JUDGES in the north of Ireland have cleared the way for the prosecution of a British soldier who shot a child through the head after they threw out his legal bid for it to be blocked on health grounds.

The ex-serviceman had claimed that the decision to charge him for the murder of Daniel Hegarty in Derry some 48 years ago put him at sudden risk of death due to ill-health.

But High Court judges rejected a legal challenge on an alleged breach of his right to life on Thursday, saying that accepting his case would have meant far-reaching implications for the criminal-justice system.

“If correct, a serial killer or rapist could not lawfully be prosecuted if the medical evidence established that a decision to prosecute would expose him to that risk,” Lord Justice Treacy said.

Daniel was just 15 years old when he was shot twice in the head during British Army operations in the Creggan area of Derry in July 1972.

A 2011 inquest jury found unanimously that Daniel presented no risk and had been shot without warning.

Last year the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) overturned a 2016 decision not to prosecute the man known as Soldier B for Daniel’s murder.

He is also accused of intentionally wounding Daniel’s 17-year-old cousin in the same incident.

The decision to prosecute Soldier B has been welcomed by those who have lost loved ones killed by the British state in the north of Ireland, many having faced smears and apparent cover-ups in their quest for justice.