Category Archives: Northern Ireland

Loughinisland journalists told police investigation dropped

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High court judge rebukes police and quashes warrants over unredacted document

Police in England and Northern Ireland have dropped a controversial investigation into journalists who made a documentary about a Troubles atrocity, following a public outcry and a stinging rebuke from judges.

The Durham constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) announced on Monday night that they were no longer investigating Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their work on No Stone Unturned, a film about the murder of six Catholics in Loughinisland, County Down, in 1994.

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Raids on two Northern Irish journalists’ homes had ‘inappropriate’ warrants, court says

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The two reporters, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, had been investigating the 1994 Loughinisland massacre

Police inappropriately obtained search warrants to raid the homes of two Northern Irish investigative journalists, a court has concluded, in a case that has raised concerns about press freedom in Britain.

Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey highlighted apparent collusion between the police and suspected murderers in the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, where six Catholic men were killed by masked Ulster Volunteer Force killers.

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Treatment of Northern Irish journalists likened to police state, court hears

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Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney were held over alleged theft of Loughinisland report

The arrest of two Northern Irish journalists after they embarrassed authorities by obtaining documents relating to a mass murder “was the kind of operation more associated with a police state than with a liberal democracy”, a court has heard.

Northern Irish police raided the homes and offices of the award-winning journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey last August over the alleged theft of a police watchdog report, in a case that has gained global attention owing to concerns over its impact on press freedom in Britain.

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Northern Ireland’s Alliance leader gets push in EU elections from anti-Brexit stance

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Naomi Long wins seat after trebling party’s vote, saying supporters want to remain in EU

Opposition to Brexit has propelled the leader of Northern Ireland’s Alliance party to a dramatic victory in the European elections.

Naomi Long, an outspoken advocate of a second referendum on the UK’s European Union membership, won a seat on Monday with 105,958 first preference votes after almost trebling support for her party compared with the 2014 election.

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Friends of Lyra McKee begin peace walk from Belfast to Derry

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Hundreds of people take park in three-day walk in memory of murdered journalist

Friends of Lyra McKee have started a three-day peace walk from Belfast to Derry, five weeks after the journalist was murdered while watching clashes between police and dissident republicans.

At Writer’s Square in Belfast on Saturday morning, hundreds of people turned out, many wearing T-shirts in her memory and carrying flags bearing messages of peace.

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The Guardian view on abortion: protecting a human right | Editorial

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Cruel laws risk lives and harm women around the world. Attempts to extend them must be resisted

No law can end abortions, however severe its restrictions and however harsh its penalties. Each day almost 70,000 unsafe abortions are carried out around the world, and they are vastly more likely to happen in countries with strict laws. What such legislation does do is force some women to continue pregnancies against their wishes, while risking the lives and wellbeing of others. Women in the US have seen their ability to terminate pregnancies dismantled piece by piece. Now states are racing to outlaw or dramatically curb abortions with extreme and unconstitutional bills. The aim is to directly challenge Roe v Wade, the US supreme court ruling that established that abortion is legal before the foetus is viable outside the womb, at around 24 weeks. Last Tuesday, the governor of Georgia signed a bill essentially banning abortions after six weeks from 2020. Some described it as a sign that men who wish to control women’s bodies have no idea of how they actually work. More likely, those who pushed hardest for the change understand all too well that many women will not know they are pregnant until it is too late.

Five other states have signed similar bills; several more are considering them. (Others have introduced more incremental curbs.) The Alabama senate will this week consider a near-total ban on abortion – with prison sentences of up to 99 years for doctors – which Republicans initially tried to sneak through without even a vote. The state’s lieutenant governor said he believes Roe v Wade will be overturned thanks to Donald Trump’s appointment of conservative jurists.

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Northern Ireland local elections: smaller parties make gains

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Results reveal slight loosening of traditional unionist-nationalist stranglehold


Centrist parties have thrived and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) has consolidated its support, results of Northern Ireland’s local elections show.

With all first preference votes now counted, the Alliance and Green parties, as well as other small parties and independents, made gains, revealing a slight loosening of the traditional unionist-nationalist stranglehold. The DUP won 24.1% of first preferences, a modest increase from the 2014 local election, and Sinn Fein won 23.3%, a slight drop, confirming both parties still dominate the political landscape.

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Bombardier puts Belfast wing-making plant up for sale

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Four thousand skilled jobs at risk in Northern Ireland as Canadian firm unveils sell-off

The Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier is to sell its wing-making operation, which employs 4,000 people in Northern Ireland, sparking concern among trade unions and MPs about the impact on highly skilled jobs.

A spokesman for the prime minister said the government did not expect jobs to be affected but the trade union Unite said it was seeking stronger assurances from the government and the company.

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Deal reached for Northern Ireland power-sharing talks

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Theresa May and Leo Varadkar announce plan for negotiations involving all major NI parties

The British and Irish governments have reached an agreement to establish a new round of talks involving all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, starting on 7 May.

