The British Conservative Party has been forced into an apology after its leader Kemi Badenoch circulated a campaign video that shockingly included footage from Bloody Sunday - one of the most notorious British massacres in the north of Ireland.

The video, posted on Tuesday and later deleted after public outrage, was intended to attack proposed legacy legislation and defend former British soldiers. But it instead showed clips of British troops in Derry, including at least one sequence identified as being filmed during the events of 30 January 1972, when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights marchers in the Bogside.

Thirteen people were shot dead outright that day, and a fourteenth later died from his injuries. All were unarmed civilians taking part in a civil rights protest against internment.

A Conservative Party spokesperson eventually confirmed the video was removed and issued an apology, saying the material “should not have been used and will not be used again.” Badenoch herself later claimed she had not signed off on the content and said it had been produced by “very young people” who failed to recognise the footage. She said she had apologised for the error.

However, for many in Derry and across the nationalist community, the damage had already been done.

SDLP MP Colum Eastwood described it as “appalling” and an “insult” to victims and survivors of British state violence. In a detailed statement, he said:

“I am shocked, frankly, that Kemi Badenoch has posted a video trumpeting the service of British soldiers in Northern Ireland using footage from Bloody Sunday.

“It is disgusting, disgraceful and it is an insult to the innocent civil rights protesters who were murdered in Derry in January 1972.

“This is not an abstract political debate. These are our dead. These are families who have lived for over fifty years with grief, trauma, and the continued denial of truth and accountability.

“Worse still, the video is entirely about elevating the interests of British soldiers over the needs of victims and survivors who have been forced to fight against the power and might of the British state for decades seeking truth, justice and accountability for their loved ones.”

The anger was echoed by families of those killed.

Tony Doherty, whose father was among the 14 murdered by British paratroopers, said he was “astounded” at the use of the footage.

“This is grossly insulting to the families and the people of Derry, and many other places in the north, who know only too well what role the British army meant for them,” he said.

“It meant murder, lies and cover-up of many crimes that have never ever seen the inside of a courtroom.

“What we are seeing here is not an innocent mistake - it is a continuing refusal to understand or acknowledge the truth of what happened here.

“While she has deleted her video, she cannot delete the murderous history of the British Army, supported by the sectarian RUC, which went on for decades in the north of Ireland.”