Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised after a video opposing reforms to the Legacy Act that featured footage of soldiers on Bloody Sunday was posted to her social media account. The video, shared on Tuesday, shows soldiers entering the Bogside area of Londonderry on 30 January 1972, when thirteen people were shot dead by the Army during a civil rights demonstration. Last year, a former Paratrooper was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder that day.
The Conservative Party had issued an apology on Friday, saying the video was removed "as soon as we were made aware of the footage." Speaking to PA News on Saturday, Badenoch said it went out "in error." Asked about the clip in south-east London, she said: "I have apologised. I did not sign off the video. It was about a vote in parliament where Labour are putting in legislation that is hounding the very elderly veterans for things that happened decades ago, often under the instruction of political leaders who are no longer around. We support our veterans, but the video was done by very young people who did not recognise the footage as being from Bloody Sunday. So I apologise as well that that video went out in error. It was removed as soon as the party understood that that was what had been put out."
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood called the use of the footage "disgusting and disgraceful" and welcomed the apology but called on Badenoch to apologise personally to the survivors and families of victims. The video was published on several Conservative Party social platforms and on Badenoch's X account before removal on Friday. The party, whose former leader David Cameron issued a public apology for the soldiers' actions, said the video was removed "as soon as we were made aware" and apologised for inclusion of the material. In 2010, the Saville Inquiry found none of the casualties were posing a threat or doing anything to justify their shooting. Cameron described the killings as "unjustified and unjustifiable." In October 2025, a former paratrooper known as Soldier F was found not guilty of the murder of William McKinney, 26, and James Wray, 22, and the attempted murder of five others.
Labour's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill seeks to replace the contentious Legacy Act, which introduced a ban on inquests and civil actions related to Troubles-era incidents. It aims to repeal and replace the previous Conservative government's legislation. London and Dublin agreed a joint framework last September ahead of the UK government starting its bid to replace the previous legacy act. The move was criticised by all parties and victims' groups in Northern Ireland. The government has faced pressure from veterans and some MPs who say the legislation does not go far enough for veteran protections. On Monday, the government passed a carry-over motion allowing the bill to continue through Parliament after prorogation, but it is not clear when exactly it will be debated by MPs.