Sinn Fein leader criticises Boris Johnson apology to Ballymurphy families

By PA

Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald has criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s apology in the House of Commons to the families of ten people killed in shootings involving the Army in 1971 in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast.

She claimed just as the “door to truth” was opened for the Ballymurphy families after an inquest found all ten were innocent, the door for justice was “slammed in their face”.

“Boris Johnson has continued, I believe, to add insult to injury when it comes to the Ballymurphy families, I don’t think he has delivered anything that approximates a sincere or complete apology,” she said.

“I think even though the truth now has been spoken that each of the victims of Ballymurphy were absolutely innocent, unarmed and posed no threat to anyone, the British Prime Minister still cannot accept and say out loud that a Para regiment, that British soldiers came and turned their guns on innocent civilians in that community.

“For so long as he is not capable of verbalising the truth of what happened on that day, and naming it and saying it out loud, I think we have a problem.

“The bigger problem beyond that is that Boris Johnson and his government are determined to deliver an amnesty for British soldiers and that is unacceptable to the Ballymurphy families, to many other families who still await truth and justice.

“It’s unacceptable to all strands of political opinion on this island north and south and in direct contravention of the Stormont House Agreement.

“I think the British Prime Minister should stick to the agreements that have been made and should accept that now the time is long past where he can hide from the truth of actions of British soldiers here in Ireland.

“That needs to be faced up to … if a genuine and authentic apology is made, I have no doubt the families will receive that very graciously.”

Meanwhile

Sinn Fein’s president has denied the lack of a party meeting with Prince Charles on his visit to Northern Ireland was linked to his association with a regiment involved in the Ballymurphy shootings.

Mary Lou McDonald urged people not to “over read anything” in regard to why the engagement between Sinn Fein Stormont deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and the Prince of Wales did not go ahead on Tuesday.

In recent years, it has become established practice for DUP and Sinn Fein leaders to meet senior royals when they visit the region.

DUP First Minister Arlene Foster did meet the Prince on Tuesday evening, but a meeting with Ms O’Neill did not materialise.

Mrs McDonald noted that Charles is the colonel-in-chief of the Parachute Regiment, but she said that was not the reason why the engagement at Hillsborough Castle did not proceed.

Soldiers from the regiment were involved in the fatal shootings in Ballymurphy in west Belfast in 1971.

Last week, a coroner ruled that ten victims, nine of whom were shot by the Army, were all “entirely innocent”.

Flanked by Ms O’Neill at a Stormont press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Mrs McDonald was asked to explain why the meeting did not happen.

“As to the meeting with the royals, as you know we’ve met with members of the royal family on many, many occasions and corresponded with them indeed and we will meet with them again,” she said.

“And I think in the totality of our relationships, we need to do everything that we can to bring a sense of calm, to bring a sense of respect and healing to everyone, to every corner of our society, but most particularly for families that have been so badly damaged and badly hurt by the state.”

Pressed if the Ballymurphy shootings and Prince Charles’s link to the Parachute Regiment was a factor, the Sinn Fein leader added: “Quite irrespective of any meeting, there is an obvious link between Prince Charles and the regiment in question.

“But no, we have met before, we will meet again.

“We absolutely recognise that in order to make peace and build peace, we have to meet each other, we have to talk to each other, and demonstrate the kind of respect to each other that we wish to be extended to wider society.

“So I wouldn’t over read anything into one meeting not happening.

“And I can assure you, we’ll meet again, because we have a lot to talk about.

“And there’s a lot of work to be done in Ireland, to get us to a place beyond division and that’s what we go to work for every day.”