Statement by Gregory Campbell (DUP) following the publication of the Saville Report, (15 June 2010)

Statement by Gregory Campbell, then Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP, following the publication of the report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, London, (Tuesday 15 June 2010)

"There are thousands of people throughout the United Kingdom who have been denied justice and may never know who was responsible for the death of their loved ones. They have had no costly inquiries nor have they received the attention of the international press corps. There have been more than 30 years worth of bloody days in Northern Ireland’s recent history. Those affected by those days have been left to deal with their grief in their own private way without the largesse of the state or the lionising of the media.

I am glad that the Prime Minister in his comments to the House made mention of the two innocent police officers that were murdered by the Provisional IRA just two days before the march in Londonderry. In so doing he did more than Lord Saville did. We did not need a £200million inquiry to establish that there was no premeditated plan to shoot civilians on that day. We did not need an inquiry of this length to tell us that as a consequence of IRA actions prior to that day, parts of Londonderry “lay in ruins” to use Lord Saville’s own words. I want to nail right now the lie that what happened on Bloody Sunday provided in any single solitary way a justification for the evil that the Provisional IRA wrought upon the people of Northern Ireland. I fear that this report will be used to try and argue that point by those who want to absolve themselves of guilt for their actions.

It has been said that the difference between Bloody Sunday and other deaths carried out by terrorists is that Bloody Sunday was carried out by state forces. If the involvement of the state is the key issue in determining what deaths are investigated and what are not, why then has there been no inquiry in to the involvement of the Irish Republic in the establishment of the Provisional IRA in the first place? The Irish state acted as a midwife at the birth of an organisation responsible for the murdering of many thousands of United Kingdom citizens. People will be glad that that this sorry saga of a report is finally over and done with. I want to place on record our thanks and appreciation to the entire Army, for the role they played in defeating terrorism and bringing peace and stability to Northern Ireland."