Ulster Unionist Party Justice spokesperson Tom Elliott MLA has said that the recovery of a body believed to be that of Brendan Megraw who was kidnapped from Belfast in 1978, is a reminder of the crimes committed by the IRA and its shameful past.
Mr Elliott said:
“The recovery of a body believed to be that of Brendan Megraw from a bog in County Meath, should be an occasion for Sinn Fein to demonstrate some shame and contrition for the brutal crimes of their fellow travellers in the IRA.
“Brendan Megraw was, like Jean McConville, before him, abducted from West Belfast never to be seen again.
“If there was any suspicion that his abductors were loyalists or the result of some kind of security force collusion, Sinn Fein would be demanding inquiry after inquiry, but they are not. They are silent because they know the truth. Brendan Megraw was seized by the IRA, driven away to his death, and buried in an unmarked grave in the Irish Republic.
“It is particularly galling for those of us who sit on the Stormont justice committee listen to Sinn Fein spokesmen talk piously about truth and justice, or about the need for inquiries into ‘shoot to kill’ operations by the security forces or the treatment of prisoners. Truly their hypocrisy knows no bounds as they seek to whitewash the crimes of the IRA and re-write history to suit their own narrative that justify its campaign of murder and terror.
“They really do appear to be offended by everything and embarrassed by nothing.”