Owen Paterson MP stands firm in wristband row with Gerry Adams

Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has insisted he will continue to wear his wristband supporting the Royal Irish Regiment despite a run-in with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.

He said he was proud of the regiment, which is based at Tern Hill Barracks near Market Drayton, and said it was the bravery of its soldiers in war-torn areas such as Afghanistan that was defending the freedom of the Western world.

The North Shropshire MP, who is also Northern Ireland Secretary, had been confronted by Mr Adams for wearing a green wristband supporting the British Army during a meeting in Belfast with 11 relatives of those who died in the Ballymurphy Massacre of 1971.

But Mr Paterson was today unrepentant and said he was proud of the "tremendous impact" the regiment had made.

He said: "I told Mr Adams directly that the Royal Irish Regiment is stationed at Tern Hill near Market Drayton, which is in my constituency.

"They have made a tremendous impact locally and they are immensely popular. They have just gone out to defend our freedom in Afghanistan and this is all thanks to the bravery of young soldiers across Northern Ireland but also south of the border and from 11 other countries.

"I have every intention of continuing to wear the wristband in public to remind me of what the regiment is doing every day, and I will do this to show my support in a very public way."

Eyewitnesses to the meeting had said Mr Adams had felt Mr Paterson's decision to visibly wear the wristband could have been seen as insensitive, although there was no suggestion Mr Paterson had deliberately attempted to cause any offence.

Mr Paterson has also been backed by Government sources and Jim Allister of the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice party.

The Ballymurphy relatives want an independent investigation into claims members of the Parachute Regiment killed 11 unarmed civilians without justification. The allegations centre on a three-day security operation in west Belfast.

But after Friday's meeting they indicated they had not received any commitment from Mr Paterson for an investigation, though he is to meet the families again in the new year.

By Peter Kitchen