Sinn Fein MP John Finucane describes dead IRA members as 'innocent' - Phillip Brett reacts
Sinn Fein MP John Finucane has been criticised for describing a group of IRA men as “innocent”.
The North Belfast MP made the comments on a day when he attended a commemoration for 'the New Lodge Six'.
North Belfast DUP MLA Phillip Brett wondered if Mr Finucane's comments are further illustration of Sinn Fein's position that “there was 'no alternative' to the terrorism of the IRA”.
The New Lodge Six were young Catholic men who were fatally gunned down in north Belfast on February 3 and 4, 1973.
They were James Sloan, Tony Campbell, John Loughran, Brendan Maguire, Ambrose Hardy and James McCann.
A Sinn Fein press release described them as having been “murdered by the British army,” while the same release quoted Mr Finucane as saying they were all “unarmed and innocent”.
However, both the book ‘Lost Lives’ and Ulster University's CAIN website list three of the men – Sloan, Campbell, and McCann – as IRA members, as does Sinn Fein-linked publication An Phoblacht.
In addition, Sloan and McCann are listed by CAIN and ‘Lost Lives’ as having been killed by loyalists (‘Lost Lives’ says the UDA specifically), and not the army.
Mr Finucane's statement went on to say: “Their memory lives on through their families who have shamefully been denied justice and accountability for decades, despite their brave and dignified campaign.
“I again call on Hilary Benn to do what the New Lodge Six families have been asking for decades and grant them their basic right to an inquest.
“Anything less, including referral to a process controlled by the British government, would be wholly unacceptable.
“If the British government is serious about dealing with the past, it cannot be on its own partisan terms.
“It must be centred on families and be fully compliant with human rights.
“Sinn Fein will continue to stand with families seeking truth and justice, and against any legacy process that puts British state forces above the rights of victims.”
The deaths had been the subject of inquest proceedings in 1975, but an open verdict was returned.
The army had claimed that its soldiers had been involved in an exchange of gunfire in the area at the time of the deaths.
In 2021, the attorney general for Northern Ireland ordered a new inquest (which has yet to take place).
The former Tory government's legacy act had halted Troubles inquests, though Labour is in the process of replacing the law with its Troubles Bill, which could pave the way for a fresh New Lodge Six inquest.
Mr Brett said of Mr Finucane's comments: “John Finucane’s tribute to the ‘New Lodge Six’ highlights the double standards at the heart of the republican approach to the past.
“There is no recognition that three of those killed that night were acknowledged by the IRA to be members of that terrorist organisation.
“One might hope that John Finucane would have some regard for any victims they created through their membership of that organisation.
“Is this just another example of Sinn Fein believing that there was 'no alternative' to the terrorism of the IRA?
“The idea that Sinn Fein will stand with families seeking truth and justice won’t just ring hollow for many, but will force many to re-live the pain inflicted upon them and the repeated efforts by republicans to evade justice and cover up the truth.”