Sean Graham bookmakers relative has ‘hard questions’ for Chief Con over memorial arrest
The son of a man murdered at Sean Grahams Bookmakers in 1992 has said he will meet the PSNI Chief Constable to discuss the events at Friday’s memorial, saying he has “hard questions” to answer about what happened. Tommy Duffin's elderly father Jack was one of the five people murdered in the UFF attack on the Ormeau Road in Belfast in 1992. Mr Duffin said he just wanted to remember and reflect on his father who was killed. “That day is particularly important to the families and particularly important to myself,” he told UTV News. However angry exchanges unfolded at the wreath-laying anniversary event, when police intervened amid suspicions the gathering breached lockdown rules and arrested survivor Mark Sykes. He was just a teenager when he was shot seven times in the sectarian shooting. "Everybody, everybody in that group, even the quietest people were totally and utterly abhorred, disgusted with what happened on Friday,” Mr Duffin commented. "It shouldn't happen at any memorial service, let alone ours."
Only a small number of relatives had been asked to attend the anniversary event due to coronavirus restrictions. Police have since described this as a responsible gathering even though there were more than the maximum of six allowed under Covid rules but well below the numbers originally suggested. Speaking outside the bookmakers on Monday, Mr Duffin said: "We thought we did it the proper way, but obviously, certain people within the PSNI didn't think so. "They’re saying it was in breach of Covid, remember you had five dead in there, seven or eight wounded, and five who have deceased since. “That alone breaks the code of restrictions even if you put one person from each family here you were breaking code restrictions, how far do they want to go?” He added: "What happened here at a memorial service, a prayer service, didn't happen in east Belfast, that has to be said too and I'm not knocking anybody or jumping down on top of anybody but I do believe you can't have one rule for one and one rule for the other." The Police Ombudsman is investigating but the Chief Constable Simon Byrne has already taken action, suspending one officer and repositioning another.
Mr Bryne has apologised to the families and is also offering to meet them. Mr Duffin says an apology is not enough, but doesn't believe he needs to resign.
He reacted: "It has to go further. Somebody at the top who let this happen, has to be accountable. “We probably will meet him, we have to have discussions with him, in relation to this, it can't happen again. We will be posing some very hard questions for him."