Soldier F case: ‘Eastwood was totally wrong – but so are death threats’

Death threats are said to be have been made to Mr Eastwood in response to his decision to name Soldier F in the House of Commons, where a mechanism called “parliamentary privilege” gives MPs wide-ranging legal protection to say what they like without risk of being sued.

The media however has largely declined to print the ex-soldier’s identity, due to ongoing concerns about the legality of doing so.

It all follows the collapse of Soldier F’s trial for two murders – those of William McKinney, 26, and Jim Wray, 22 – plus five attempted murders during Bloody Sunday.

Mr Campbell, DUP MP for East Londonderry, had been among the most vocal critics of Mr Eastwood’s decision.

Yesterday, the SDLP press office told the News Letter that there had been more than one threat, and that they had come via email and via social media.

One of them was said to have contained a reference to Mr Eastwood having “signed his own death warrant”.

The PSNI told the News Letter that it had “received a complaint that threatening and offensive comments had been made online yesterday, Thursday, July 15 – police enquiries are ongoing into this matter”.

“It is not nice, particularly when you have a family,” he said. “I did what I thought was right on behalf of the Bloody Sunday families. Those people have faced a whole lot worse than death threats.”

He was also quoted as saying that those responsible can “expect a knock on the door”.

Mr Campbell said: “Colum Eastwood received a death threat. No ambiguity from me on this issue.

“It was reprehensible and indefensible of him to name ‘Soldier F’ in Parliament.

“He did this in the full knowledge that the judge in a court of law had said a ‘real threat does exist’ and Soldier F is right to ‘feel genuine fear’.

“The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is to decide on his behaviour.

“Hopefully she can do so quickly, and no-one should undermine an investigation into his unacceptable comments.

“Anyone issuing a death threat is reprehensible and indefensible also.”

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