Widgery Tribunal

E101896

The Widgery Tribunal was a controversial British government inquiry led by Lord Widgery into the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings in Northern Ireland, widely criticized for exonerating the soldiers involved and failing to deliver justice for the victims.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Widgery Report 1
Widgery Tribunal canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf judicial inquiry
public inquiry
appointedBy Edward Heath
chairperson John Widgery, Baron Widgery
conclusion criticized the organizers of the civil rights march
did not unequivocally condemn the army’s actions
largely exonerated British soldiers
convenedBy British government
linked to: UK government
country United Kingdom
criticizedBy Irish government
families of Bloody Sunday victims
human rights organizations
criticizedFor accepting claims that some victims had been handling bombs or guns
failing to deliver justice for the victims
failure to adequately consider civilian eyewitness testimony
failure to properly test soldiers’ evidence
endTime 1972
hasDocument Widgery Report
linked to: Widgery Tribunal
investigatedDate 30 January 1972
investigatedEvent Bloody Sunday shootings
linked to: Bloody Sunday
investigatedPlace Bogside
Derry
jurisdiction United Kingdom
language English
legacy contributed to nationalist distrust of British justice in Northern Ireland
its findings were later discredited by the Saville Inquiry
legalBasis Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921
location Northern Ireland
namedAfter John Widgery, Baron Widgery
numberOfPeopleKilledConsidered 13
numberOfPeopleLaterDyingOfInjuriesConsidered 1
numberOfVictimsConsidered 26
partOf state responses to the Troubles
perception biased in favour of the British Army
controversial
whitewash
placeOfInquiry Coleraine
London
linked to: London, England
publicationDate April 1972
relatedTo Bloody Sunday Inquiry
linked to: Saville Inquiry

Northern Ireland conflict
linked to: The Troubles
replacedBy Saville Inquiry
reportAuthor John Widgery, Baron Widgery
reportTitle Report of the Tribunal appointed to inquire into the events on Sunday, 30th January 1972, which led to loss of life in connection with the procession in Londonderry
linked to: Bloody Sunday
startTime 1972
subject Bloody Sunday
Troubles in Northern Ireland
supersededBy Saville Inquiry

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bloody Sunday (1972) investigatedBy Widgery Tribunal
subject linked to: Bloody Sunday
Widgery Tribunal hasDocument Widgery Report
linked to: Widgery Tribunal