Government has 'LOST CONFIDENCE' of Troubles victims says DUP leader following Dunmurry car bomb

Added: 2026-04-28

[00:00:00]Uh this afternoon I'm going to travel to Westminster where you will see a carryover motion being laid by the government on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. This government has had two years to honor their commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act and they have summarily failed.

[00:00:20]They have failed victims.

[00:00:23]They have failed veterans. And all they're offering now is to pick up their broken bill in a number of months time so that parliament consider shedloads of the their own amendments, government amendments to their own bill. And the truth is this. They have lost the confidence of victims in Northern Ireland through this process. They have lost the confidence of veterans throughout the United Kingdom through this process. And the best thing for the Labor government to have done would have been to withdraw this bill to consider not only their own amendments but those tabled by myself, our party and colleagues from Northern Ireland who are represented in the House of Commons.

[00:01:14]consider those amendments and bring forward a troubles bill that could command the confidence not only of Westminster but the communities most deeply impacted here in Northern Ireland. And of course, it's hard to mention legacy in the abstract after the disgraceful attack in Dunmurray PSNI station on Sunday morning.

[00:01:39]an attack that should not have been experienced by the local community. An attack that no police officer deserves or needs. The PS and II do nothing more and stand up for our communities right across Northern Ireland. They put themselves in harm's way to do the sort of work that you and I would never wish to do. And they do it without fear or favor. They respect the rule of law and democracy in Northern Ireland. Unlike those who hijacked a civilian delivery driver, forced him to transport an explosive device and one that you can see impacted not only the car but the surrounding community most devastatingly. And at times like this, you will want to see political leadership. And leadership has to be more than just words of condemnation.

[00:02:39]It's not good enough to say that what happened yesterday morning in Dun Murray was wrong if you can't accept even in the last week that a bombing in Dun Murray 30 or 40 years ago wasn't a crime. And yet there are political leaders in this building and you heard it play out last week around Bobby Sans who tried to present this notion that a bomb in Dun Murray wasn't a crime or wasn't wrong and yet today they accept it was or politicians who lament the fact that a hijacking occurred in Twinbrook at the weekend.

[00:03:18]And yet when the chief constible visited a school in Twinbrook last week and was slammed online by distant Republicans and their supporters, I heard nothing from Shinfane or their leadership. So when I say leadership has to be more than just condemnation. I mean it. You want to see visual and vocal support for the PSNI. I give it. My colleagues Trevor and Cheryl and Keith give it when they sit on the policing board every week. It's not incompatible to say you can challenge and hold people to account whilst giving fullthroated support. Encourage our communities to engage with the PSNI. Encourage our communities to join the PSNI. Encourage young people in our community that they have a life of opportunity if they're prepared to step up and serve our community. That is leadership. That's the sort of leadership that I think we should expect from leaders across the political spectrum. And that's what I would like to see.

[00:04:37]So, you're right.

[00:04:39]They are condemning what happened yesterday.

[00:04:45]They are offering words of condemnation.

[00:04:46]Rightly so. I welcomed that. Yesterday, some of your colleagues were at a press conference in Dononald and I welcomed that condemnation. It is right. It's appropriate. What I'm asking you to realize is it doesn't go far enough. You have to challenge the hypocrisy of saying yesterday was a crime, but 30 or 40 years ago it was okay. You have to challenge the hypocrisy of saying that there was no alternative to violence because that's exactly what the people that carried out the attack yesterday believe and they have comfort from political leaders who can't grasp the fact that there's a contradiction in what is being said. And so condemnation I welcomed but yesterday I think it is right that political leaders across the spectrum have condemned what occurred.

[00:05:30]That is right.

[00:05:32]That's the easy part. The hard part is trying to engage with the hearts and minds of those in your community who don't support the police. Challenge those who criticize the chief constible from going to a Twin Brook Primary School last week. Challenge them. stand with school leaders who are brave enough to welcome the PSNI into their schools to talk about community relations, alcohol and substance abuse, drug addiction, criminal behavior, antisocial behavior. Brave enough to do it.

[00:06:00]If the PS and I were frustrated from going into a school in my constituency by rogue elements, criminal elements or terrorists, I would stand at the front gate and support their entry to that school because what they do is vital for our society. So it's not good enough just to condemn as I you said that it's delayed by a number of months that's not you're suggesting that it will be delayed just a matter of weeks are you essentially saying that the whole thing is >> the new session will start in a couple of weeks so parliament will perogue this week parliament will come back with a king speech on the 13th of May parliament will then go into summer recess.

[00:06:45]Now, the government will outline their own legislative agenda when we get a king's speech.

[00:06:52]But the idea that this legislation will be enacted this year, I think is for the birds. That a government so confident of their own legislation is now tableabling scores of amendments to it demonstrates the lack of confidence that people have in their legislation or even their own confidence in it themselves. Remember Hillary Ben denied that the safeguards weren't strong enough for veterans. It was the prime minister who agreed with me they would have to bring forward amendments to protect veterans. The only reason that they're bringing forward this carryover motion this week is because the Irish government forced their hand with the BIGC later this week and indicated that they needed to see progress on the government's legislation. No progress from the Irish government. I remind you all I remind you all that when the I uh the ICIR ask the guards for information repeatedly, do you know how many times you've received a response?

[00:07:53]Never.

[00:07:55]The ICR has received nothing. Despite all the promises of information sharing and information retrieval, they have received nothing. And yet here we have this Labor government pretending that their bill is going to deliver for victims or for veterans when it's been nothing but a process of frustration and failed promises over the last two