Joint Statement from the Pat Finucane Centre and British Irish Rights Watch
PFC, BIRW21 February 2011
We are deeply disappointed and angered at the statement issued this afternoon by the Chief Constable of the PSNI, Matt Baggott, in the wake of today’s Ombudsman’s report on the McGurk’s Bar explosion in which fifteen innocent people lost their lives. Mr. Baggott’s statement falls very far short of the apology which the families deserve and which the circumstances demand.
It also fails to fulfill the Ombudsman’s recommendation that he make a statement "to acknowledge the enduring pain caused to the families by the actions of police following the atrocity". The chief constable says in his statement: "The Ombudsman’s report is the latest of a series of historical investigations into this outrage. Other reports have reached differing judgments regarding the initial RUC investigation. None of them have concluded that there was evidence of investigatory bias". This is plainly incorrect on several fronts. There have been NO investigations that have cleared the police of investigatory bias. The current Historical Enquiries Team investigation is incomplete and awaits conclusion. It is, in any case, precluded from investigating police malpractice. Further, the chief constable is simply wrong to blame media speculation for the lie that was published after the McGurk’s Bar bombing which held the victims responsible.
Wrongful media reports were based on police and British military briefings, not speculation as the chief constable claims. The chief constable’s statement speaks of "continued confusion" which, he says, he regrets. The "confusion" to which he refers originates from specific police briefings given to the press and leading politicians at the time of the bombing which led to the victims being blamed and their good names being besmirched.
The families will be hurt and re-traumatised by the chief constable’s statement. He has missed an opportunity to lift a shadow from their lives and set the record straight.