Ballymurphy: UK government ‘very sorry’ for events in Northern Ireland where 10 innocent people were killed in 1971 | UK News

The UK government has said it is “very sorry” for the events at Ballymurphy in Northern Ireland 50 years ago in which 10 innocent people were killed.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis apologized to the Commons, telling MPs Boris Johnson would write personally to the families of the victims.

“The events of Ballymurphy should never have happened, the families of those who were killed should never have suffered the grief and trauma of this loss,” said Mr Lewis.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

“They should not have waited nearly five decades to be tried this week, nor should they have been forced to relive that terrible time of August 1971 again and again in their long and painful search for the truth.”

He comes after a coroner Tuesday concluded the victims of the three-day shooting in August 1971 were “entirely innocent” and the British Army was responsible for nine of the fatal shootings.

Judge Keegan considered that the use of lethal force by soldiers was not justified.

She also criticized the lack of investigation into the 10th death, that of John McKerr, and said she could not definitively determine who shot him.

Mr Lewis added in his statement to MPs: “The vast majority of those who have served in Northern Ireland have done so with great dignity and professionalism, but it is clear that in some cases the security forces and the ‘army also made terrible mistakes. “

Downing Street said Boris Johnson “apologized wholeheartedly on behalf of the British government for the events which took place in Ballymurphy” during a phone call with Northern Ireland’s Prime Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill on Wednesday.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister described the findings of the Ballymurphy inquiry into the “tragic” …