McConville critical of Adams CBS comments

The son of Jean McConville, the widowed Belfast mother of 10, who was murdered in Belfast by the IRA in 1972 has criticised comments made about the case on US TV by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.

In an interview broadcast on CBS Mr Adams denied having any role in the murder of Mrs McConville and told interviewer Scott Pelley that he never pulled a trigger, set off a bomb or ordered a death.

When pushed by Mr Pelley about the death of Mrs McConville, Mr Adams said: “That’s what happens in wars, Scott,” Mr Adams said. “That’s not [to] minimise it – that’s what American soldiers do, British soldiers do, Irish republican soldiers do – that’s what happens in every single conflict.”

Speaking to RTÉ this morning Michael McConville was critical of the Sinn Féin leader's comments.

“I think to be honest that Gerry Adams is a hypocrite. If this happened to an IRA family and 10 children were left orphaned, would he say the same thing?”

Addressing Mr Adams’ comment that his mother’s death was “what happens in wars,” Mr McConville said: “If this was a war then the execution and the death and the burial of our mother and the kidnap of our mother is a war crime”.

“If this had happened in any other conflict around the world people would have been brought to justice for war crimes,” he added.