United Ireland is ‘within touching distance’

Sinn Fein leader accuses Britain of trying to ‘whitewash its dirty war’ with Troubles amnesty laws

‘Tonight we remember those we lost on Bloody Sunday. Tonight we look to the future with confidence and hope’

‘We want to ensure that if you do not co-operate and have done something heinous, you face justice and pay penalty’

A UNITED Ireland is within “touching distance”, Sinn Fein’s president said yesterday in a lecture to commemorate Bloody Sunday.

Mary Lou Mcdonald also accused Britain of trying to “whitewash” its dirty war with “disgraceful” amnesty laws to protect UK soldiers from prosecution for wrongs committed during the Troubles.

She said in Londonderry: “Tonight, we remember those we lost on Bloody Sunday. Tonight, we look to the future, we think about all that we have to gain. The ending of division. The uniting of all our people. A new Ireland is now in touching distance. We must reach with confidence and hope for tomorrow.”

Brexit and the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol have given impetus to calls for Irish reunification.

Most voters in Northern Ireland, who have been denied devolved government by the DUP’S boycott of Stormont over the Protocol, voted for Remain in the Brexit referendum.

The Protocol, which created the Irish Sea border, was agreed by the UK and EU to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, which could jeopardise the peace process.

But it is hated by Unionists, who are refusing to restore power-sharing until the Protocol is removed or replaced in ongoing negotiations between London and Brussels. Sinn Fein became the largest political party in Northern Ireland for the first time in its 100-year history in May’s Stormont elections.

After the vote, Sinn Fein predicted unity referendums in Ireland and Northern Ireland by 2030. A census also showed Catholics outnumbering Protestants for the first time in Northern Ireland last year but twice as many Northern Irish voters would stay in the UK rather than choose a united Ireland, a poll in December found.

The Good Friday Agreement recognised the right of people on the island of Ireland to reunify if border polls in Ireland and Northern Ireland back it.

UK law says the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland should order a vote if it “appears likely” a majority of voters want a united Ireland but is unclear on how that should be decided. The Irish government must also agree. Ms Mcdonald also said the Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill would be used to cover up the British government’s crimes during the Troubles.

If passed, the Bill would offer immunity for Troubles offences in exchange for cooperation with a new truth recovery body and halt future civil cases and inquests linked to killings in the conflict.

The Bill is opposed by almost all victims’ groups in Northern Ireland. Critics say it will rob bereaved families of justice.

Ms Mcdonald said: “The British government’s attempt to substitute the truth for a so-called official narrative, to whitewash Britain’s dirty war, and to evade justice has no support in Ireland .

“The powerful try to steal experiences, and steal memory from those who have suffered. That’s what successive British governments tried to do for decades. Prime Minister [Rishi] Sunak should remember that the powerful have never stopped the Bloody Sunday families remembering the truth.”

Thirteen unarmed demonstrators, all Northern Irish Catholics, were shot dead by British paratroopers in Londonderry on January 30, 1972.

The Government plans to make further amendments to its planned Northern Ireland legacy legislation.

Chris Heaton-harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said: “We want to make sure that if you do not cooperate and then you are found to have done something heinous in the Troubles and then you go through the judicial system as it is now, so there is a penalty.”