John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor, apologises for IRA comment

John McDonnell, Labour’s new Shadow Chancellor, last night apologised for saying twelve years ago that members of the IRA should be “honoured”.

McDonnell was made Shadow Chancellor on Sunday night by Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn. He acted as Corbyn’s agent throughout the leadership campaign.

Last night on BBC Question Time he said he apologised “from the bottom of my heart” for any offence he had caused with his comments in 2003. He explained that he was trying to encourage both sides of the conflict in Ireland to “lay down their arms”.

The MP for Hayes and Harlington made these remarks at a gathering to commemorate Bobby Sands, the IRA hunger striker who died in 1981.  At the event he said “It’s about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA. Because of the bravery of the IRA and people like Bobby Sands, we now have a peace process.”

Last night he apologised for these comments and explained why he made them:

“I went out and argued for the peace process and I made this speech to a group of republicans because one of the problems we had is that if there was a feeling that they were defeated or humiliated – and this was on both sides – they would not stand down. So I made this speech and I urged them to put their weapons away and to participate in the peace process. It was a difficult time.

“I think my choice of words was wrong. I accept that. I should not have said the issue about the honouring. I actually said afterwards that there is no cause that justifies the loss of life in this way. What I tried to do for both sides is to give them a way out with some form of dignity otherwise they wouldn’t lay their arms down.

“I accept it was a mistake to use those words. But if it contributed towards saving one life or preventing someone else being maimed it was worth doing because we did hold onto the peace process. There was a real risk of the republican movement splitting and some of them continuing with the armed process.”

McDonnell also apologised for comments he made about former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In 2010 he said he would go back in time to “assassinate Thatcher” – he said last night that this was an “appalling joke”.