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The Bloody Sunday Inquiry

The Prime Minister has formally announced the publication of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry report

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Prime Minister has formally announced the publication of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry report.

Watch the PM’s statement in the House of Commons (under the Commons tab)

The Inquiry, headed by Lord Saville, was set up to establish a definitive version of the events that took place in Londonderry on Sunday 30 January 1972. A total of 13 people were shot dead and 14 wounded during a civil rights march in the Bogside area of the city, with one of the injured dying in June of the same year.

In his statement to the House of Commons, the PM said “what happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong”. Mr Cameron also apologised, on behalf of the government and the nation, for the tragic incident.

The PM said:

Some members of our Armed Forces acted wrongly. The government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the Armed Forces.

And for that, on behalf of the government - and indeed our country - I am deeply sorry.

The Prime Minister concluded by quoting Lord Saville’s report:

What happened on Bloody Sunday strengthened the Provisional IRA, increased nationalist resentment and hostility towards the Army and exacerbated the violent conflict of the years that followed. Bloody Sunday was a tragedy for the bereaved and the wounded, and a catastrophe for the people of Northern Ireland.

The Bloody Sunday Inquiry lasted 12 years, with the final report running to 5,000 pages.

Speeches and transcripts: Statement on Saville Inquiry

Read more: Report of The Bloody Sunday Inquiry

Published 15 June 2010