Bob Dylan in tribute to victims of Bloody Sunday ahead of 51st anniversary

Bob Dylan has paid a special tribute to the victims of Bloody Sunday ahead of the 51st anniversary later this month.

The US folk and rock singer, 81, has recorded and released an audio tribute in support of the victims of Bloody Sunday.

Members of the Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry on January 30, 1972.

In the recording, Dylan said: “On January 30, 1972, 30,000 people marched into Derry in a march organised by the Civil Rights Association.

“Armoured cars appeared from behind barriers. British troops boxed in hundreds of people. All of the soldiers were fully armed with combat rifles. Suddenly shots rang out. At the end of the day, 13 people lay dead and 17 wounded.

“Let's take a moment and remember the names of the people that died that day - Jack Duddy, Paddy Doherty, Bernard McGuigan, Hugh Gilmour, Kevin McElhinney, Michael McDaid, William Nash, John Young, Michael Kelly, Jim Wray, Gerald Donaghey, Gerard McKinney, William McKinney and John Johnston.”

The Bloody Sunday Trust has thanked Dylan for "his kind words and support for the victims of Bloody Sunday".

An inquiry into Bloody Sunday led by Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery supported the soldiers’ version of events, that they were returning fire, however, bereaved families dismissed the report as a whitewash.

In 2010, a new inquiry, led by Lord Saville, found that there was no justification for any of those killed or wounded.

Former prime minister David Cameron later issued a public apology, saying the killings were “unjustified and unjustifiable”.