PM apology over IRA bomb jailings

[emad]

BBC


Tony Blair has apologised to two families who suffered one of the UK's biggest miscarriages of justice.

The prime minister was commenting on the wrongful jailing of 11 people for IRA bomb attacks on pubs in Guildford and Woolwich in 1974.

Mr Blair said: "I am very sorry that they were subject to such an ordeal and injustice."

He made the apology to members of the Conlon and Maguire families in his private room at Westminster.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4249175.stm


Pulling pints or pulling strings?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

1. Well, it's about bloody time!!!

I wonder will the BBC report on what the Rev. Ian Paisley has to say about this development?

I would think the Rev's head is exploding over this..

[Bridget Burke]

3. Paisley's been looking as though his head was going to explode...

For about 40 years now!

[smirkymonkey]

2. Well, I am sure that makes up for their trouble!

Not.

Great graphic, by the way!

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. However sincere or insincere Blair's apology,

and it may have been sincere, (insofar as he cares about anyone else), the truth is surely that the British Government of the day knew full well, all along, that these people were innocent, but they needed to "send a message".

As far as the politicians are concerned, they would consider it a very successful domestic kind of realpolitik. And an apology at a later date by whoever was prime minister would be a cheap price to pay. Well, even damages paid by the Government at such future date to the unfortunate victims of this outrage, would be paid from the public purse, so it was win/win, as far as they were concerned.

It may indeed have contributed to saving British lives on the mainland, but the time bought, while the problem was effectiely ignored, was limited, since the IRA soon came to realise that you don't hurt a psychopath, which essentially every nation State is, by hurting, even killing any of its people, ie. to their minds, "Rag, Tag and Bobtail". You hurt it by hurting the pockets of the corporate psychopaths and extreme sociopaths who run the State's "Big Business". Why it took them so long to grasp this is surely as deep a mystery to the British leaders as the IRA, themselves, since the Irish and certainly the IRA have proved themselves to be very intelligent/worldly wise in most if not every other way. Indeed, I would imagine that they suspect the IRA are behind that bank robbery, because (presumably) it was executed with a considerablle degree of intelligence.

[lanlady]

5. that's great

now when will Britain get the hell out of No. Ireland?

[MisterP]

7. or at least Ian Paisley

[CONN]

6. But the PM broke his promise on Finucane's murder...

by Loyalist paramilitaries in collusion between the British State.

Blair appointed an internationally recognized judge, Peter Cory, to examine the case, and promised to implement his recommendations. Cory recommended a public inquiry in the case of my father. Blair made promises and reneged.

And "In the course of the last 12 months, Tony Blair's government has been at the heart of many incidents that have demanded explanations. The prime example would be the Iraq war, examined publicly to some degree by Lord Hutton and not at all publicly by Lord Butler. More recently, attention has been focused on the home secretary's proposals for house arrest on the decision of a minister."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/comment/0,9236,1408861,00.html