Bloody Sunday report for 2007

The final report of the Bloody Sunday inquiry will not be published until next year, the families of those killed have said.

This would mean a delay of two-and-a-half years after the ending of the seven-year investigation. it had been thought it would have been published by now.

The families of the 14 people who died as a result of the British Army massacre on January 30, 1972, said that they had been kept in the dark by the tribunal, finding out the current status only by a government leak.

The inquiry was announced by British prime minister Tony Blair in the House of Commons on January 29, 1998. The opening statement was made by Lord Saville of Newdigate on April 3, 1999.

The families say the inquiry has brushed off their requests for an idea of the timetable for the final report’s publication -- but sources outside the inquiry and from within the London and Dublin governments have indicated the report will not be published until next January.

The families’ statement added: “Over the last few months, the families have made direct approaches to the inquiry team and only received the reply that, due to the immense amount of material to be considered, it was impossible for them to give a date as to when the report would be completed.”

John Kelly, whose brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday, said: “This situation, where no one has the decency to speak to the families directly and give them a clear answer on when the report will be released, is totally unacceptable.

“Even though the families have waited for 34 years for the truth to be told and certainly will wait another few months, what we demand of the inquiry team and the British government is that they have the basic courtesy to update the families as to where the report sits and stop keeping the families in the dark.”

The Bloody Sunday inquiry interviewed and received statements from around 2,500 people. Of those, 921 were called to give evidence.

Urgent Appeal