Theresa May and the taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, credited the public response to the killing of Lyra McKee with the announcement on Friday of a fresh attempt to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland.

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Up to 200 ex-soldiers and police facing Troubles investigations

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Figure comes as rift opens between Northern Ireland Office and MoD over how to deal with historical accusations

As many as 200 former members of the British security forces are under official investigation for alleged criminal actions during the Troubles as a rift opens up between the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Defence over how to deal with historical accusations.

There are at least three prosecutions against British soldiers under way. A former Parachute Regiment lance-corporal, identified only so far as “Soldier F”, is due to stand trial for murder and attempted murder for his role in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings. Altogether, it is understood that between 150 and 200 former soldiers and police are under investigation for alleged actions taken during the Troubles.

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Scotland should get independence vote by May 2021 if Brexit going ahead, says Sturgeon – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including PMQs

Here is the key quote from Sturgeon’s opening statement.

There are some who would like to see a very early referendum, others want that choice to be later.

My job as first minister is to reach a judgment, not simply in my party’s interest but in the national interest.

Asked if she is willing to drop her demand for an independence referendum, Sturgeon says she is genuinely open-minded. If other parties can come forward with another mechanism that will protect Scotland’s interests in the event of Brexit, she will consider that, she says. She stresses that she is “open-minded”.

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Theresa May and Leo Varadkar attend Lyra McKee’s funeral

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Political leaders from UK and Ireland are at journalist’s Belfast service

The funeral of Lyra McKee, the journalist shot dead in Derry last week, brought a rare political unity to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

Theresa May joined dignitaries including the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Irish PM, Leo Varadkar, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and the Irish minister for foreign affairs, Simon Coveney, at the funeral.

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Lyra McKee: New IRA says its activists killed journalist

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Group’s statement came amid protests outside Derry offices of Saoradh, a republican party that reflects New IRA thinking

The dissident republican group, the New IRA, has admitted responsibility for the killing of Lyra McKee offering “full and sincere apologies” to her family and friends.

In a statement to the Irish News using a recognised codeword, the group acknowledged its activists had killed the 29-year-old investigative journalist and reporter, who was shot dead in the Creggan estate in Derry on Thursday, and apologised to her relatives.

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UK weather: country enjoys record-breaking Easter Sunday

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England just misses out on record, but new highs set in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

It has been raining in Spain and it’s jumper weather on the coast of Sicily, but in the UK it has been another glorious day, with record-breaking temperatures across much of the country.

Amid warnings that the heatwave was evidence of climate change, the Met Office said new Easter Sunday temperature records were set in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with England just missing out on a new record.

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Dissidents accused of stoking Derry riot for Reggie Yates documentary

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Police request MTV footage after killing of journalist Lyra McKee

Dissident republicans in Derry orchestrated the riot that claimed the life of a journalist partly to impress an MTV film crew fronted by the broadcaster Reggie Yates, it has been claimed.

Yates and his crew were filming a documentary in the Creggan area of Derry last Thursday when republicans started throwing petrol bombs and shooting at police.

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Lyra McKee killing: ‘New breed of terrorism’ in Northern Ireland, says PSNI

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Police arrest two teenagers under anti-terror law after shooting of journalist in Derry

A new breed of terrorist is coming through the ranks in Northern Ireland, the detective leading the hunt for Lyra McKee’s killers said.

Police on Saturday arrested two teenagers in connection with the murder of the journalist in Derry. Officers suspect they are members of the dissident republican group New IRA.

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Life as the Guardian’s Ireland reporter: my return home to a nation in flux

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After two decades away, Rory Carroll reflects on going back to Dublin to cover everything from Brexit and border issues to abortion law and Game of Thrones

I managed five months back in Ireland before falling into a bog. The patch of green moss looked firm, but when stepped on it dissolved into a pool of dark water. It swallowed my leg and encased a foot in muck, heralding a long day of squelching.

A daft thing to happen, but in my defence I was doing a story about bogs. Bord na Móna, the semi-state company that harvests peatlands, was closing “active bogs”, partly in response to climate change, so last November I found myself touring peatlands in County Kildare.

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Northern Irish police call for peace in name of killed journalist

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Officers urge dissidents to step away from violence after Lyra McKee shot in Derry riots

Police in Northern Ireland have issued a call for peace in memory of the journalist Lyra McKee, who died after being shot during rioting in Derry on Thursday night.

Evoking the 29-year-old’s own words about the power of conversation, police encouraged relatives of dissident republicans, who have been blamed for shooting McKee, to urge their family members to step away from violence and pursue peace.

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Derry: woman killed in ‘terrorist’ act, say Northern Ireland police

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Petrol bombs thrown and shots fired in Creggan area of city

A 29-year-old woman has died after shots were fired in Derry, with police in Northern Ireland treating the death as a “terrorist incident”. The victim was reported locally to have been a journalist and author who was covering the unrest taking place in the Creggan area of the city.

Assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said a murder inquiry had been launched after the death on Thursday evening. Petrol bombs were thrown and images from the scene show vehicles alight and others burnt out.

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