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Ford sorry over 'clumsy' Bloody Sunday email
Friday, 5 March 2010
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Northern Ireland's would-be justice minister David Ford last night apologised to the families of the Bloody Sunday victims for describing the Saville Inquiry as “pointless” saying it was “clumsy and inappropriate”.
However, it was too little, too late for some of those affected who were at the City Hotel in Londonderry.
Among them was Damien Donaghy, who as a boy of 15 was the first person shot on Bloody Sunday, He refused to go into the meeting.
Mr Ford said: “There were issues around the cost of the inquiry that I queried, not the process itself.”
Mr Ford dismissed suggestions that his expected appointment as Policing and Justice Minister was now jeopardised. “It would be ridiculous if one word used inappropriately was allowed to upset the whole apple cart,” he said.
For those family members who did sit around the table with Mr Ford, his apology was accepted and went some way towards addressing the hurt that had been caused.
Joe McKinney, relative of Gerard McKinney who was shot dead, said that he was hurt by Mr Ford calling the Saville Inquiry pointless because the report was “all the families have”.
He said: “We were not afforded justice at the time. The RUC did not even investigate Bloody Sunday when it happened.
“Other victims of other atrocities have had their day in the courts and have had their justice but for all these years we have had nothing which is why this report is so important.”
Paul Doherty, another relative, said he found the meeting “useful” and was satisfied that Mr Ford did genuinely take on board what the families had to say to him. Mr Doherty said: “David Ford talked about the cost of the inquiry and he made much of the fact that so far the inquiry has cost £200m but that has nothing whatsoever to do with the families.”
Mr Doherty said he was glad Mr Ford had come to Derry but said that he was not 100 percent sure if he could go so far as to support or have confidence in him if he was appointed Justice Minister.
“I am not there yet and perhaps I never will have confidence in him as a Justice Minister.”
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Comments
28 Comments
foot and mouth spring to mind here or is it foot in mouth? and he is to be the justice minister. good start mate!
Posted by peter | 15.03.10, 17:29 GMT
Moved back here last year and don't see much change. Am still trying to get to grips with how stormont works and think the whole thng is a joke. Most of our ministers are too concerned with disagreeing with their opponents and not working for NI as a population. Am seriously thinking about raising my daughter somewhere else.
Posted by meabh | 06.03.10, 01:37 GMT
Mr Ford is a fool to retract his comments and to apologise to these people because it is evident unless Saville comes out and states categorically that the British army are guilty of murder these people will not be satisfied with the outcome of such an enquiry.
The money would have been far better spent on trying to create work in the province.
Posted by Observer of Derry whingers | 05.03.10, 19:57 GMT
Sorry £2m goes to £200m. It is essentially a lack of self respect for relatives and victims to have allowed the legal vultures to take advantage of this sad situation. SDLP are quite opportunistic in seeking the election of lawyer Alban Maginness for the Justice Post.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 05.03.10, 18:01 GMT
delboy, I've an idea. Why doesn't our British Government just adopt a policy of being unable to break a "code of silence"? Seems good enough for Marty and co.
Posted by mark's nemesis | 05.03.10, 16:27 GMT
mistercee why dont you or your other friends in green tinted glasses call for an inquiry into state sponsered death of thousands in the north, by supplying ira with weapons or do thousands of deaths not count if they are unionist. and what about the iras involvement that day why dont you insist on them coming clean on that.
Posted by boomerang | 05.03.10, 16:14 GMT
David Ford needs to go back to what he knows best . Acting the part of the rear end of a pantomime horse.
Posted by Peter | 05.03.10, 14:57 GMT
How can anyone have confidence in a Justice minister who backs down when put under political pressure
Posted by Dave | 05.03.10, 14:57 GMT
How dare he think something that SF don't agree with!
Posted by Stephen | 05.03.10, 14:46 GMT
If the British acknowlegded that their solders murdered innocent civilians on a civil rights march then it would not have cost this at all!
For all your comments regarding republicans etc this had nothing to do with republicanism...Ivan Cooper led the march! but many of you are too ignorant to know this.
