Northern Ireland

Chief Constable will not attend McGurk's Bar atrocity anniversary lecture

PSNI chief constable George Hamilton will not be attending a memorial lecture to remember 15 people killed in the 1971 McGurk's Bar massacre
PSNI chief constable George Hamilton will not be attending a memorial lecture to remember 15 people killed in the 1971 McGurk's Bar massacre PSNI chief constable George Hamilton will not be attending a memorial lecture to remember 15 people killed in the 1971 McGurk's Bar massacre

THE Chief Constable will not attend a lecture marking the 45th anniversary of the McGurk’s Bar massacre.

A spokesman for the PSNI said George Hamilton would not attend Tuesday night's event “due to other commitments” but that Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, who is in charge of the PSNI’s Legacy and Justice Branch, will be present.

Victims' relatives had urged Mr Hamilton to join them at the lecture in west Belfast to mark the anniversary of the UVF bomb attack that claimed the lives of 15 innocent men, women and children on December 4 1971.

Families laid floral tributes at a memorial to the victims in north Belfast at the weekend.

Last week leading British barrister Michael Mansfield, who will deliver the memorial lecture, urged George Hamilton to attend and consider apologising for police actions following the massacre.

In the hours after the attack security forces wrongly blamed the IRA, with a Police Ombdusman report finding that RUC officers had shown an "investigative bias" towards the 'own goal' theory.

Last month campaigner Ciarán MacAirt, who runs the Paper Trail charity, revealed that the British army knew the bomb was placed at the entrance of the bar as opposed to inside.

The spot were McGurk's Bar stood in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell
The spot were McGurk's Bar stood in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell The spot were McGurk's Bar stood in north Belfast. Picture by Hugh Russell

Confirmation that Mr Hamilton will not be at the event came after SDLP Policing Board member Daniel McCrossan called on him to attend.

“There can be no more half measures or dragging heels on this issue from any quarter,” he said.

:: The memorial lecture will be held on Tuesday at 7pm at St Mary's College on Belfast's Falls Road.