Relatives of the Ballymurphy victims criticised Boris Johnson yesterday for his “botched” apology and said they were “intent on receiving justice” after being told the truth.
An inquest on Tuesday found that ten people shot dead in an army operation in Belfast in 1971 were “entirely innocent” and that the use of force against them was unjustified. Families said they wanted police to take on the investigation and urged the Ministry of Defence to hand over the files it has on the shootings. A police investigation could lead to the prosecution of former paratroopers.
During the inquest, a judge concluded that one soldier, identified as “M3”, armed with a sub-machinegun killed Edward Doherty, a builder, during three days of violence in August 1971.
