Relatives of those killed by the British Army at Ballymurphy fifty years ago have rejected an apology made by the British Prime Minister in the House of Commons.
Opening Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, Boris Johnson read out the names of the victims killed in west Belfast.
He added to MPs: "On behalf of successive governments, and to put on the record in this House, I'd like to say sorry to their families for how the investigations were handled, for the pain they've endured since their campaign began almost five decades ago."
The British Army was found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths, which included a mother-of-eight and a Catholic priest.
Those who died were Joan Connolly, 44; Joseph Corr, 43; Edward Doherty, 31; John Laverty, 20; John McKerr, 49; Fr Hugh Mullan, 38; Joseph Murray, 41; Noel Phillips, 19; Frank Quinn, 19; and Daniel Teggart, 44.
However, several relatives of the victims have rejected Mr Johnson's apology.
"I don't accept his apology. I never asked him for an apology," Eileen McKeown, the daughter of Joseph Corr, told RTÉ's Drivetime.
"He said he has apologised, but he has not apologised for anything. He says he hopes we got answers. We didn't get any answers. I actually got more questions than answers last Tuesday."
Ms McKeown said she did not have any advance warning of the apology due from the UK Prime Minister.
"I first heard about it when your radio programme phoned me," she said.
She explained that she watched the apology from Mr Johnson on her phone after a clip had been posted to a WhatsApp group.
Ms McKeown said she would only be prepared to meet the UK Prime Minister if he can assure the families of those killed in Ballymurphy that there is going to be a "proper investigation" into their deaths.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a formal House of Commons apology to the families of the Ballymurphy victims | https://t.co/ZLw2Uh5ZKo pic.twitter.com/4k2qvdaNhi
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) May 19, 2021
John Teggart, whose father Daniel was killed, said he "totally rejects" it.
He told BBC Radio Foyle: "They are totally insincere, I won't be letting him annoy me anymore, I have no time for him and his feeble attempts to apologise."
Mary Kate Quinn, a niece of John Laverty who was among those shot dead, rejected the apology and said the families were informed about it by journalists.
In a Tweet, she said: "Yet again, that was not an apology. Boris did not apologise for the killings of our loved ones."
The Ballymurphy Massacre families were not informed that @BorisJohnson was making a statement today in the House of Commons. We found out from journalists. Yet again, that was not an apology. Boris did not apologise for the killings of our loved ones.
— Mary Kate Quinn (@marykate_quinn) May 19, 2021
Sinn Fáin president Mary Lou McDonald said: "Boris Johnson has continued, I believe, to add insult to injury when it comes to the Ballymurphy families, I don't think he has delivered anything that approximates a sincere or complete apology.
"I think even though the truth now has been spoken that each of the victims of Ballymurphy were absolutely innocent, unarmed and posed no threat to anyone, the British Prime Minister still cannot accept and say out loud that a para regiment, that British soldiers, came and turned their guns on innocent civilians in that community.
"For so long as he is not capable of verbalising the truth of what happened on that day, and naming it and saying it out loud, I think we have a problem.
"The bigger problem beyond that is that Boris Johnson and his Government are determined to deliver an amnesty for British soldiers and that is unacceptable to the Ballymurphy families, to many other families who still await truth and justice.
"It's unacceptable to all strands of political opinion on this island north and south and in direct contravention of the Stormont House Agreement.
"I think the British Prime Minister should stick to the agreements that have been made and should accept that now the time is long past where he can hide from the truth of actions of British soldiers here in Ireland.
"That needs to be faced up to... if a genuine and authentic apology is made, I have no doubt the families will receive that very graciously."
Last week, a coroner concluded that all of the ten people who were shot and killed in Ballymurphy almost 50 years ago were "entirely innocent" and that their deaths were unjustified.
Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan delivered her findings in relation to the deaths of the ten victims at the International Convention Centre at the Waterfront in Belfast.
It was the longest running inquest in Northern Ireland to date. It began in November 2018 and heard more than 100 days of evidence.
A Catholic priest and a mother-of-eight were among the victims killed over the course of three days between 9-11 August in 1971.
The shootings, which have become known as "the Ballymurphy massacre", happened immediately after the introduction of internment without trial in Northern Ireland.
No one has ever been charged or convicted in connection with any of their deaths.
The original inquests in 1972 recorded open verdicts, however fresh inquests were approved in 2011 following a lengthy campaign by the Ballymurphy families.
Additional reporting Vincent Kearney
