SAOIRSE32

IRA2

Police refuse to remove UVF flag

(Irish News)

Police have refused to remove an illegal paramilitary flag flying from a private home just two months after a promised crackdown on the display of sectarian flags.

The UVF flag, right, flying from the balcony of a high-rise flat, is visible to motorists on one of the main access routes to Belfast.

Commuters believe it should be straightforward for police to act against the tenant of the flat, as opposed to the difficulties in identifying those who attach flags to telephone poles and street lights.

But a police spokeswoman said officers would not remove the flag at Mount Vernon flats on the Shore Road, blaming the need for the cooperation of “local communities and statutory agencies”.

Raymond McCord, whose son was murdered by the Mount Vernon UVF, said the police’s inaction was symptomatic of a system that allows paramilitaries to rule areas.

“In Mount Vernon the UVF are a law onto themselves. They are a disgrace to the unionist cause. These people are totally immune to prosecution. They are holding the police and their own community to
ransom,” he said.

“The majority of people in Mount Vernon are good, decent people but a small minority have turned it into a drug den and a place where murderers live.

“Nobody wants to see paramilitary flags flying. It’s a disgrace – take it down.”

In April a protocol was signed by police, the Housing Executive and government bodies to get rid of all displays of sectarian flags.

At the time, Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said: “The display of flags to mark out geographical areas of ‘territory’ or to promote sectarianism or to intimidate people is, and must remain, wholly unacceptable in a peaceful and tolerant society.”

However, last night (Sunday) a police spokeswoman said while they were aware of the loyalist flag and were monitoring the situation, no immediate steps would be taken to remove it.

“We would stress that many of the issues surrounding the flying of flags cannot be resolved with the policing solution alone. They can only be resolved by local communities and statutory agencies working together to find an acceptable answer,” she said.

“Where police action may be required, consultation and negotiation will take place with community representatives regarding local flying of the flags displayed and if required their removal.”

A Housing Executive spokeswoman said it would speak to its tenant, as well as community representatives, in an effort to resolve the matter.

June 10, 2005

BBC

Couple to move after gang attack

The gang broke into this house in Ballymoney

The husband of a woman beaten by a gang armed with baseball bats in County Antrim has said they will be selling their home and moving out.

Police are linking the attack on the 56-year-old in Ballymoney to loyalist paramilitaries.

The woman was in bed when three masked men forced their way into her house in Mosside at about 2330 BST on Thursday.

She was beaten with baseball bats and is being treated in hospital for severe bruising to her arms and body.

The gang ransacked the house before fleeing towards Armoy. Police are still investigating a motive.

However, they said their main line of inquiry was a link between the attack and loyalist paramilitary activity in the north Antrim area.

Detective Inspector Nick McCoy said the woman was subjected to an “horrific” ordeal.

“It is an attack that has to be condemned by any right thinking person in the community,” he said.

‘No justification’

“We are keen to bring these people to justice and we need the community’s help.

“If anybody has any information out there please contact the detectives at Ballymoney.”

The woman’s husband, who was at work at the time of the attack, described those responsible as “cowards”.

Sean Farren, SDLP assembly member for North Antrim, said the attack was “brutal and horrifying”.

“There can be no possible justification for acts like this and there can be no toleration of them either,” he said.

Irelandclick.com

Witnesses come forward in PSNI road death

Jim McMenamin - killed by the PSNI

AN Eyewitness has claimed that the PSNI Land Rover responsible for the death of Jim McMenamin was speeding and had no siren on before the fatal collision.

The investigation into the death of the 29-year-old Glenalina man also took an unexpected twist during the week as a mysterious taxi became embroiled in the investigation.

Jim McMenamin was knocked down by the PSNI vehicle on the Upper Springfield Road as he made his way home from a night out in Gort na Mona GAC in the early hours of Saturday morning.

A married couple who came across the scene of the death with their two daughters have come forward to the Andersonstown News with fresh information about the incident and the presence of a private taxi. The family wish to remain anonymous, although they have spoken to the McMenamin family directly and confirmed that they will provide a statement to the office of the Police Ombudsman.

Just after 1am on Saturday morning the West Belfast man travelled down the Upper Springfield Road to pick up his wife from a party in Caulfield’s bar near the junction of the Whiterock Road and the Upper Springfield Road. At this stage, he could confirm that no incident had taken place. Just before his wife and their two daughters were collected a PSNI Land Rover drove up the road.

The man thought that the PSNI vehicle was driving at a considerable speed and without its headlights on. “The police were coming up the Upper Springfield Road, horsing up it. There was only one jeep. It had no headlights on, nor a siren, just the blue light flashing.”

He estimated that the vehicle was traveling at “easily 60mph”.

His wife and their children got into the car and they drove back up the Upper Springfield Road in the direction of the Monagh By-pass Travellers’ site. When they arrived at the scene of Jim McMenamin’s death, near the entrance to the laneway of Gort na Mona GAC, they saw the police vehicle had stopped, with the rear of the jeep on the left lane countrywards, and the front of the vehicle on the diagonal white lines in the centre of the road. Also in the partition was a private taxi, a Volkswagen Passat, with its rear door open.

“At first I thought that the peelers had rammed the taxi,” said the man. “I saw a peeler sitting at the back of the jeep and he looked like he was in shock. He was as green as his shirt. Jim’s body was lying on the right hand lane as you go up the Upper Springfield Road. It was obvious he was dead, as they had put a coat over him. His legs and lower body were twisted.”

