If it hadn’t been for a last-minute shift change, he would have claimed his too.

Three years later, on June 6, 1990, he and my grandmother – James and Ellen Sefton – were murdered by PIRA terrorists who believed that their murder would somehow further their cause for an Ireland united.

I was nine at the time, I clearly remember being taken out of school that morning with no explanation, then taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, then told what happened.

In his book ‘The Secret History of IRA’, Ed Moloney, has endeavored to name Martin McGuinness as having approved the operation.

Myself and other family members fought for years for some sort of investigation.

But no one wanted to know.

Successive power-sharing administrations in Northern Ireland have sat in power with the very people who committed such atrocities without a word of condemnation.

When the victims banded together and attempted to sue Libya for supplying the Semtex which directly led to the murder of their loved ones, the British government, far from lifting a finger to help, actively obstructed the victims’ efforts.

This stands in contrast to the US, French and German governments which have all provided top notch material aid to their citizens.

It was first a case of “it’s a private matter, you talk to the Libyans yourselves”.

Then, when the UK bombed Libya in the Stone Age, that excuse turned to “well, we’d love to help, but there’s no Libyan government to talk to”. .

Innocent victims once again have the short end of the stick while terrorists are appeased and unionist politicians (for whatever reason) look the other way.

I was a police officer for almost 20 years. I still wonder why I helped defend an organization and a country that rewards terrorism and castigates the victims.

So you can imagine my surprise, or lack thereof, when the thing that sends local politicians into a frenzy is Northern Ireland Protocol, where there has been a plan to bring down Stormont.

Forget sharing power with unrepentant terrorists or terrorism apologists, forget about successive British governments treating the victims of Irish Republican terrorism like rubbish.

The real red line of the DUP is the availability of fresh products.

The DUP a few years ago put the Tories over a barrel and decided the victims were worth pushing aside in favor of economic deals…a deal that echoes betrayal victims by Tony Blair in favor of commercial contacts with Libya.

You would think that betrayal after betrayal by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and now Boris Johnson could spur local politicians to take a stand.

But no, it seems the unhindered availability of preserves and cheeses outweighs the murder and carnage.

Perhaps Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s MP could shed some light on the talks he was involved in with the Tories in 2017 to secure the ‘trust and supply’ deal.

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