PM ‘sorry’ over Ballymurphy killings

THE Ballymurphy families have received a letter from the Prime Minister in which Boris Johnson expressed his personal sorrow for the “terrible hurt that has been caused” by the deaths of ten innocent civilians 50 years ago.

On Tuesday, coroner Mrs Justice Keegan found that those who died in Belfast in 1971 were “entirely innocent”. She found that nine of the ten had been killed by soldiers, and that the use of lethal force was not justified.

The letter was received by families as Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the Commons the Government was “truly sorry” for the killings.

Mr Johnson wrote: “I unequivocally accept the findings of the coroner. Those who died over that terrible period were innocent of any wrongdoing. The events at Ballymurphy should never have happened. You should never have had to experience such grief at the loss of your loved ones and such distress in your subsequent quest for truth.

“The duty of the State is to hold itself to the highest standard and that requires us to recognise the hurt and agony caused when we fall short of those standards. For what happened on those terrible few days in Ballymurphy, and for what the families have gone through since you began your brave and dignified campaign almost five decades ago, I am truly sorry.”

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has urged Mr Johnson to engage directly with the families.