Category Archives: Northern Ireland

Brexit: Northern Ireland protocol is ‘only solution’, says Ursula von der Leyen

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EU commission president says it is Brexit, not protocol, that is disrupting trade across the Irish sea

Ursula von der Leyen has blamed Brexit for the disruption to trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland but has reiterated her offer to find “practical solutions” to issues destabilising politics in the region.

After a summit of the 27 heads of state and government in Brussels, the European Commission president defended the arrangements in the withdrawal agreement designed to avoid a border on the island of Ireland.

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17 May reopening: how Covid measures across Britain are changing

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Coronavirus restrictions are set to be eased in England, Wales and most of Scotland from Monday

Coronavirus restrictions will be eased further on Monday in England, Wales and most of Scotland. Northern Ireland will review its measures on Thursday, with a view to lifting more restrictions on 24 May.

The next phase of relaxation comes despite the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, though Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could make it “more difficult” to achieve the final step in England’s roadmap in June.

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Edwin Poots elected DUP leader to succeed Arlene Foster

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Northern Ireland agriculture minister and young Earth creationist says someone else will be first minister

Edwin Poots has been elected leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) on the promise of remoulding Northern Ireland’s biggest party and ratcheting up opposition to the Irish Sea border.

The Stormont agriculture minister on Friday beat Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, a DUP Westminster MP, in a two-horse race to succeed Arlene Foster, who announced she was quitting as party leader and first minister after an internal revolt last month.

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Boris Johnson apologises ‘unreservedly’ over Ballymurphy deaths

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PM apologises for ‘huge anguish’ caused to families of those killed, Downing Street says

Boris Johnson has “apologised unreservedly on behalf of the UK
government for the events that took place in Ballymurphy” and the “huge anguish” caused to the families of those killed, Downing Street said following a call with the first minister and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland.

More details soon …

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The Ballymurphy shootings: 36 hours in Belfast that left 10 dead

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Even by the violent standards of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the events of August 1971 were particularly shocking

Even by the standards of Northern Ireland’s Troubles it was a tumultuous, violent couple of days.

The British army swept into nationalist neighbourhoods across the region on the morning of 9 August 1971 as part of Operation Demetrius, rounding up hundreds of suspects without trial in the hope of snuffing out the IRA’s campaign.

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10 people shot dead in Ballymurphy were innocent, inquest finds

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Report says killings during British army operations in Belfast in 1971 were unjustified

An inquest has found that all 10 people shot dead during operations by the British army in Ballymurphy in 1971 were innocent and that the killings were unjustified, confirming it as one of the bloodiest atrocities of Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

Mrs Justice Keegan delivered her damning findings in a long-awaited coroner’s report on Tuesday. Families of those killed who have campaigned for decades to clear the names of their relatives wept, hugged and applauded.

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‘People got nervous if a bag was left on a chair’: Paul Johnson on Northern Ireland

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The Guardian’s former deputy editor recalls his time reporting from Belfast during the Troubles

Paul Johnson has a vivid memory of one of his most dispiriting moments as the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent.

It was April 1986 and he was covering a Democratic Unionist party (DUP) conference. A warmup speaker for the party leader, Ian Paisley, electrified the audience with a suggestion.

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Northern Ireland’s unionist movement in turmoil as UUP leader steps down

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Steve Aiken’s move throws unionism in Northern Ireland into further flux after Arlene Foster was forced to quit

Political unionism in Northern Ireland has been thrown into further flux after the leader of the Ulster Unionist party announced his resignation.

Steve Aiken’s move comes 10 days after the Democratic Unionist party leader Arlene Foster was forced to quit after an internal heave against her.

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Anger at reports of UK proposals to ban Troubles-era prosecutions

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Sinn Féin, Labour, SDLP and Alliance accused Downing Street of betraying victims of violence

Politicians in Northern Ireland have condemned reports that the UK government is to ban prosecutions of British army veterans for alleged crimes during the Troubles.

Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Alliance party and Labour accused Downing Street of betraying victims of violence and making a shameful attempt to protect security force personnel at the expense of justice.

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Trial of ex-soldiers over 1972 killing of Official IRA member collapses

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Two army veterans acquitted of Joe McCann’s murder after judge ruled some evidence inadmissible

Two former British army paratroopers accused of murdering an Official IRA commander during the Troubles have been acquitted after their trial in Northern Ireland collapsed.

The two veterans, known as soldiers A and C, had been accused of murdering Joe McCann on 15 April 1972, in a closely watched trial with political ramifications.

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‘Complex identities’ of Northern Ireland being undermined, says ex-official

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Ciaran Martin criticises post-Brexit attempts to ‘redesign’ UK based on old notion of English sovereignty

The United Kingdom’s unity faces being destabilised by “flag-waving unionism” from English nationalist politicians, one of the most senior officials to emerge from Northern Ireland’s traditionally Catholic community has warned.

