Mr McDonnell’s letter also claimed there were ‘no grounds’ for police to detain members of the Athwal family. At the time Mr McDonnell wrote the letter – dated October 7, 1999 – he did not know the Athwals were killers. In the years after his 1999 letter, Mr McDonnell made extensive efforts to help Surjit’s family find the truth. Mr McDonnell held meetings with various community leaders, members of Surjit’s family and local councillors to progress the case. Mr McDonnell wrote a lengthy and courteous reply a fortnight later, pointing out all the efforts he had made to achieve justice for Surjit.

Source: Daily Mail December 10, 2019 22:11 UTC