LONDON, U.K.: The UK government's decision to spend more than £4 million defending "Soldier F" has been described as "hurtful" and "flying in the face" of former Prime Minister David Cameron's apology to the Bloody Sunday victims, a family member has said.

Mickey McKinney, whose brother was among the 13 people killed in Derry in 1972, said he was shocked to learn that £4.3 million of public money had been spent on the former British paratrooper's defense. "That money flies in the face of David Cameron's apology—it was really hurtful," he told the PA news agency.

The figure was disclosed by Minister for Veterans and People Alistair Cairns in response to a parliamentary question from SDLP MP Colum Eastwood. Cairns said the total includes legal fees dating back to Soldier F's initial charge in March 2019, as well as costs linked to a judicial review against a decision by Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service to halt proceedings. It also covers welfare and legal support.

Soldier F, whose identity remains protected for legal reasons, was acquitted by the Belfast Crown Court of two murders and five attempted murders related to the Bloody Sunday shootings. Judge Patrick Lynch ruled that the evidence against him fell "well short" of what was needed for a conviction.

Thirteen people were killed when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed civil rights demonstrators in Derry in 1972. The events of that day remain one of the darkest chapters of the Northern Ireland conflict.

Eastwood said the government's spending was a "double injustice" for the victims' families.

McKinney said families were "shocked" by the size of the legal bill, especially after enduring the emotional toll of the five-week trial, which required daily travel from Derry to Belfast. He said relatives had asked for the trial to take place in Derry's Bishop Street Courthouse instead.

Responding to those who defended the government's spending by pointing to the £190 million cost of the Saville Inquiry, McKinney said the comparison was unfair. "The inquiry was something that should have happened immediately after Bloody Sunday," he said. "It should have happened over 50 years ago."

Cameron formally apologized to the victims' families in 2010, after the Saville Inquiry found that those killed were innocent and posed no threat. Families of the victims have long argued that justice has still not been served.