Campbell's Bloody Sunday call

East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has called on new Secretary of State Owen Patterson MP to ensure that actions taken by the new Government in the aftermath of publication of the Saville report will not be influenced by political pressure.

"There have been attempts since the establishment of Saville to rewrite history and punish the soldiers who, on the day in question in Londonderry were being sent in to respond to the increase in the area of attacks, widespread damage and murders including that of two police officers just three days before the march itself.

The new Government have an early opportunity to show that bowing to revisionism is not on their agenda by dealing with the Report in a sensible and constructive way. Having spent almost 190million of public money on it they should not compound the issue by pursuing those who told the Inquiry what they saw and did at the time (the soldiers) while overlooking completely the actions at the same time of those who didn't do likewise (senior members of the PIRA)."

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He spoke as SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan said the new NI secretary of state's "first priority must be the publication of the Saville Report".

Mr Durkan said that "Owen Paterson is already familiar with this place and its politics".

He said: "Publishing the Saville Report could be his first major parliamentary outing as secretary of state.

"I believe that he now has some appreciation that how the report is published and received will be a test of him, the new government, his own party and parliament," he said.