BORIS Johnson’s government will be remembered as an embarrassment who treated the people of Northern Ireland with “utter contempt”, an expert has said on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

January 30 marked 50 years since thirteen civil rights protesters, some as young as 17, were shot dead by British soldiers in the Bogside area of Derry. Another man shot by paratroopers on the day died four months later. While many consider him the 14th victim of Bloody Sunday, his death was formally attributed to an inoperable brain tumour.

The first fatality of that day was Jack Duddy, who was gunned down while running away from the soldiers, according to Ulster University's CAIN Archive.

Duddy’s niece, Julieann Campbell, has since penned two books about the massacre. She was awarded the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial prize for her first, Setting the Truth Free: The Inside Story of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign.

Her second, On Bloody Sunday: A New History Of The Day And Its Aftermath - By The People Who Were There, was published earlier this month.

Speaking to The National on the 50th anniversary of the massacre, Campbell said the British army and Government “have learned nothing”.

READ MORE: The main findings of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry

She went on: “Johnson's government is an embarrassment, and they'll be remembered as such. They treat the people of Northern Ireland with utter contempt.

“Their legacy proposals are an insult to the people throughout Ireland and elsewhere affected by the conflict - and have been rightly ridiculed by all those with true morals and conviction. For the first time, victims groups across Ireland, politicians, and both the north and south governments are united in condemnation at the affront he now considers.”

Campbell was referring to controversial plans put forward by the Tory government to end prosecutions relating to the Troubles before 1998.

Urging Johnson to “do the right thing”, the author went on to condemn the army for remaining “silent on their daylight massacre of unarmed civilians, many of whom were legally children”.

“The majority of those shot dead on Bloody Sunday were shot in the back while fleeing or while helping others. Isn't murder considered ‘unacceptable’ or ‘disrespectful’ behaviour for British troops?”

The National:

Johnson also came under fire from speakers at a commemorative rally held in Derry on Sunday. Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin (above) condemned the plan to end prosecutions for Troubles-related incidents, and said it would have been “helpful” for Unionist groups to have been present at the memorial.

Michael McKinney, brother of William, who was among those killed on Bloody Sunday, also spoke out against the plans, saying Unionists and the British government were “scared to face justice”.

“But we want to send a very clear warning to the British government. If they pursue their proposals, the Bloody Sunday families will be ready to meet them head on.

“We will not go away and we will not be silenced.

“We will expose them for what they are – an embarrassment to any democracy founded on the rule of law,” McKinney said.

His brother William was 26 when he was shot in the back by British troops while trying to help another man who had been shot just moments before.

Johnson released a public statement on Sunday, writing on Twitter: “Tomorrow marks a tragic day in our history, the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. This was one of the darkest days of the Troubles. We must learn from the past, reconcile, and build a peaceful future for people in Northern Ireland.”

He came under fire on social media for the message, with some highlighting a 2019 column he penned in which he asked how British troops could be made to stand trial for murder while people in the IRA “get away with it”.

Johnson said at the time that we “mustn’t let politics trump justice”.

Others, including former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, accused Johnson of endangering the peace in Northern Ireland with his Brexit deal.

Labour leader Keir Starmer also came under fire after he tweeted about Bloody Sunday’s 50th anniversary.

Starmer wrote: “50 years ago, the horror of Bloody Sunday unfolded in Derry. The victims left behind families and a community that grieved their loss and struggled for decades to have the truth told about what happened.

“I send them my deepest respects on this poignant and significant day.”

The official Young Labour account responded: “It didn’t ‘unfold’. It was state-sanctioned massacre.

“You also sacked a Labour MP [Nadia Whittome] from the front bench for voting against the SpyCops Bill - which would prevent the prosecution of UK troops for war crimes.”

Others criticised Starmer’s use of the passive voice and “unfolded”.

“The language here tells you a lot about the man, I reckon - ‘unfolded’ makes it sound like a terrible accident or natural tragedy, as opposed to British soldiers murdering civilians,” journalist and author James McEnaney wrote.