Claims by Lord Kilclooney (Mr John Taylor) that the 13 people killed by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday were armed have been described as "hurtful" but "significant", in a statement issued on behalf the families and wounded in the atrocity.
The statement claims that Lord Kilclooney’s evidence to the Inquiry indicates the Stormont government of the time - in which the unionist peer was a junior minister in 1972 - was a "puppet" of Westminster.
The statement said: "Whilst not downplaying the role of the Joint Security Committee in security and operational policy at Stormont, Taylor’s evidence clearly demonstrates that the Northern Ireland government was a mere puppet regime and that the political and security administration in Whitehall had direct and ultimate responsibility for the planning and conduct of the shoot-to-kill operation that was executed on Bloody Sunday."
Meanwhile, the family of Gerald Donaghey (17) vehemently denies Lord Kilclooney’s allegation that their son had a nail bomb on the day he was killed. They said today weapons were planted in his pockets by security forces after he died.
The UUP peer today told the inquiry he recalled that nail bombs were used against the British army, and that one of those who was shot dead was found with one in his pocket.
Additional reporting PA