Sinn Fein MP quits after row over Kingsmill video tweet
A SINN Fein MP who caused outrage by posing with a Kingsmillbranded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre has resigned.
Abstentionst West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff, who had already been suspended by his party for three months, said staying in the job would have impeded efforts to forge reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Mr McElduff reiterated his insistence that he had not meant the video as a reference to the sectarian murders of ten Protestant workmen by republican paramilitaries near the south Armagh village of Kingsmill in 1976.
“It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Fein member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone,” he said.
“The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week.”
He said his greatest regret was the “deep and unnecessary hurt” his video had caused the Kingsmill families.
“I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community,” he added.
The sole survivor of the attack, Alan Black, welcomed the resignation.
“This past week has been truly awful for me. I am just hanging by a thread. But I am glad he has done the right thing,” he said.
Mr Black said the fallout from the Twitter video forced him to relive the trauma of the attack, in which he was shot 18 times.
“I am going to have to take time now to heal,” he said.
“I only got involved because of the hurt and disrespect shown to my friends who died at Kingsmill but this whole thing has taken a heavy toll.”
Sinn Fein has faced intense criticism on both sides of the Irish border over the video furore. The episode further disrupted efforts to restore the power-sharing institutions at Stormont.
West Tyrone is widely perceived as a very safe Sinn Fein seat and the party will probably hold on to it in a by-election.
In the short video, Mr McElduff, who is known for his light-hearted social media contributions, was filmed walking around a shop with a Kingsmill loaf on his head, asking where the store kept the bread.
It was posted on the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill outrage on January 5.
This past week has been truly awful. I am glad he has done the right thing. Kingsmill massacre survivor Alan Black on the resignation of Barry McElduff.