Sinn Fein Brands Karen Bradley's Legacy Comments 'Offensive'

Sinn Fein's Deputy Leader Michelle O'Neill has called on Secretary of State Karen Bradley to retract her recent "disgraceful" comments about families seeking inquests into legacy issues.

Mrs Bradley was speaking to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Wednesday 21 November, and responded to a question from Conservative MP Bob Stewart about setting up a statute of limitations for soldiers and security personnel who served during The Troubles.

The Secretary said she was "outraged" by the legal pursuit of former British State forces and added: "Those inquests are much of the problem, they are civil matters, they are not criminal and no statute of limitations can end those."

Responding to the remarks, Mrs O'Neill said: "The comments by Karen Bradley are entirely unacceptable and a fundamental breach of her government's supposed support for the legacy proposals agreed at Stormont House.

"The British Secretary of State needs to clarify if she is rowing back from commitments made on legacy by the two governments and the political parties in the Stormont House Agreement.

"I have written to the British Secretary of State telling her that she should immediately retract these damaging and false claims which have caused distress and offence to many families."

The Sinn Fein Deputy Leader slammed Mrs Bradley's statement that the judicial system is biased against British forces, calling it "absurd" and urging her to stop interfering in the legal process.

"Families seeking the right to an inquest are not the problem. The problem is that the British State continues to deny families access to the truth and to due legal process.

"Karen Bradley may well be outraged, but her anger is centred on the fact that State forces might actually be exposed and held accountable for crimes they committed during the conflict."



(JG/CM)