Victim's father welcomes IRA move

Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry were killed by the 1993 IRA bomb

The IRA's announcement that it will end its armed campaign has been welcomed by a peace campaigner whose son was killed in the Warrington bomb.

Colin Parry's 12-year-old son Tim and three-year-old Jonathan Ball were killed when an IRA device exploded in the town centre in 1993.

Mr Parry helped set up the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Trust and the Peace Centre in Warrington in 2000.

He said he "seriously hoped" the IRA's announcement was true.

"It's been 30-odd years of bloodshed, pain and suffering for so many people like me," he said.

They often phrase things in such a way as there seems to be a little wicker gate somewhere Colin Parry

"Being a naive sort of chap, I seriously hope that it is the end absolutely of the armed campaign.

"I would have liked the statement to say 'forever'.

"My worry is, knowing the IRA and its spokesmen down the years, they often phrase things in such a way as there seems to be a little wicker gate somewhere."

Mr Parry was awarded the OBE in 2004 for his peace campaigning.

His son and Jonathan Ball were killed while shopping for football shorts, while 56 other people were injured in the blast.