Handshake bridges Bloody Sunday divide

A Northern Ireland Protestant actor and a leading Irish republican have embraced at the end of the screening of a new film.

James Nesbitt, star of "Bloody Sunday", posed with Martin McGuinness after the third screening of the film at Londonderry's Millennium Forum.

Martin McGuinness was second in command of the IRA on Bloody Sunday.

As he shook hands with McGuinness, now Northern Ireland's Education Minister, James Nesbitt said: "If my dad could see this."

Relatives of the victims and city dignitaries gathered together for the gala showing of the film, which will be premiered at the prestigious Sundance Festival in Utah on January 15.

A 1,000-strong audience watched the dramatisation of the events of January 30 1972 in complete silence, erupting into cheers as the lights went up.

Afterwards Mr McGuinness, who is due to testify before the Bloody Sunday tribunal concerning his role during events of that day, described the dramatisation as "powerful and emotional".

He praised writer/director Paul Greengrass and producer Mark Redhead for tackling such a traumatic event that saw 13 civilians shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment after a civil rights march in the city.

He said: "I think the fact that English people are prepared to tackle a subject that is of such great embarrassment to the British Government is to their eternal credit and I think helps the peace process.

"What really touched me watching the film was seeing the people of Derry. They were allowed to participate and make their own film and tell the world the truth of what happened."