Danny Kinahan, Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, has pledged his full support to the campaign to fund a civil court action against the chief suspect in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing, John Downey.
Danny Kinahan MP said:
“The 1982 Hyde Park bombing which claimed the lives of four soldiers and seven cavalry horses, was one of many heinous crimes committed by the IRA during the Troubles. On the same day the IRA also detonated a separate bomb at Regent’s Park, which killed seven bandsmen of the Royal Green Jackets.
“One of those murdered at Hyde Park that day was Lieutenant Anthony Daly who was married just four weeks previously. I remember that because I was his best man, and shortly after his murder I commanded his burial party.
“The fact that John Downey, the chief suspect, was able to walk free from court in 2014 because he was in possession of a so-called ‘comfort letter’ sent to ‘on the run’ IRA terrorists, was a clear distortion of the justice system.
“The ruling that the victims’ families were not granted legal aid to fund a civil case against John Downey, unbelievably because it was not deemed to be in the public interest, added further anguish. I have previously called for the Government to step in and provide legal aid to the families, which they have refused to do.
“The ‘Hyde Park Justice Campaign’, publicised in the Sun newspaper, aims to raise the £650,000 required to fund a legal case against John Downey. It has my full support and I commend Sarahjane Young and Mark Tipper, whose father and brother were murdered in the bombing respectively, for their tireless campaigning. As they have made clear this is about ‘principle not punishment.’
“The families deserve the right for Downey to be held to account in a court of law for the murder of their loved ones, and I urge everyone to get behind this campaign so justice can be done.
“I would urge everyone to help the families by making a donation using crowdjustice.org at https://www.crowdjustice.org/case/hyde-park-justice/ and follow @hydeparkjustice on Twitter for news and updates about the campaign.”
ENDS