Sinn Féin Leas-Uachtarán Michelle O’Neill has said the ‘damning findings’ of the Police Ombudsman’s report into the killings of 19 people, including Sinn Féin elected representatives, has laid bare the scale of British state collusion with loyalist murder gangs.

Michelle O’Neill said:

“My initial thoughts today are with the families and loved ones of the 19 victims whose killings by loyalist paramilitaries were investigated by the Police Ombudsman.

“This report is damning and confirms what many already suspected; British state forces were working with the loyalist murder gangs that killed these 19 people, among them Sinn Féin councillors Eddie Fullerton and Bernard O’Hagan and a number of party election workers. 

“In what other society in the world would state involvement in the killings of democratically elected representatives and civilians not be properly investigated and the people involved charged to face due process?

“This report has exposed the sheer scale of collusion and the fact that British state agents and UDR personnel within the UDA were directly involved in killings and were allowed to continue to kill, while the RUC Special Branch failed to make some of the victims aware of threats to their lives.

“It has also laid bare the role played by the British state in importing South African weapons which were used in at least ten of these killings.

“Some of these weapons were given to the UDA by Ulster Resistance, a group linked to the DUP. 

“This is further evidence of why the British government wants an amnesty for its state forces and why victims, families, political parties and human rights groups continue to vigorously oppose these plans.

 “It’s time to address the legacy of the past by implementing the mechanisms agreed at Stormont House in a human rights compliant manner to ensure that families are not waiting any more decades for truth and justice.”