Relatives await Claudy bomb verdict
THE police ombudsman is due to publish his report following a probe into the 1972 Claudy bomb atrocity.
The investigation was sparked by claims that a secretary of state and the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland conspired to cover up a priest's involvement in the bombings.
The long-awaited report by the police ombudsman into the bombs which killed nine people will finally be released today – eight years after the start of the investigation.
DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell said families who lost loved ones in Claudy had been treated as "second class victims" compared with those who lost family members on Bloody Sunday.
"The nine families who lost loved ones in this terrorist atrocity,
as well as the survivors, have not had a fraction of the investigative
resources compared to the resources deployed to investigate Bloody Sunday," he said.
These families have been treated as second class victims. This demands a government apology."
Mr Campbell called on the Catholic Church, and also urged Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, reported as having been second-in-command of the Provisional IRA in Londonderry at the time, to come forward with any information he may possess.
No group ever claimed responsibility for the three car bombs that wrecked Claudy, though it is widely believed that PIRA was behind the blasts.
Mr Campbell added: "The report on the Claudy bomb is now revealed but like the victims of other atrocities such as Enniskillen, Omagh, Kingsmills, Darkley and Teebane and others they are left with a bitter taste that the lives of their loved ones were secondary to those who died in the Bogside in January 1972.
"This report now means the demand for answers from the government, the Roman Catholic Church and Martin McGuinness is long overdue."
The involvement of the police ombudsman in today's report was prompted by a re-opened police probe which had uncovered details of a meeting held between Secretary of State William Whitelaw and Cardinal William Conway at which the priest's suspected involvement in the bombing was discussed.
Also later, according to the police findings that led to the ombudsman launching an investigation in 2002, a letter from the secretary of state "gave the cardinal a full account of his disgust at the priest's behaviour and also indicates that the cardinal knew that the priest was behaving improperly. The letter then states that the cardinal mentioned the possibility of transferring the priest to Donegal".
The police probe itself was launched after a letter was sent to News Letter journalist, the late Ian Starrett, purporting to come from a priest to whom Fr James Chesney had admitted his involvement in the murders.
Police checking the claims said that a search of 1972 papers threw up information "which clearly indicates that a parish priest in the South Derry area was a member of the Provisional IRA and was actively involved in the Claudy bomb".
It is believed the police ombudsman's office sees the new report as a "significant" document and a spokesman said yesterday: "The report contains new information from police, the NIO and the Catholic Church. It contains letters, documents and diaries."
However, Ulster Unionist member of Derry City Council, Mary Hamilton, who was injured in the blasts, has claimed the report will do little to alleviate the suffering still felt in the Co Londonderry village.
Mrs Hamilton, who intends to join the families and survivors for the release of the report at the Diamond Centre in Claudy this morning, said: "I still believe the people of Claudy have not got a fair deal and seem to have been forgotten.
"The powers that be have produced this report, but findings will prove little comfort to the people of Claudy as far as I can see.
"It seems they protected the priest and the people in Claudy have come second, their lives did not mean anything and they were sacrificed. For me the report will not change anything."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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