THE father of one of the Bridge Street bombing victims has asked a former leader of the IRA to speak at the Peace Centre.

Colin Parry, whose 12-year-old son Tim was killed during the IRA blast, invited Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuiness to the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace during a visit to Belfast.

He said he had invited the politician to speak because ‘part of our ethos is that we talk to everyone.’ Mr Parry added: "We don't just talk to victims of terrorism or young people who are at risk of being radicalised.

“We also talk to people who have been associated with terrorist acts.

"In simple terms, you make peace with your enemies, not with your friends.

"His past would have placed him beyond the pale for many people, but not for me and my foundation."

It has been reported the Northern Ireland deputy first minister, who was a senior IRA figure, has agreed to the visit in principle.