THE family of a Catholic man killed by the British army in north Belfast almost 50 years ago has renewed its call for an apology.
Michael Hayes (27) was shot up to nine times by members of a Royal Marine patrol near his home in Spamount Street, New Lodge, on October 1, 1972.
Mr Hayes, who worked as a docker, had been making his way home after a fundraising event for a local school at a social club when he was shot dead.
The British army later claimed the father-of-two was a gunman but no residues were found to suggest he was firing a weapon.
A post-mortem also confirmed there was a high concentration of alcohol in his blood.
His widow Rita was awarded £25,000 in compensation in 1975 but no apology ever followed.
The Royal Military Police carried out an investigation at the time but the then director of public prosecutions later recommended no further action.
His nephew Kevin Campbell last night said the killing of his uncle continues to dominate his family.
"From day one, every single day, it does not stop because we never received an apology... it never goes away," he said.
Mr Campbell said his family feels the need to continue the campaign for an apology.
"Michael is not here any more and we are Michael's voice and we feel as his family it's the least we can do and try to get an apology," he said.
He added that while significant compensation was paid no-one was held accountable.
"It was a lot of money then and the fact they paid that is an admission of guilt and they still refused to apologise for this and no-one was ever held accountable.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “The conflict in Northern Ireland was an extremely difficult time and regrettably civilians were often caught up in the violence.
“The government has been clear that it will bring forward legislation to address the legacy of the Troubles which focuses on reconciliation, delivers for victims, and ends the cycle of investigations."
