British government must release legacy funds - ÓSF

Ógra Shinn Féin have again called on the British Government to honour its agreement to release funds for legacy inquests and to open the consultation on the Stormont House legacy mechanisms. 

The call coincides with a visit to the city by British Secretary of State Karen Bradley and the first day of the inquest into the death of Derry mother Kathleen Thompson who was shot dead by the British Army in 1971.

Caolán McGinley said:

“Ógra Shinn Féin joined a rally at Bishop Street courthouse in Derry today to stand with the family of Kathleen Thompson, a mother of six, who was shot dead in her own garden by British soldiers. Her family should not have had to wait almost fifty years for a proper inquest to begin.

“Many other families have been waiting decades for inquests, something which is a basic right everywhere else on these islands

“Ógra Shinn Féin call on Karen Bradley to finally release the funding for legacy inquests as requested by the Lord Chief Justice. The British Government also need to go ahead with the public consultation on the Legacy mechanisms agreed at Stormont House.

“They agreed to both of these during the recent political negotiations, and they cannot be allowed to use the DUP’s collapsing of the process as an excuse to continue evading their responsibilities to victims and survivors.”