The DUP leader, the Reverend Ian Paisley, has defended the authenticity of the document he used as the basis to name twenty people alleged to have taken part in the Kingsmills massacre, which took place in South Armagh in 1976. Mr Paisley claims it is a security force document and insists that it is genuine in spite of an assertion by the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, that it was not a police dossier.
Mr Paisley said he had been interviewed by the RUC for three and a half minutes yesterday, during which he had also asked the police a series of questions. He insisted the document he was reading from was an authentic police and military dossier and said the officers sent to investigate its origin did not challenge him on that claim. The North Antrim MP also criticised the RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan for exonerating two of the men he alleged had played a role in the 1976 killings.
In confirming that both men were not the subjects of any RUC investigation into the incident, Mr Flanagan said the document that the DUP leader had quoted from was not a police dossier. Mr Paisley said the Chief Constable had no authority to exonerate any individual of any crime, as it was a matter for the courts alone. The DUP leader also criticised the RUC investigation into his actions, saying they should put similar energy into pursuing terrorists and criminals as they had done in attempting to silence a unionist politician.
