Karen Bradley: NI secretary 'corrects the record' in Commons

The NI Secretary has issued an apology to the House of Commons for her "deeply insensitive" remarks on state killings in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley appeared before MPs to "correct the record" for her "inaccurate" comments on the actions of soldiers during the Troubles.

She told MPs last Wednesday that deaths caused by security forces in NI were "not crimes".

Ms Bradley has faced calls to quit from some victims' families.

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She later tried to clarify her comments before making an apology the following day.

On Friday, the secretary of state then met relatives of people killed by security forces and further apologised for her remarks.

On Monday, raising a point of order, Ms Bradley said: "In response to an oral question on 6 March I made inaccurate comments regarding the actions of soldiers during the Troubles.

"It is right that I address these remarks to the House today and correct the record.

'Hurt that my words caused'

"What I said was wrong, it was deeply insensitive to the families who lost loved ones in incidents involving the security forces.

"I have apologised unreservedly for the offence and hurt that my words caused.

"Today I repeat that apology, both to the families and to members of this House.

"The language that I used was wrong."

The relatives of those killed at Ballymurphy in 1971 have called for Karen Bradley to resign

Ms Bradley said she was "grateful" to affected families for giving her the opportunity to apologise in person last week.

She added that any evidence of wrongdoing should be pursued "without fear or favour, whoever the perpetrators might be".

Ms Bradley added: "My position and the position of this Government is clear, we believe fundamentally in the rule of law.

"That is a principle that underpins our approach to dealing with legacy issues and it's one from which I will not depart.

"That is why I launched the public consultation on addressing the legacy of the Troubles."

'Lost the confidence'

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Tony Lloyd suggested Ms Bradley should make a fuller statement to the House, adding: "One of the prime necessities for anybody in the role she has is that they have the confidence not simply of the political parties but of the broader civil society in Northern Ireland, in particular, the victims' families because of the pain that they've gone through for so many years.

He said a justice process for these families has yet to be delivered before saying Ms Bradley has "lost the confidence" of some political parties and the families.

Mr Lloyd added: "That makes her own position a very difficult one.

"I think she does have to think about what that means in terms of not simply her credibility but her capacity to do the job."