Kingsmill families entitled to truth and justice – Sinn Fein

The families of Kingsmill victims are entitled to truth and justice, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly has said.

Mr Kelly was reacting after a coroner ruled that the shooting of 10 Protestant workmen in 1976 was an “overtly sectarian attack by the IRA”.

Coroner Brian Sherrard also heavily criticised the political representatives of the IRA for failing to engage with the proceedings.

Mr Kelly said: “The Kingsmill families are entitled to truth and justice.

“In 2014, the two governments and the main Assembly parties signed up to the Stormont House Agreement which included human rights compliant mechanisms to ensure all families can access truth and justice, through independent investigations and the continuation of judicial processes such as inquests, truth recovery and the legal system.

“The British Government’s shameful Legacy Act is about closing the door on families ever getting truth and justice.

“They should repeal it and fully implement the Stormont House Agreement in a human rights compliant manner.”

The UK Government’s Act will halt legacy inquests which have not reached the point of verdict by May 1 and offers a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who co-operate with a new body aimed at truth recovery.

Last month, a judge at Belfast High Court ruled that the provision for conditional immunity was not compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Government is appealing against that finding.

William Irwin of the DUP said many of the Kingsmill victims have lost faith in the judicial system (Liam McBurney/PA)

DUP MLA William Irwin attended Laganside Courthouse on Friday where the inquest findings were delivered.

He said: “Those who still bear the pain of what happened in 1976 have not seen anyone brought to justice, and now have faced obfuscation and evasion from authorities in the Republic of Ireland and others elsewhere.

“Some who talk most loudly about the need for truth appear only to mean this when it relates to the actions of the security forces.

“Many of the victims lost faith in this process some time ago and it will be of no comfort to them that their stance has been justified.”

Mr Irwin added: “The families have been through decades of pain and grief because of the actions of republicans.”

Doug Beattie, leader of the UUP, said the inquest had failed at every level (Oliver McVeigh/PA)

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said the inquest had “failed at every level”.

He added: “Failed to give the families confidence that they would receive information into the loss of their loved ones, failed to identify publicly those responsible for this horrific crime although they are known.

“It also failed to move the Irish government into finally giving up their secrets into this vile episode of our troubled past in an open and transparent manner.”

Mr Beattie added: “We now have to look towards the United Kingdom Government and ask them to do the right thing and hold an inquiry into the Kingsmill massacre, making public the information that has been made known to them via the security services since that fateful day.”

TUV leader Jim Allister said many unanswered questions remained about Kingsmill (Liam McBurney/PA)

TUV leader Jim Allister said many unanswered questions about Kingsmill remained.

He said: “To this day, republicanism maintains the fiction that the PIRA were not responsible for Kingsmill.

“Welcome as today’s finding is, the coroner’s failure to name the murderers responsible was a grievous shortcoming.

“Many unanswered questions remain about this darkest of days in the long annals of terror in our province.

“It is for that reason that I believe that nothing short of a full public inquiry is necessary to get to the truth.”