In a statement regarding Allison Morris’s Irish News story of prior police knowledge and inaction of the Shankill bombing, Nigel Dodds MP, DUP deputy leader, said:
“The mass sectarian murder of the Shankill Bomb was one of the most heinous acts perpetrated by the Provisional IRA. It was a premeditated slaughter of innocents, an event that stands out amongst the PIRA’s more than 1800 bloody murders.
Recent newspaper claims have refocused attention on this horrific act. Some of what has been written appears sensationalist and dubious. However, if only elements of it are true it is a matter of the deepest concern. Thus we must find a way to get to the truth.
Within the existing framework for victims the most obvious route is to pursue a complaint to the Police Ombudsman. The DUP has been in contact with the families’ spokesperson and the Party Leader, I and my North and West Belfast colleagues will meet with them as soon as possible to offer our full support.”
When just last week Dodds was faced with the question about state collusion in killings during the troubles, he seemed to casually dismiss it.
As mentioned in this article, regarding Alexander Litvenenko, I asked if it was hypocritical of the British Government (to grandstand about Russia’s actions), Dodds responded by saying, “Well I don’t agree at all, because, I mean, it’s entirely a spurious argument to make and I think its one that actually harks back to the past…, ” he then went on to discuss Litvenenko’s family and wider issues and gave the subject of collusion or state involvement in killings here no further reference.
Given that most of the incidents that are talked about as being linked to state collusion seem to fall heavily on the nationalist side – it’s interesting that referring to these is harking back to the past, but when The Irish News reveals possible security force involvement in the Shankill Bombing, 1993 isn’t in the past and is indeed worth his attention.
Nigel Dodds and First Minister Arlene Foster are now to meet the families of the victims of the Shankill Bombing, one wonders how many families of alleged state/security force linked killings they have previously met with personally following allegations such as these.
Kris tweets ferociously as @belfastbarman and runs an associated site, www.belfastbarman.com where he occasionally opines his views. He lived abroad for a while and as such, feels he will never really ‘get’ this place. Formerly a barman, he regularly broke the cardinal rules of, “No politics or religion in the pub,” as such, he turned to writing. Previously a stand up comedian and an animal crematorium assistant, now works in marketing and is a recently joined member of the Alliance Party.
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