Derry event to mark Widgery Report publication

The Widgery Tribunal - the British government’s immediate response to Bloody Sunday - sat for just three weeks in February and March 1972, with the final report published on April 18.

Lord Widgery concluded that the soldiers had been fired on first, insisting there would have been no deaths had there not been an illegal march. The Widgery report was widely regarded as a whitewash.

Next week, to mark its publication, the Bloody Sunday Trust and the Pat Finucane Centre have organised a discussion featuring three significant figures in ongoing struggles for justice.

Taking part will be Gareth Peirce, solicitor for the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six, Patricia Coyle, the Derry-born solicitor whose research played a key role in securing a new inquiry into the events of January 30, 1972, and Professor Christine Bell, a renowned academic in the field of human rights and transitional justice.

The event will be chaired by local journalist Freya McClements.

Maeve McLaughlin, of the Bloody Sunday Trust, said: “This event will explore the wider legacy of cover-up that flowed from the travesty that was Widgery.

“As time goes on, more evidence emerges of failures to investigate, information being withheld, former soldiers not being prosecuted and growing evidence of collusion between state forces and loyalist paramilitaries. Meanwhile, relatives on all sides are sadly passing away while Secretary of State Brandon Lewis claims the ‘vast majority of security force killings were lawful’.”

The discussion will take place at The Playhouse, Artillery Street, Derry at 3pm on Saturday, April 23.