If it cost 10 billion pound and they still dont admit it I say keep it going... It took great leadership in Australia by Kevin Rudd to apologuise to the aboriginal people for taking there children away! yet the british are still dragging their feet when it comes to murder...then again whats changed they are still doing it around the world! Iraq..
Posted by delboy | 05.03.10, 14:26 GMT
As you can see from the comments, you cannot change perceptions even at a cost of £2m in paying off legal parasites. This is essentially what David Ford was getting at. Whatever happens, we cannot brook those with a legal background from any of the sectarian parties taking up this position.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 05.03.10, 14:13 GMT
On the button David. Why apologise when any sensible person knows you are right. Nobody who called for the inquiry is going to be satisfied anyway!
Posted by David | 05.03.10, 14:13 GMT
A very stupid and ill advised comment from Mr Ford (a bit like the Lib Dems actually) but he is right about one thing - the money legal people drum up here. We often here how Public sector workers etc are a drain on society - Well for me people in the legal field are amongst the biggest leeches out there!
Posted by GS | 05.03.10, 14:05 GMT
Standard unionist comment from a standard unionist politican - why are you all so afraid of the Bloody Sunday tribunal findings?
Posted by mistercee | 05.03.10, 13:43 GMT
A complete waste of tax payers money on this one sided politically motivated sham with no input from the IRA and their actions on that day !!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Jim Bennett EX Pat | 05.03.10, 13:42 GMT
Should we really be devolving Policing and Justice just yet? I don't beleive we are ready for it, I for one agreed 100% with David Fords comments, and then in order to seem 'just and fair' he totally retracts his views and apologises?
What was he apologising for, he has a right to his opinion and I totally agreed with his first opinion, the enquiry was an expensive farce to appease Sinn Fein.
Do I believe that the British killed innocent people in Derry on Bloody Sunday, yes, do I think the IRA were present, yes, will either truly admit there exact role in the events, I doubt it.
There has already been an official British apology for the events on the day, no report will bring loved ones back or take the pain away.
As for truth, seriously, all of these reports are a joke, just as we all know the RUC and UDR worked with loyalist paramilitary groups, Gerry Adams was an active member of the IRA and the Irish government turned a blind eye to IRA activities, it's in the past.
Posted by Steven73 | 05.03.10, 13:34 GMT
While i feel the families should have justice and i do believe that there was wrongdoing on the part of the paras, the inquiry seems to be missing the testimony of other parties who were present whose supposed "code of honour" meant that only one side of events could properly investigated. without that additional eveidence then i partly agree with Mr Fords comment on the inquiry being pointless. The verdict will be skewed and not complete. Why has noone else been asking those questions of the involvement of current senior politicians and others. Seems like a bit of political expediency or not wanting to rock the preverbial boat so to speak.
Posted by Woody | 05.03.10, 13:08 GMT
The gerrymandering of David Ford into the Justice Ministry is now completely untenable. I was in favour of it from a realpolitik point of view, but following his outrageous, but albeit private, thoughts on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, even realpolitik has its limits.
Alban Maginness should be our first Justice Minister. By the way, I am not a SDLP voter or supporter. However, I am a democrat, and democracy should win the day. Haven't we all had enough gerrymandering to do us a lifetime?
Posted by WH | 05.03.10, 11:26 GMT
If I recall correctly, "Our Marty" by his actions when he appeared in front of Saville, was first to make the whole enquiry pointless by refusing to "betray the Republican Code of Silence" in not articluating what the role of the IRA was on that fateful day.
Posted by Tangled Web | 05.03.10, 11:00 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm a Nationalist and I have to agree with David Ford.
Of course the British government has to accept their role in Bloody Sunday and apologise to the family members of all those who were killed but I just cannot accept the amount of money thrown at this inquiry, as well as all the other inquiries i.e. Rosemary Nelson, Billy Wright etc, when our NHS staff and Education boards are crippled through lack of money.
What's in the past is in the past and no matter what conclusion comes out of any of these inquiries it isn't going to change things.
Stop wasting money than can be put to better use elsewhere!!
Posted by Liam | 05.03.10, 10:56 GMT
28 Comments