General Rupert Smith, the top British soldier in Northern Ireland, expressed strong opposition to a new inquiry into the Bloody Sunday incident, calling it a ‘cynical political move’ by the government. His comments, made at a dinner with Irish officials, highlight the military’s discontent following the establishment of the Saville Inquiry, which aimed to reevaluate the 1972 shootings of unarmed civilians by British paratroopers in Derry. Smith’s remarks reveal deep tensions between military leadership and political decisions surrounding the controversial event.