The Northern Secretary has indicated that he will not apologise for his description of the Household Division of the British Army as "chinless wonders". Peter Mandelson made the remark during an interview with Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio yesterday, in which he described his impressions of the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London.
A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Office said that Mr Mandelson had been recalling his reaction to the event when he saw it as a young teenager. The Conservative Party's defence spokesman, Iain Duncan Smith, has called on Mr Mandelson to apologise for the remark to the families of soldiers killed by terrorists in Northern Ireland.
