards of road leading from St Mary's Church, Creggan Hill to the cemetery, to watch the funeral procession of the 13 who died on "Bloody Sunday." As the coffins passed - the first four in motor hearses, the rest borne on the shoulders of pall bearers - the crowd joined in behind the procession.

In a statement NIPPS said its Senior Assistant Director Marianne O’Kane had re-examined “large volume of complex evidence and information” and detailed legal submissions from family members of the victims.

She found that there was not enough evidence to prosecute any of the 15 accused soldiers.

Ms O’Kane said the “deep disappointment felt by many families” after it was decided that only one soldier should face prosecution was “wholly understandable.”

“I have concluded that the available evidence is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction of any of the 15 soldiers who were the subjects of the reviews,” she said.

“Accordingly, the decisions not to prosecute these 15 individuals all stand.

“I know that today’s outcome will cause further upset to those who have pursued a long and determined journey for justice over almost five decades.

“I can only offer reassurance to all of the families and victims of Bloody Sunday, and the wider community, that my decisions were conducted wholly independently and impartially, and in accordance with the Code for Prosecutors.”

She noted that the prosecution against Soldier F, which includes two charges of murder and five charges of attempted murder, is ongoing.