A good time to bury bad news
David Blackburn 2:47pmSunday, Bloody Sunday. Someday the Bloody Sunday Inquiry will be published. It has taken 12 years to conduct and it has cost £200 million (about the going rate for state sponsored marriage, or Aston Villa). £2.50p per head is extortionate, so I’d quite like to see Lord Savile’s findings. I don’t expect to enjoy the experience. The report is said to confirm what was already known: confronted by an angry and possibly violent mob, heavily outnumbered British soldiers panicked and opened fire. It will be an expensive impertinence, like reading an idiot child's private school report.
Anyway, the government will not publish the report until well after the election. I hate to disappoint you reader but this is not a 2010 Labour efficiency saving. No, the Savile Inquiry falls into the same category as the defence review and the spending review - it has been temporarily suppressed to save face during an election. The Northern Ireland peace process requires formalised reconciliation, but not at this price - no public inquiry should run up such costs.
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Paul B
April 10th, 2010 3:01pm Report this commentI remember a blog piece on CH about 18 months ago re this issue. We (the bloggers) all correctly predicated the outcome- all the Para`s fault and McGuinness was just having a cup a tea at home with his dear old Gran, butter wouldn`t melt. The Yanks got to the Moon quicker than this idiot Judge has taken to conduct his enquiry.
Trumpeter Lanfried
April 10th, 2010 3:07pm Report this commentSaville was the wrong man for this job; although a first-rate commercial lawyer he was completely out of his depth when investigating riot and affray. The job should have been entrusted to an experienced criminal judge; someone used to dealing with the conflicting and chaotic evidence which is always to be expected in such cases.
Michael Booth
April 10th, 2010 3:14pm Report this commentGovernment Inquiries are the one growth industry Britain excels at...I'd like to see a Royal Commission set up to investigate why, after 13 years of total misrule and financial disaster, 30 per cent of the population still say they will vote Labour.
ajs
April 10th, 2010 3:24pm Report this commentWell then, we shall expect leaks - in plenty and soon. Nothing less will do.
Austin Barry
April 10th, 2010 3:58pm Report this commentWe should've all agreed years ago that during civil unrest shit happens - end of story.
Framer
April 10th, 2010 4:24pm Report this commentTony Blair promised five more public enquiries at an enormous cost to placate Gerry Adams. They are ongoing. And Adams has demanded more.
Just keeping you English posted as to how Catholic lawyers in Northern Ireland become millionaires at your expense
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Occasional Ostrich
April 11th, 2010 10:54am Report this comment"heavily outnumbered British soldiers panicked and opened fire."
The history of Bloody Sunday, as with a lot of Northern Ireland's recent history, is littered with partial truths that convey the same information as would lies. The above phrase missed out two importants aspects: 1) The Paras were pushed into place as a stopgap measure. 2) They were completely untrained in crowd control.
They are a convenient whipping boy, but the blame, as always, lies several tiers higher.
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