Sinn Fein's Mr Martin McGuinness has called on everyone, "without exception", to come forward and give evidence to the Saville inquiry into the killings of 13 unarmed civilians in Derry's Bogside on Bloody Sunday 29 years ago.
Mr McGuinness, Northern Ireland's Minister of Education, made the appeal yesterday, one day after the inquiry heard a call for the Provisional IRA's army council to permit either its current or former members to give evidence. Mr McGuinness said he believed that was a matter for the Provisional IRA leadership.
"Certainly from my point of view, I am one of those people who believes that people should be exhorted on all sides to come forward with whatever relevant testimony and evidence that they have. I would encourage everybody to come forward and give their testimony.
"Clearly the people of Derry have nothing to fear and I actually believe republicans have nothing to fear whatsoever by giving their testimony," he said.
Asked if he agreed with the call for the Provisional IRA's army council to allow its members to give evidence, Mr McGuinness said: "My position is that I want to encourage everybody, without exception, to contribute in any positive way they can to the discovery of the truth about what happened on that day, specifically . . . the reality that it is vitally important that the relatives, that the people of Derry, that the world knows the full story about what happened on that day.
"I think that certainly in my deliberations with my legal representatives, and with the Bloody Sunday lawyers through my legal representatives, I am endeavouring to do that and I hope to do that very quickly."