This Week They Said

Examining the facts as a whole, we do not consider that any decision was possible other than to grant anonymity to the soldiers…

Examining the facts as a whole, we do not consider that any decision was possible other than to grant anonymity to the soldiers. This appeal is dismissed.

- Master of the Rolls, Lord Woolf, delivering the Court of Appeal's unanimous ruling that the soldiers who opened fire on Bloody Sunday will not be named in open court

It will provide a crucial measure of protection for the soldiers most at risk from terrorist reprisals.

- British Defence Secretary, George Robertson, of the decision

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There is neither a danger nor a threat to the soldiers. We don't want them harmed. We want them to be part of the inquiry.

- John Kelly, whose brother, Michael, was shot dead on Bloody Sunday

Oh Jesus, chairman, I'm telling you honestly, chairman, this man has my head spinning with all the different questions he's asking me, I can't concentrate on it.

- Michael Bailey, of counsel for the Flood tribunal, Desmond O'Neill

If events of these past days have taught us anything, it is to honour the moment. Cherish those around you . . . Contribute something to your community, and above all, share the love you feel for others each and every day.

- Dr Jack Messina, at a memorial service for his niece, Lauren Besette, who died when the aircraft piloted by John F. Kennedy jnr crashed

The only exercise I get these days is walking behind the coffins of my friends who take exercise.

- Actor Peter O'Toole

It is a mass murder. It cannot be called a war crime.

- Lieut Col Robin Hodges on the killing of 14 Serb farmers

They messed up. They messed up the whole name of Woodstock.

- Mike Long, festival-goer, on the riots that ended Woodstock 1999

I want to pass a message to all the young children and the grown-ups . . . It's easy to stop smoking, I swear to God . . . and this [the cancer] I've nearly beat. What chance has cancer against me? Cancer can't play snooker, it hasn't got a cue.

- Alex Higgins, in Dublin to announce his intention to sue the tobacco companies he blames for his throat cancer

I don't feel worthy of such a high honour.

- President Fidel Castro of Cuba, of the estimated 637 attempts on his life

Very successful, good-looking composer, 43, seeks lovely, affectionate lady 25-35 to share extraordinary life of romance.

- Mike Oldfield, composer, in his lonely hearts ad

As a former chief of counterintelligence, I can tell you communism will never win and we will never go back. The healthy forces won't let it happen.

- The new Russian Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin

It's such a pity she is not going. I would have been quite happy to pack her bags.

- DUP Assembly member Iris Robinson, of Mo Mowlam, who retained her job as Northern Secretary

The political process will be dead in Northern Ireland for a number of years if the review fails; the opportunity of a lifetime will have been missed.

- Seamus Mallon

Every person in Germany feels responsible for Schiller, for Goethe and for Beethoven, but none for Himmler.

- The leader of Germany's Jews, Ignatz Bubis, who has attacked modern Germans for "forgetting" the Holocaust

This was the nicest chequered flag I've ever seen.

- Eddie Irvine, after winning the Austrian Grand Prix