Statement by Danny Kennedy (UUP), following the publication of the Saville Report, (16 June 2010)

Statement by Danny Kennedy, then Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly Group, following the publication of the report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Belfast, (16 June 2010)

The Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Assembly Party, Danny Kennedy MLA has responded to the findings of the Saville Report into the events of 30th January 1972.

"I hope the Saville Report will provide closure to the families who lost loved ones in Londonderry on 30th January 1972. I trust if they feel they have achieved justice, they will not seek vengeance".

"Clearly and rightly the onus will always be on Ministers of the Crown to account for the actions of the military, and the Prime Minister has shouldered that responsibility. It is equally clear from the conclusions reached by Lord Saville that there was no conspiracy either at a military or political level and this should now be fully accepted by everyone."

"My thoughts however remain with the families of the countless victims of the IRA and the other paramilitary and terrorists groups, especially throughout this constituency, and indeed in my own home village of Bessbrook, who were cruelly murdered and whose families will never receive any kind of inquiry or recognition. Unfortunately, one consequence of the Saville report is that it appears that some deaths are to be regarded as more significant than others. We need to recognise the danger of that position, otherwise we will have created a very flawed heirarchy of victims and this would not be the way to deal with the past or indeed build a shared future."