John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery,OBE,TD,PC (24 July 1911 – 26 July 1981) was an English judge who served asLord Chief Justice of England from 1971 to 1980. He is principally noted for presiding over the Widgery Tribunal on the events ofBloody Sunday.^[1]

The Right Honourable The Lord Widgery OBETDPC
Lord Chief Justice of England
In office 20 April 1971 – 14 April 1980
Preceded by	The Lord Parker of Waddington
Succeeded by	The Lord Lane
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office 19 January 1968 – 20 April 1971
Justice of the High Court
In office 1961–1968
Personal details
Born	John Pasmore Widgery (1911-07-24)24 July 1911 South Molton,Devon, England
Died	26 July 1981(1981-07-26) (aged 70)
Alma mater	Queen's College, Taunton
Known for	Widgery Tribunal
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1938–1945
Rank	Brigadier
Unit	Royal Engineers (1938–1940) Royal Artillery (1940–1945)
Battles/wars	Normandy landings
Awards	Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (Military Division) Croix de Guerre (France) Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Widgery came from aNorth Devon family which had been living inSouth Molton for many generations. His father, Samuel Widgery (died 1940), was a grocer and house furnisher; his mother Bertha Elizabeth, née Passmore, was Samuel's second wife, belonged to a landowning family (Grilstone, Bishop's Nympton,Devon) and served as a localmagistrate.^[2] An ancestor had been a gaoler.^{[citation needed]} Widgery attendedQueen's College,Taunton, where he became head prefect.

He was admitted as asolicitor in 1933 after serving as anarticled clerk, but instead of going into practice, he joined Gibson and Welldon, a well-known firm of law tutors. He was an effective lecturer in the years leading up toWorld War II while he was also commissioned into theRoyal Engineers (Territorial Army) in 1938, having joined as asapper. As asearchlight officer, in 1940 he transferred to theRoyal Artillery. Widgery participated in theNormandy landings. By the end of the war he had anOBE,^[3] theCroix de Guerre (France), and theOrder of Leopold (Belgium), and had reached the rank ofbrigadier. Widgery was an activefreemason.^[4]

After demobilisation Widgery changed to another branch of the legal profession as he was called to thebar byLincoln's Inn in 1946. He gathered a reputation for being a fast talker, and eventually came to specialise in disputes overrating andtown planning, where his methodical approach and self-control were useful attributes. In 1958 he was made aQueen's Counsel, the first such award given to a post-warbarrister.^[5]

Widgery became aHigh Court judge in 1961, receiving the customaryknighthood.^[6] As a judge he did not draw attention to himself and his judgments tended not to include any comments which were pithy, memorable or quotable. However, his calmness produced judgments which were generally regarded as fair and humane. One example cited in theOxford Dictionary of National Biography was his justification for limiting damages for economic loss inWeller v Foot and Mouth Disease Research Institute, a judgment handed down in 1966.^[7] Widgery headed several inquiries during his term.

He received promotion to theCourt of Appeal in 1968, but had barely got used to his new position whenLord Parker of Waddington (who had beenLord Chief Justice since 1958) announced his retirement. There was no obvious successor and Widgery was the most junior of the possible appointees. TheLord Chancellor,Lord Hailsham, chose Widgery largely on the basis of his administrative abilities. On 20 April 1971 he was created alife peer taking the titleBaron Widgery,ofSouth Molton in theCounty of Devon.^[8]

Shortly after assuming office, Widgery was handed the politically sensitive job of conducting an inquiry into the events of 30 January 1972 inDerry, where soldiers fromParachute Regiment had shot and killed 13 civil rights marchers, an event commonly referred to asBloody Sunday (a 14th person died shortly after Widgery's appointment). Widgery heard testimony from the soldiers, who claimed they had been shot at, while the marchers insisted that no one from the march was armed. Widgery produced a report, published in April 1972 that took the side of the soldiers.^[9] Widgery put the main blame for the deaths on the march organisers for creating a dangerous situation where a confrontation was inevitable. His strongest criticism of the soldiers was that their "firing bordered on the reckless".^[10]

The Widgery Report was accepted by the British government but met with a mixed reception inNorthern Ireland;loyalists supported the report butIrish republicans, particularly those from theBogside andCreggan areas, criticised Widgery's findings. The British government had acquired a level of goodwill in Northern Ireland due to its suspension of theStormont Parliament, but that was said to have disappeared when Widgery's conclusions were published.^[11] Grievances with Widgery's findings in Northern Ireland lingered and the report remained contentious as theNorthern Ireland peace process advanced in the 1990s.^[7]

In January 1998, on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, British Prime MinisterTony Blair announced a new inquiry, criticising the rushed process in which Widgery failed to take evidence from those wounded on Bloody Sunday and did not personally read eyewitness accounts.^[12] The resultingBloody Sunday Inquiry lasted 12 years before theSaville Report was published on 15 June 2010. It overturned the findings of the Widgery Report, finding that soldiers present on Bloody Sunday had lied about their actions and had falsely claimed to have been attacked.^[13]The Daily Telegraph described the Saville Report as "[turning] the Widgery report on its head by exonerating the victims and delivering a damning account of the conduct of soldiers."^[14] The inquiry led British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron, on behalf of the United Kingdom, to formally apologise for the "unjustified and unjustifiable" events of Bloody Sunday in 2010.^[15][16]

Widgery ruled in the caseR v Commissioner of Metropolitan Police, ex parte Blackburn on the duty of the Crown to prosecute. The case was described as follows:^[17] "A and B are alleged to have committed a crime. A is charged with the crime, convicted and sentenced. B is not charged. At the trial of A there is evidence which suggests that B may have committed or been a participant to the crime. Can the prosecution be compelled to prosecute B?" In 1968, the Court of Queen's Bench of Widgery,Melford Stevenson andDaniel Brabin issued judgment that "to prosecute must indisputably be a matter of discretion", which was affirmed by theCourt of Appeal.^{[citation needed]}

Widgery also ruled on theCrossman diaries case when the government attempted to suppress the publication on the grounds of confidentiality. He made it clear during the case that he felt Crossman had "broken the rules", but ultimately refused to grant an injunction preventing publication. In criminal cases, Widgery became concerned by an increasing number of cases resting on weak identification evidence. He declared in 1974 that misidentification was "the most serious chink in our armour when we say British justice is the best in the world." In March 1976, Widgery dismissed the first appeal by theBirmingham Six in respect of theBirmingham pub bombings.^[18]

In 1948, Widgery married Ann, daughter of William Edwin Kermode, of Peel,Isle of Man.^[19][20]

His later years in office were marred by persistent ill health and mental decline. InPrivate Eye^[21] it was claimed that "he sits hunched and scowling, squinting into his books from a range of three inches, his wig awry. He keeps up a muttered commentary of bad-tempered and irrelevant questions – 'What d'you say?', 'Speak up', 'Don't shout', 'Whipper-snapper', etc.". He resisted attempts to get him to resign until the last moment, in 1980. For at least 18 months previously he had not been in control of either his administrative work or his legal pronouncements, he would fall asleep in court,^[22] and it soon became apparent that he was suffering fromdementia. He died two days after his 70th birthday, in 1981.^{[citation needed]}

InJimmy McGovern's 2002 filmSunday, which portrayed the events of Bloody Sunday and subsequent inquiry, Widgery was portrayed byMichael Byrne.

• Saville Inquiry, full text, and all submissions