Former British Army Chief Mike Jackson dies aged 80

General Mike Jackson, once Britain's most senior soldier who gave evidence to the Saville inquiry in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, has died at the age of 80.

General Jackson had been a captain in the British army's Parachute Regiment in Co Derry on 30 January 1972, the second in command of 1 Para, when thirteen people were shot dead by British soldiers.

General Jackson stated that he did not attempt any cover-up of the killing of the civilians.

In 2003, he gave evidence to the Saville inquiry regarding how he wrote up a note, in the aftermath of the shootings, regarding what soldiers said about why they had fired.

Mark Saville concluded in the inquiry that while the circumstances under which the list was compiled were "far from ideal", he found "nothing sinister in the fact that it did not include details such as the names of the soldiers and the number of rounds fired."

General Jackson went on to serve in senior commands in Bosnia and Kosovo before leading the British Army during the allied invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He was later appointed chief of the general staff and head of the British Army.

With additional reporting from PA