Barry McElduff: Sinn Fein MP resigns amid anger at video of him with loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head

A Sinn Fein MP has resigned after prompting outrage by posing with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre.

Barry McElduff apologised for the video, which was posted on social media on 5 January - exactly 42 years after gunmen shot dead ten Protestants in the village of Kingsmill, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles.

The West Tyrone MP was suspended by his party for three months but has now stepped down, saying he did not wish to be "a barrier to reconciliation and healing".

Like other Sinn Fein MPs, Mr McElduff did not take his seat in Parliament. There will now be a by-election to elect his successor in what has traditionally been a safe Sinn Fein seat.

Announcing his resignation, Mr McElduff reiterated his apology and said the "deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmills is my greatest regret".

"It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Fein member and public representative, I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone," he said.

"The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week."

In the bizarre video, the MP was filmed walking around a shop with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head, asking where the store kept the bread. The fact it was posted on the anniversary of the massacre led many to believe he was making a joke about the attack.

However, Mr McElduff said he had not made a mental link between the bread brand and the Kingsmill massacre.

"Had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet," he said.

"I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind."

He added: "Kingsmill was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened. There was no intended reference to Kingsmill in my tweet.

"But I do accept that there are many people who do not believe this to be the case. I accept also that this view of what happened is deeply damaging to the reconciliation process that is so important to consolidating the peace process and to healing the pain and hurt of the past."

Mr McElduff said he believed continuing in his role would "compound that sense of hurt and impede any reconciliation process", adding that he did not want "to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing".

During the 1976 Kingsmill massacre, republican militants stopped a minibus carrying 11 Protestant workmen, lined them up outside the bus and shot them. Despite having been shot 18 times, one man, Alan Black, survived.

Mr Black said he had been traumatised by the row over Mr McElduff's video and welcomed the MP's resignation.

He said: "This past week has been truly awful for me. I am just hanging by a thread. But I am glad he has done the right thing.

"I only got involved because of the hurt and disrespect shown to my friends who died at Kingsmill but this whole thing has taken a heavy toll."

The video deepened tensions between unionists and republicans in Northern Ireland as they attempt to reach a settlement to restore power-sharing at the country's Stormont assembly.

A number of unionist politicians responded to the clip by tweeting a cartoon showing trails of blood coming from a minibus under the caption "Sinn Fein's red lines".