Debate contribution: Soldier F: Not Guilty Verdict
Debate contribution by Mr Daniel McCrossan on .
- MLA
- Mr Daniel McCrossan
- Party at the time
- Social Democratic and Labour Party
- Date
- 3 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matters of the Day
- Heading
- Soldier F: Not Guilty Verdict
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5212736
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I, too, had no intention of speaking, because I thought that Members in the House would have learned well from the journey that our people collectively have been on and the hurt and pain that people have suffered. Just to be very clear to Mr Frew: our party was built on peace and on bringing an end to the violence and cold-blooded murder on our streets. It did not matter which shade that was. Omagh was wrong. Enniskillen was wrong.
All of those events were wrong. Bloody Sunday was wrong. It is not a case of "Go compare". Innocent people were blown to bits, shot up and killed and did not return to their families. Anyone in the House who dares to justify or attempt to justify any of those actions, regardless of whether they were carried out by the IRA, the UVF, the British Government or anyone else, should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. Ashamed of themselves.
There needs to be a lesson learned here. Our people are suffering incredibly. These institutions were brought about to put an end to all of this nonsense, yet, even with issues such as this today, you find reasons to poke one another in the eye instead of acknowledging the pain and hurt that our people have gone through. The SDLP was built on the foundations of peace and bringing an end to violence. Anyone in the House who dares to taint the memory of John Hume, Séamus Mallon or others who sacrificed themselves to a lifetime of brutal intimidation from all sides needs to think again carefully. We would not be here today but for the work and sacrifices of people who went long before us and created these institutions. I am absolutely insulted in the House not just for the people who work hard to bring about peace but for the families who, every day, have been seeking out peace, justice and simple answers to the questions that they have, should it be the families of the Disappeared, the families in Omagh or the Bloody Sunday families. There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is clear that we have a responsibility in the House to show some leadership, and a new low has been struck today. This is not a game. This is about people's lives. Wake up and start realising that and, for God's sake, have some respect for the memories of everybody who is affected.
409 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.28 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.82).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.25 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.10 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.08 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.40 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.09 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.28 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.18 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.82 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.90 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.10 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:46 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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