Set the Truth Free: Reclaiming History in London

From the Set the Truth Free Campaign:

With mere days until the scheduled release of Saville’s report into Bloody Sunday, relatives this week delivered a powerful message to the British government by returning several key aspects of history to officials at Downing Street, the Ministry of Defence and Buckingham Palace.

On St. Patrick’s Day the group travelled to London to reclaim the history of Bloody Sunday and highlight concerns over delays in the publication of the Saville Report. First on the agenda was to return a symbolic copy of the original Widgery Report to Downing Street, giving back the British Army version of what happened on January 30, 1972. Families then demonstrated on the Mall with their Set the Truth Free banner as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s cavalcade passed.
Tony Doherty, whose father Paddy was murdered on Bloody Sunday, hand-delivered a copy of Widgery’s original report to 10 Downing Street, accompanied by a letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The campaign then made its presence felt outside the Ministry of Defence, where relatives and supporters chalked the outlines of fourteen bodies on the pavement, symbolising the fourteen men and boys murdered on Bloody Sunday. This moving gesture formed the backdrop as family members returned the infamous and wholly inaccurate ‘shot list ‘originally drawn up by the British Army’s former Chief of General Staff, General Mike Jackson to the MoD.
Relatives also delivered a letter listing the real heroes of Bloody Sunday to the Queen at Buckingham Palace, highlighting the fact that parachute regiment commander Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford was decorated by the Queen, receiving an OBE just months after Bloody Sunday. An impromptu invitation to the official St. Patrick’s Day Reception in Parliament also gave relatives the opportunity to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown briefly and handed over their letter in person.

Families were warned on a number of occasions by the Metropolitan Police that their actions were technically in breach of new legislation that bans any demonstration within one kilometre of Parliament, but family spokesperson Tony Doherty said: “Highlighting Bloody Sunday at Buckingham Palace, the Ministry of Defence and Downing Street was more important on this occasion than any alleged technical breach of this new law. We will demonstrate where and when we want and that’s what we did.”

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For further information or to arrange interviews with relatives, please contact:
Press Officer – Julieann Campbell on: 078. 8972. 0080 or email:julieann@setthetruthfree.org