The British Government has a duty to fund the under-threat police investigation into the Bloody Sunday killings, SDLP Derry City Councillor Brian Tierney has said.
Cllr Tierney was speaking in support of a motion to Derry City Council backing the Bloody Sunday families’ call for appropriate resourcing of a live PSNI Investigation into the murder and attempted murder of their loved ones.
“The SDLP fully supports this motion. The truth of what happened on 30th January 1972 was finally revealed by the Saville Inquiry – 38 long years after the darkest day in Derry’s history. Fourteen innocent men were killed and 12 others injured on our streets whilst marching for Civil Rights. The British Prime Minister David Cameron said actions of his armed forces were “unjustified and unjustifiable”. The families have the truth, they now deserve justice.”
Cllr Tierney described the recent announcement that the PSNI probe into the killings is under threat due to budget pressures at Stormont as “an insult” to the victims, their families and the people of Derry.
He added: “The SDLP feels that this much needed investigation should not be compromised due to budget difficulties within the Executive. In fact, we do not feel the cost of the investigation should be borne by the Executive at all.
“The British Government should pay for all investigations of killings by security forces, these investigations should not be financed by our block grant. In 1972 the British Government had a responsibility to the 14 victims to protect them from unlawful killing. They failed in that duty. They now have a duty to investigate those deaths and punish those responsible.”
Cllr Tierney said it was disappointing that unionists voted against the motion.
“I feared that some members would retreat to their cosy sectarian corners of green versus orange. Of nationalism versus unionism. This motion was about right versus wrong. Lord Saville has ruled that the Bloody Sunday killings were wrong. The Bloody Sunday killings were murder: murder is wrong and to not fully investigate murder is equally wrong.
“I would ask members to put themselves in the shoes of the families who lost fathers, brothers and uncles that day. The victims were innocent, they were murdered in cold blood, they did not deserve their fate. The families deserve one thing, the families deserve justice,” Cllr Tierney added.
