Mr Johnson made apology during call with Arlene Foster and Michelle O Neill
PM said conclusions of Ballymurphy inquest were deeply sad , spokesman said
Ms Foster is Northern Ireland s First Minister, whilst Ms O Neill is deputy and leader of Sinn Fein
Son of one of people killed rejected what he called a third party apology
John Teggart questioned why Mr Johnson did not say sorry publicly
12 May 2021 By AFP 1 min 21Approximate reading time The UK government apologised on Wednesday after 10 civilians were killed during violence in Northern Ireland nearly 50 years ago, Downing Street said. The apology came a day after a coroner ruled that British soldiers used “clearly disproportionate” force against protesters in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 1971. Victims included a priest and a mother of eight children. Families of the dead, whom the coroner said were all declared “entirely innocent of any wrongdoing”, have accused successive governments in London of a cover-up. Downing Street said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster and her deputy in the power-sharing assembly in Belfast, Michelle O’Neill.
John Teggart queried why Boris Johnson did not make a public apology.
A Downing Street spokesman said that in a conversation with First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Mr Johnson “apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK Government”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Jessica Taylor/PA)
However the apology was not referenced in either DUP or Sinn Fein statements following the virtual meeting which focused on coronavirus.
In a statement a Sinn Fein spokesperson said Ms O’Neill challenged Mr Johnson to apologise to the Ballymurphy families.
They said she was told that Secretary of State Brandon Lewis was intending to make a statement around Ballymurphy at Westminster on Thursday.
Boris Johnson has apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK Government for the Ballymurphy Massacre.
Downing Street said the British Prime Minister made the apology in a call with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill this evening.
“The Prime Minister apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK Government for the
events that took place in Ballymurphy and the huge anguish that the lengthy pursuit of truth has caused the families of those killed,” Downing Street said in a statement.
However, it noted that he also restated his ambition to deliver a way forward in the North that, “focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims of the Troubles and ends the cycle of reinvestigations.”
Sinn Fein MEP Martina Anderson. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O’Neill has said Foyle MLA Martina Anderson is a “first-class republican activist”.
Ms Anderson’s family had criticised Sinn Féin after the long-term republican agreed to not seek re-election to the Stormont Assembly as part of a party review of its performance in the Foyle constituency.
While she admitted it had been a “body blow”, Ms Anderson accepted the decision.
Speaking during a joint visit with First Minister Arlene Foster to Clandeboye Golf Club in Bangor, Ms O’Neill said Sinn Féin “needed to do something to fix” how it performs in Foyle after some disappointing results in recent elections.