Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LEFT SPEECHLESS
MP’S horror at shot boy Bradley quit calls persist
KAREN Bradley was yesterday given a photograph of an 11-yearold boy in his coffin after he was shot dead by the Army.
The Northern Ireland Secretary met with victims’ groups following her comments on security force killings in the Commons on Wednesday.
During the encounter Mrs Bradley was presented with a number of pictures of Stephen Mcconomy, who was shot with a plastic bullet close to his home in Derry in 1982.
The images included one of the schoolboy in his uniform just two weeks before he was killed, one of him on a life support machine and another in his coffin.
Representatives from Relatives for Justice said Mrs Bradley was left “speechless”.
The MP’S statement that killings carried out by the police and military were not crimes but rather the actions of people “fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way” sparked fury here. Speaking after the meeting in Stormont House, Frances Meehan, whose brother was shot dead by the Army in 1980, called for Mrs Bradley to resign.
She said: “I wanted to meet her because I wanted to look her in the eye to tell her how I felt about her comments in the House of Commons.
“I also wanted to say to her that on this day, International Women’s Day, she is an insult to women. We know she has apologised but her position is completely and utterly untenable.”
Relatives of those killed in Ballymurphy in 1971 refused to attend.
But John Teggart, whose father Danny was shot 14 times during the massacre in West Belfast, also called on Mrs Bradley to step down.
He said: “We will not meet her and have one request and that is for her to resign immediately.
“Do the dignified and appropriate thing – resign, Karen Bradley.”
Mairead Kelly, whose brother Patrick was one of eight IRA men killed at Loughgall on May 8, 1987, claimed the MP is “unfit for office”.
Civilian Anthony Hughes also died in the incident.
Ms Kelly, director of the Loughgall Truth and Justice Campaign, said: “We don’t accept her apology. We requested more than once to meet with her in light of the Hughes judgment and she refused.
“I don’t believe she is genuinely sorry, it was not an unintentional slip-of-the-tongue remark. She is demonstrating how she truly feels about their armed forces and I think the timing of it is crucial.
“Also, the nodding heads of some of the backbenches should put them in the spotlight because they are clearly in agreement with her.”
Mrs Bradley made it clear on Thursday she would not be leaving her role, vowing
instead
BELFAST YESTERDAY
to work for the people she had offended. She added: “I want to get on and get this job done.” Downing Street said Prime Minister Theresa May retains full confidence in her.
The minister’s remarks carried added significance as they came just a week before the decisions on whether 17 soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings in Derry in 1972 will face prosecution.
She returned to the Commons on Wednesday in a bid to clarify her comments and, on Thursday, issued a statement of apology, saying she was “profoundly sorry”.
In an interview, Mrs Bradley admitted there were “no excuses” for her actions. She added: “I shouldn’t have said it and I want to say sorry to all those people, all those families that have been kind enough to share their experiences with me. “I want to say sorry to them because I didn’t want to cause hurt or pain or distress to them in any way and what I want to do is deliver for them and I am absolutely determined I will do.
“I recognise that a slip of the tongue at the wrong moment has caused enormous distress. I want to be very clear – I do not believe what I said, that is not my view.
“I believe that where crimes have happened, no matter who the perpetrator, they should be properly investigated by an independent authority and they should be prosecuted.
“There is no excuse for anybody where a crime has been committed.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar claimed Mrs Bradley’s apology was “genuine and heartfelt”.
He said: “She has accepted her comments were insensitive and wrong. What’s important now is it’s followed up on.
“That involves full funding for legacy inquests and it involves setting up the historical inquiries team which has been committed to by the UK government.”