Inquiry will cost £150m - Trimble

The Saville inquiry into the Bloody Sunday shootings will cost £150m, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble claimed last night.

He said the bill for the hearing in Derry had already reached £50m and would soar if it continued for another two years as expected.

‘‘One hundred and fifty million pounds is all going to go largely into the pockets of lawyers and not do much good for the families concerned,’’ he said.

The probe into the killing of 13 people in January 1972 by Paratroopers has so far sat on 115 days.

But in a stinging attack on the tribunal’s running costs, Mr Trimble claimed the cash could be better used to foot urgent health bills.

He also warned that a danger of a lack of parity for unionists in the city existed.

‘‘What we have got is a one-sided approach where a couple of things which are only of interest to people who want to keep alive a sense of grievance,’’ he said.

‘‘There’s a political objective behind this which has got nothing to do with what actually happened or the hurt of the families.’’

Mr Trimble insisted it was not his intention to ignore the hurt suffered by the families of those killed or injured on Bloody Sunday.

‘‘It’s a matter of parity, it’s a matter of ensuring in Derry itself that there’s fair play for the unionist community there who are being seriously disadvantaged as a consequence,’’ he said.

A truth and reconciliation type commission had been considered and dismissed.

‘‘But what have we got as a result? We have individual inquiries into particular things, but they are all particular things on side of the house.

‘‘You could have inquiries into everything or inquiries into nothing.’’

Mr Trimble pointed to Bloody Friday, when 20 IRA bombs exploded across Belfast city centre, killing nine people and injuring 130 others, as equally worthy of an inquiry.

And allegations of Garda collusion with republicans was another issue which must be probed, the UUP leader insisted.