Johnson apologizes for the deaths of innocent people in Belfast

The apology came in a phone conversation with Northern Ireland’s Prime Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy Prime Minister Michael O’Neill.

Ten innocent people were killed when British soldiers opened fire in connection with military operations in the Palemurphy area of ​​Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in the late summer of 1971, during unrest known as the “unrest”.

The innocence of the victims confirmed an official investigation published, on Tuesday, nearly 50 years after the massacre.

“The prime minister apologized unreservedly on behalf of the government for the events that took place in Palemurphy and the tremendous suffering caused by the long search for truth to the relatives of the victims,” ​​said a statement issued by the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street.

But the way the apology was expressed was criticized by relatives of the dead. John Tegart, whose father Danny Tiggart was among the victims, He says to the BBC It is an insult that Johnson did not speak to the same affected families.

The apology was directed at third parties, not the Palmorphian families, he says.

Sophie Tanha / TT