Karen Bradley urged to apologise for remarks on Troubles killings

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/07/karen-bradley-northern-ireland-troubles-urged-apologise-richard-dannatt

Version 0 of 10.

The former head of the British army has said the Northern Ireland secretary should apologise for claiming killings by the military and police during the Troubles were not crimes.

Karen Bradley’s remarks in the House of Commons on Wednesday sparked calls for her to resign and provoked criticism from victims of the security forces and nationalist political leaders.

Richard Dannatt told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster he did not think Bradley should quit her post amid increased tensions over Brexit and the future of Northern Ireland.

“I think it’s unnecessary for her to resign, there’s enough confusion in our political world at the present moment,” he said. “I think it would not be unreasonable for her to offer an apology.”

Lord Dannatt said the best way to right the situation was for her to return to the Commons to clarify her remarks.

Bradley, who was at a St Patrick’s Day dinner at the Irish embassy just hours after making the remarks, said on Wednesday night her comments were “inadvertent” and she did not intend to cause any offence or upset anybody.

“Coming back to the House of Commons and correcting the record is the biggest statement I can make, in terms of the inadvertent comments that I made during oral questions,” she told reporters at the event, which was hosted by Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney, and included guests such as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

“I was absolutely determined to be clear to everybody that what I had said needed correcting and to do so on the floor of the House of Commons is the biggest statement I can make.”

As clashes over Brexit in Brussels put further strain on Anglo-Irish relations, the prince remarked on the “unparalleled bonds” between Britain and Ireland.

Prince Charles:" I want to visit every county in Ireland before I drop dead". "I've already visited 15" Charles does his bit for Anglo-Irish relations at Irish embassy dinner https://t.co/hgyKgUB1uQ

“Above all, we are friends, we are partners and we are the closest of near neighbours, bound together by everything that we have in common – and by just how far we have come together,” he told the 80 guests that also included the Speaker, John Bercow, and the head of the DUP in Westminster, Nigel Dodds.

The prince said it was important for him and his wife to continue their visits to Ireland because of the “unparalleled bonds between our two countries, and to highlight just what a fundamental difference they make to us all”.

Bradley’s comments came just a week before the Public Prosecution Service announces whether soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday killings in 1972 will face prosecution.

Thirteen civilians on a civil rights march were killed after troops opened fire and another died of his injuries months later.

Pressed on whether she would say sorry to people she upset, Bradley said: “As I say, I never intend to cause any offence. I want to ensure that we have a system that works for everyone.

“I am determined that we will find a way to deal with the issue of the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland as soon as possible and in a way that is right and fair for victims and everyone.”

Her remarks sparked an immediate backlash in Northern Ireland among the families of victims. John Kelly, whose teenage brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday, described her remarks as “outrageous”.

“Karen Bradley needs to resign because she’s supposed to represent everybody, but she’s stuck two fingers up to the nationalist people that have been fighting for justice for years. But, we’ll never give up,” he said.

The SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, told the Derry News: “Karen Bradley has yet again shown her complete ignorance of Northern Ireland. This is utterly insensitive and so devoid of fact that it is shocking in the extreme. Did she miss David Cameron’s statement on Bloody Sunday in 2010?

“She badly needs to pick up a history book because this standard of ignorance is not only insensitive, it’s also dangerous.”