Saville report – more delays feared
The Saville report could face further delay if David Cameron becomes the next British Prime Minister, it has been claimed.
With the Northern Ireland tribunal’s bill having increased by an estimated £35 million since it last sat almost five years ago, a victim’s relative said he feared the findings may not be released this time next year.
Lord Saville’s findings into the January 1972 shootings in Derry have been delayed and will not be with the Government until March 22. The General Election is expected in the spring.
The Conservative Party said it had pressed for speedy publication.
John Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael died, said: “There is a great possibility that we will be dealing with a Tory Secretary of State and he will have a look at the report and there’s a great possibility we could be sitting here next year waiting for it. That is the greatest difficulty and we are very concerned.”
Thirteen men were shot dead when Paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry’s Bogside area. A 14th man, who was among the injured, died later in hospital.
Mr Kelly added: “Ted Heath’s government were in power at the time of Bloody Sunday. As far as we are concerned the main part of the problem lies with the Tory government and Ted Heath. They will try to protect their soldiers and the Tory government who had part of the responsibility.”
The report, which is expected to run to 4,500 pages and has cost about £189 million to produce, is virtually complete but it is understood technical difficulties linked to the printing of it is holding up the process.
It will be more than six years after the probe effectively ended, and 12 years after the marathon process was started by the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair in January 1998, when the families receive the document if it goes to schedule.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “We have been calling for the report to come out as soon as possible, we want them to report back as soon as possible, we have said that on numerous occasions. It is speculating that the Government would release the report and then we might delay it.”
