The father of a Warrington boy murdered by the IRA was among those who reacted to the death of former Northern Ireland deputy first minister and ex-IRA commander Martin McGuinness.
Colin Parry, whose 12-year-old son Tim died from his injuries after being caught up in a double-bombing in Warrington town centre in 1993, said of Mr McGuinness: “We can never forgive him but we can respect the man he became.”
Mr McGuinness was diagnosed with a rare heart condition at the end of last year and died in hospital overnight at the age of 66.
As well as Tim Parry, three-year-old Johnathan Ball was also killed in the attack, which left 56 people injured.
Since then Mr Parry has set up a peace centre along with his wife Wendy and met Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams as well as Mr McGuinness several times.
Mr McGuinness was invited to speak on the 20th anniversary of the atrocity at the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace event at the Peace Centre in Warrington.
Mr McGuinness’s last major act as a politician was to pull down the powersharing executive at Stormont when he resigned as deputy first minister in January in protest at the Democratic Unionists’ handling of a green energy scandal.
Ten days later, showing signs of physical frailty, he announced his retirement from front line politics.
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Mr McGuinness was a former IRA leader in Derry who went on to play a pivotal role in the peace process.
His remarkable journey from gunman to statesman saw him shake hands with the Queen and forge an unlikely friendship with erstwhile foe Ian Paisley. The pair were known in Northern Ireland as “the Chuckle Brothers”.
Mr McGuinness, who lived in the Bogside area of Derry his whole life, is survived by his wife Bernie and four children.
Prime Minister Theresa May said Mr McGuinness “played a defining role” in leading the Republican movement away from violence.
“First and foremost, my thoughts are with the family of Martin McGuinness at this sad time,” she said.
“While I can never condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading the republican movement away from violence.
“In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace.”
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Former prime minister Tony Blair said the peace process would not have been possible without the “leadership and courage” shown by Mr McGuinness.
“Once he became the peace maker he became it wholeheartedly,” he said.