Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The attack on Woodbourne Police station was wrong and has been rightly condemned. However, when one listens to Sinn Fein representatives pontificate about this their hypocrisy really is nauseating.
“Sue Ramsey attacked those behind the bombing as “irresponsible” on the BBC’s TalkBack programme and highlighted the fact that children had picked up the bomb. She then told listeners that the difference between this attack and the type of attacks carried out by the Provisionals was the lack of popular support.
“One assumes, therefore, that Sinn Fein continue to believe there was nothing wrong with planting bombs in the 1970s and at any time when their IRA did it.
“In 1973 9 year old Gordon Gallagher died when he triggered an IRA bomb in Londonderry. Last year the boy’s parents called on co-First Minister McGuinness to tell police who was involved.
“Martin McGuiness was, by his own admission, second in command in the IRA at the time of Gordon’s death.
“In February 2012 I tabled a written question to the Office of the First and deputy First Minister asking whether the Department – which has responsibility for victims’ issues – had given all possible help to the Gallagher family in their humanitarian quest to identify the murderer of their 9 year old son.
“18 months later the question remains unanswered.
“On 22nd April this year I tabled it as an oral question. The Business Office initially sought to stop me asking the question in the Assembly but it was eventually accepted. On that occasion Peter Robinson was answering on behalf of the Department and was careful to word his reply in the first person singular, telling the Assembly “I assure the Member that I am willing to provide the family with all available help and assistance. I sympathise fully with the Gallagher family and can only imagine the tremendous suffering and pain that they have endured. I call on anyone with any information regarding the murder of their son to come forward and give it to the PSNI.”
“As Peter Robinson has no authority which is independent of the deputy First Minister it is normal practice for questions to be answered jointly so I tabled another written question asking whether the use of the first person singular by the First Minister indicated that the deputy First Minister is not willing to provide the Gallagher family with all available help and assistance.
“In a response Mr Robinson and McGuinness merely referred me to the answer delivered by Mr Robinson in April.
“So the unanswered question is that if the bomb planted at Woodbourne was wrong and if the threat posed to young children was wrong, was the bombing which killed young Gordon Gallagher also wrong and will the deputy First Minister help bring those responsible to justice?
“As for Bomber Kelly, by declaring he would change nothing about his terrorist career and no later than the weekend glorifying past bombers, he gave sucker and cause to today’s equally vile bombers. You can’t glorify bombers on Sunday and denounce them on Tuesday”.
