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| Barry McElduff has resigned as MP for West Tyrone | Barry McElduff has resigned as MP for West Tyrone |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The MP for West Tyrone, Barry McElduff, has resigned. | |
| The Sinn Féin MP has been embroiled in controversy since posting online video on the anniversary of the Kingsmills massacre. | |
| Mr McElduff said he was resigning as a result of the controversy surrounding the video he posted on Twitter. | |
| He said that he did not make a connection in his mind between the video and the massacre, but he accepts many people do not believe that. | |
| Sinn Féin suspended Mr McElduff from party activities for a period of three months last Monday. | |
| In the video, Mr McElduff balanced a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head in a shop. | |
| It was posted on the 42nd anniversary of the murders, in which 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead by the IRA. | |
| Mr McElduff said the "deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmills is my greatest regret" and reiterated his apology to them. | |
| 'Unjustifiable and sectarian' | |
| "Kingsmills was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened," he said. | |
| He said that the view that the video was intended to refer to the massacre would "impede any reconciliation process". | |
| "I am an Irish republican and believe wholeheartedly in the reunification of our country and an agreed Ireland in which we heal the wounds of the past together. | |
| "Reconciliation is essential, but that message is not being heard at this time," he added. | |
| The sole survivor of the Kingsmills attack, Alan Black, welcomed the resignation. | |
| He told the Press Association: "This past week has been truly awful for me. I am just hanging by a thread. | |
| "But I am glad he has done the right thing." | |
| He added: "I am going to have to take time now to heal. | |
| "I only got involved because of the hurt and disrespect shown to my friends who died at Kingsmills, but this whole thing has taken a heavy toll." | |
| Sinn Féin's Stormont leader said Mr McElduff told her of his intention to resign on Sunday evening. | |
| "Barry is doing so as a consequence of the unintended hurt caused to the Kingsmills victims and their loved ones by his recent social media tweet," Michelle O'Neill said. | |
| "He has said that he does not want to be a barrier to reconciliation and I respect that decision." |