McElduff released a statement confirming his resignation on Monday morning.
Barry McElduff has announced his resignation from Sinn Féin in the wake of the controversy over a video he posted on his Twitter account earlier this month on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre.
McElduff was
issued with a three-month suspension from the party last week as a result of a video (since deleted) that was posted on his Twitter account of him carrying a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the 42
nd anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre, when ten Protestant workmen were killed in Armagh in 1976.
McElduff subsequently apologised for causing offence and later offered to meet with the families of those massacred "if they were willing" while insisting that he "had not realised or imagined for a second any possible link between product brand name and Kingsmill Anniversary".
Alan Black, the sole survivor of the massacre,
described McElduff’s suspension as “a holiday” after it was issued last week.
On Monday, McElduff confirmed that he had resigned from Sinn Féin, citing the “deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmill”, a massacre he described as “wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian”.
McElduff said he did “not wish to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing” and once again offered his “sincere apologies to the survivors and families of those murdered at Kingsmill”.
You can read the statement in full below.
“It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Féin member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone.
“The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week.
“But the deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmill is my greatest regret.
“I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims’ community.
“Had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet. I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind.
“Kingsmill was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened.
“There was no intended reference to Kingsmill in my tweet. But I do accept that there are many people who do not believe this to be the case. I accept also that this view of what happened is deeply damaging to the reconciliation process that is so important to consolidating the peace process and to healing the pain and hurt of the past.
“I cannot undo the pain caused but I know that my continuing role as MP for West Tyrone will compound that sense of hurt and impede any reconciliation process.
“I wish to wholeheartedly thank my family and friends for their steadfast personal support during this difficult time, and the people of West Tyrone whom I have had the privilege to serve as their public representative for over 20 years. I have a deep grá for my native county and its people.
“I am an Irish republican and believe whole heartedly in the reunification of our country and an agreed Ireland in which we heal the wounds of the past together.
“Reconciliation is essential, but that message is not being heard at this time.
“I do not wish to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing and in that spirit I again offer my sincere apologies to the survivors and families of those murdered at Kingsmill.”
