Ulster Unionist leader: 'Inquiries are no way to build a shared future'

Today's report will, I trust, give relief to the families who lost loved ones in Londonderry. Some may wish to continue down various legal avenues, while others may feel that they are now satisfied and can get on with their lives. Clearly and rightly the onus will always be on ministers of the crown to account for the actions of the military, and today David Cameron shouldered that responsibility. However, while some families may have had a degree of closure today, very many others have not been so fortunate. In the days before Bloody Sunday, two RUC officers — Peter Gilgunn and David Montgomery — were shot dead in the Creggan area of the city. Their families have not received justice. Nobody has apologised for their murders, despite the IRA having claimed responsibility. This alone illustrates the divisiveness of the inquiry culture. With over 3,600 killed, some inquiries have been held or are under way, but most deaths appear to have been forgotten. This adds to the sense of grief felt by many victims' families. It unfortunately appears that some deaths are regarded as more significant than others. This is no way to build a shared future. Northern Ireland cannot endure an endless list of Saville-type inquiries. We cannot continually be dragged back to our darkest years. The question now facing Northern Ireland is whether we continue to pursue costly individual cases or, as a society, we concentrate on building a shared future, freed from the mistakes of the past.