O'Neill 'understands' hurt over Remembrance Sunday event

Michelle O'Neill has said she understands why some people may feel hurt by her attendance at a Remembrance Sunday event this weekend.

The first minister is to become the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Belfast.

In a letter published in The Irish News more than 100 relatives of victims of the Troubles from the Republican community in County Tyrone hit out at her decision.

The letter said they felt "deeply hurt, frustrated and angry".

O'Neill said she "understands that some people will have difficulty" with her attendance but she is "committed to be a first minister for all".

She was speaking during a visit to a primary school in Magherafelt.

The letter accused the first minister of "populism" and said Sinn Féin had "turned political somersaults into an Olympic sport".

"I want to live up to the pledge that I made to represent everybody here in society," O'Neill said in response to the criticism.

She added that she will attend on Sunday but "absolutely understands" that people will feel hurt, "because there is nothing to celebrate in the horror of war".

"Many people will have lost loved ones and will feel that very dearly, so I absolutely understand where anybody is coming from but for me this is about leadership in terms of my role as first minister for all the people that live here."