Badenoch apologises after Bloody Sunday clip used in video
Badenoch apologises after Bloody Sunday clip used in video
Kemi Badenoch says the video using Bloody Sunday footage to oppose Legacy Act reforms went out in error, prompting calls for a personal apology to survivors.
Kemi Badenoch has apologised after a video opposing reforms to the Legacy Act featured footage from Bloody Sunday was posted on her social media accounts. The clip was shared on Tuesday and was intended to highlight opposition to the Labour-led proposals affecting veterans. The footage shows soldiers entering the Bogside area of Londonderry on 30 January 1972, an event that left 13 people dead when the Army opened fire on civil rights demonstrators. Last year a former Paratrooper was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder on that day. The Conservative Party later said the video had been removed “as soon as we were made aware of the footage.”
Speaking to reporters in south-east London, Badenoch said, “I have apologised. I did not sign off the video. It was about a vote in parliament where Labour are putting in legislation that is hounding the very elderly veterans for things that happened decades ago, often under the instruction of political leaders who are no longer around. We support our veterans, but the video was done by very young people who did not recognise the footage as being from Bloody Sunday.” She added that the video went out in error and was taken down once the party understood what had been posted.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood described the use of the footage as “disgusting and disgraceful.” He welcomed the apology but urged Badenoch to personally apologise to survivors and families of victims of Bloody Sunday. The video appeared on several Conservative social platforms and Badenoch’s X account before it was removed. The controversy has sharpened questions about vetting material used in political messaging and the memories of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