Ciaran Martin, who created the framework for Scotland’s 2014 independence poll as the Cabinet Office’s constitution director, said the “complex identities” of Northern Ireland faced being undermined by post-Brexit attempts to “redesign” the British state based on “a narrow 17th-century notion of English sovereignty”.

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‘I’m proud to be from Northern Ireland’: reflections on a contested centenary

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As it marks its hundredth year, figures from the region talk of identity and allegiance – and the humour running under it all

The centenary of the founding of Northern Ireland is to be marked on Monday – albeit overshadowed by political turmoil and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eight figures from Northern Ireland reflect on a contested centenary and the nuances of identity.

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Anxious unionists in little mood to celebrate Northern Ireland centenary

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In Enniskillen for a long time, the unionists kept winning. Now the feeling is of Britishness being lost

Covered up and boxed in a storage vault in the town of Enniskillen, two historic oil paintings gathered dust. King William III commissioned the portraits of himself and Queen Mary after he routed Catholic forces in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, a turning point in Irish history that established Protestant ascendance.

Unionists revere King Billy, also known as William of Orange, as a hero who saved their settler ancestors. The portraits used to gaze down from Enniskillen town hall, a reminder of their link to the crown, until the council voted to remove them in 2002.

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Boris Johnson is warned of ‘dangerous political vacuum’ in Northern Ireland

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Letter from four former secretaries of state says Brexit’s damage to peace process must be addressed

Northern Ireland is in a dangerous political vacuum and could “fall over” unless the UK government acts swiftly, according to a cross-party group of former cabinet ministers with experience in the region.

Boris Johnson needs to show more urgency and focus to ameliorate Brexit’s damage to the peace process, the group tells the prime minister in an open letter published on Monday.

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Ex-minister Johnny Mercer says ‘almost nobody’ tells truth in Johnson’s government

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Former veterans’ minister says it was ‘most distrustful, awful environment I’ve ever worked in, in government’

The former veterans’ minister Johnny Mercer has launched an extraordinary attack on Boris Johnson’s government, describing it as a “cesspit” and “the most distrustful, awful environment I’ve ever worked in”.

A day after his resignation, the MP also accused ministers of being “cowards” for not implementing a controversial pledge to end “vexatious historical investigations” of veterans who served in Northern Ireland.

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Historians call for opening of secret Northern Ireland files to mark centenary

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Push for transparency comes at a time of heightened tensions in region

Secret archives concerning some of the most controversial episodes from the inception of Northern Ireland could be opened amid pressure from historians advising on its centenary commemorations.

They include an archive dedicated to the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) – a quasi-military and overwhelmingly Protestant reserve police force known as the “B Specials” – and files potentially shedding light on their involvement in atrocities against the Catholic population.

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EU and UK hold ‘productive’ talks on Northern Ireland crisis

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Brexit minister David Frost says momentum has been established in efforts to ease tensions

Talks between the EU and UK to ease tensions in Northern Ireland have been described as “productive” and “constructive” with momentum now established to achieve a solution to the crisis, the Brexit minister, David Frost, has said.

But the EU used the first face-to-face meeting since lockdown between Lord Frost and the European commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, to warn that the outcome needed to be jointly agreed.

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Northern Ireland set to ease Covid restrictions from 23 April

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Hairdressers and beauty salons will be first to reopen in phased easing of lockdown rules

Hairdressers and beauty salons will be able to reopen in Northern Ireland from 23 April, the first stage in a phased reopening of the region’s economy and society, it has been announced.

Outdoor visitor attractions and competitive sports with up to 100 participants will also be allowed from next week.

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Spring cold snap hits as England relaxes Covid lockdown restrictions

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Snowfall in some areas dampens hopes of businesses reopening their doors for first time in months

The lifting of lockdown restrictions to allow people in England to use pub beer gardens and dine in the outdoor areas of restaurants is being met by snowfall, as a spring cold snap hits.

The inclement weather will come as a blow to thousands of businesses that were hoping to welcome back customers on Monday after months of restrictions.

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Union in peril as PM ‘speaks for England alone’, former civil servant warns

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Philip Rycroft says PM’s ‘muscular brand of unionism’ has deepened divisions between four nations

The pandemic has seeded the idea of a prime minister “who speaks for England alone” as relations between the four nations of the UK deteriorate amid “deep-rooted complacency”, a senior former civil servant has warned.

There is widespread ignorance towards the union, meaning ministers can be kept in the dark about major reforms with little consideration for the four nations, Philip Rycroft, the permanent secretary to the Brexit department until 2019, says in a report.

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