David Cameron has just told the House of Commons: ‘There is no doubt, there is no
equivalence. The events of the 20th January were in no way justified…You do not honour the British army by excusing the unjustifiable.’ He apologised for the atrocity and the Wigery
report.
According to Lord Saville, there was no conspiracy or pre-meditation, but soldiers of Support Company 1 Para entered Bogside in Derry and opened fire without provocation from the victims or nationalist paramilitaries – though Martin McGuiness ‘was present, probably armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun’. Lord Saville concludes that the testimony of many soldiers was false. Cameron did not rule out independent criminal proceedings; arguing that there should be no equivalence between soldiers and terrorists.
Cameron said that a state should hold itself to account and he welcomed Lord Saville’s findings, before adding that Bloody Sunday did not represent the British army’s sole contribution in Northern Ireland, a point that Lord Savile also made.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in