Story perspectives

Conservatives Pull Bloody Sunday Video After Outcry

5/2/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Conservative Party’s veterans video used archival footage from the 1972 Bloody Sunday incident.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch posted the video, which the party later removed after apologising.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood called the footage disgusting and an insult to the victims and families.
The controversy follows a 2025 acquittal of a former paratrooper for Bloody Sunday actions and the 2010 Saville Inquiry’s finding that victims posed no threat.

History

Historical Context

The Easter Rising began on 24 April 1916 when Patrick Pearse read the Proclamation of an Irish Republic, and British commander Sir John Maxwell ordered heavy artillery to crush the rebellion. The violent suppression left many civilian casualties and set a precedent for using historic Irish trauma in politics, a pattern echoed today when the Conservative Party’s video repurposes Bloody Sunday footage to sway voters.

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Story summary

The Conservative Party’s veterans video used archival footage from the 1972 Bloody Sunday incident.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch posted the video, which the party later removed after apologising.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood called the footage disgusting and an insult to the victims and families.
The controversy follows a 2025 acquittal of a former paratrooper for Bloody Sunday actions and the 2010 Saville Inquiry’s finding that victims posed no threat.

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