The Andersonstown News can reveal that the taxi driver has since contacted both the family and the Police Ombudsman about what he witnessed.

A spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman’s office said, “We have spoken to a number of people who were in the taxi. It was not involved in the collision and they would not have been required to stay at the scene.

“We continue to investigate the circumstances of this incident and to liaise with the McMenamin family.”

Speaking yesterday, Jim’s uncle, Eamonn Stott, encouraged any one who saw anything on the night of the tragedy to contact the Police Ombudsman, or if they had reservations, to contact the family.

“The Ombudsman have told us that they have taken the vehicle away for tests, including mechanical tests. It could be a few months before we hear anything but they have been keeping us regularly updated,” said Eamonn.
On Tuesday Sinn Féin West Belfast MP Gerry Adams visited the family of Jim McMenamin to express his condolences.

Speaking afterwards Mr Adams said, “There is serious disquiet in the local community, shared by the family, that the PSNI handling of Saturday night’s incident gives cause for real concern. Many serious questions need to be answered about the circumstances surrounding the killing of Jim McMenamin, the role of the PSNI and its behaviour immediately after the incident.

“The family want no cover-up. They want the truth. I am appealing to anyone who saw anything or who has any information to bring that forward and speak to the Office of the Police Ombudsman which is carrying out an investigation into this incident. It is important that this is done in conjunction with a solicitor.”

Journalist:: Damien McCarney

Irelandclick.com

Squinter - a sideways look the week

Freedom of a city they’d much rather forget

Get this: Sunday Life has started a campaign to give the British army bomb squad the freedom of our city.

And get this: the SDLP says it’s something that they can look at “sympathetically”.

Squinter’s not sure which part of that he finds more troubling.

Possibly the fact that while others are exercised by the G8 summit, world poverty, Aids and global warming, somebody sat down and decided that the very considerable resources of ‘Sir’ Tony O’Reilly’s bean empire would best be deployed in giving a bunch of alcoholic ne’er-do-wells a slap-up meal at our expense and the right to graze their sheep in Cornmarket. Or possibly the fact that the SDLP think this might be a good idea.

Let’s be clear about one thing – if the bomb squad was being honoured in terms of results, then we’d be better off giving the freedom of the city to the Keep Sport Off Sky TV Association.

When the bomb squad was at its busiest, Belfast made Grozny look like Monaco and the main job of the bomb squad then was to watch from a distance as another screamer filled the city air with smoke and glass and bricks.

Should the old boys get the freedom of Belfast, it won’t be the first time they’ve been invited along to a beano to pick up a gong. Squinter’s diligent researchers have established that the bomb squad has picked up over 300 awards over the years.

Clearly, there’s not space here to list them all, but the following have all had cause to be grateful to the squad…

• The Ulster Glazers’ Association
• Northern Ireland Brick and Concrete Ltd
• The Ulster Vintners’ Association

Over the years, the bomb squad – or the 321 Explosive Ordnance Squadron – has responded to 55,000 call-outs, although, disappointingly, the Soldier (magazine of the British army) fails to note how many of these bombs it managed to neutralise. Not a lot, as somebody on the TV used to say.

Bomb squad vehicles were characterised by the drawing of Felix the cat which, in a rare moment of levity, the squad decided to use as its call-sign because the famous moggy had nine lives and routinely survived all sorts of hair-raising scrapes.

Perhaps none of the squad at that time had a working knowledge of Latin, but the name Felix means lucky, which was a particularly unfortunate choice given that 20 members of the tiny squadron were to be killed and 24 seriously injured.

Those behind the campaign no doubt passionately believe they’re doing a good thing, but Squinter’s not so sure they’ve thought it through.

Given the high rate of post traumatic stress disorder suffered by squadron members, you have to wonder whether it’s a good idea to take them from their gardens in Sussex and bring them back to Belfast just when those sweat-soaked nightmares about hedgerows, milk churns and Morris Marinas were beginning to subside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In that scrum for McCartney murder showcase…

Squinter must admit that his hard old heart melted at the sight of so many journalists scrambling to get into the court to see two men charged in connection with the killing of Robert McCartney.
Sometimes this cynical old trade can make a person depressed, but sometimes, just sometimes, something happens which reminds us all that hacks are human too.
As Squinter made his way to the court on Saturday, he bumped into a colleague whose concern for victims and their families has been the pilot light which has guided his career.
His simple words said all that needed to be said: “Hey, fella, any idea where the magistrates court is?”
In the middle of the boisterous scrum of journos trying to claim one of the limited number of press places available, an international visitor tapped Squinter on the shoulder and asked: “Are those guys with the caps and the guns IRA or unionists?”
A feature writer from the Azerbaijan Daily News asked Squinter was it true that one of the men present on that fateful night was now willing to give evidence in the case.
Squinter was delighted to report that it was, although he had to add that the witness’s sentencing on an armed robbery rap and his trial on charges of attempted murder arising from a city centre stabbing might hold things up a bit.
Strangely, the Azerbaijan bloke turned on his heel and went back to the airport.
Squinter was equally pleased to note that while two men have now been charged, the McCartney family say they won’t rest until another 15 people have been charged as well.
Cynics might point out that the last time there was a trial in Belfast with 17 people in the dock the only evidence against them was given from behind a curtain by a bloke flown in from Cornwall in a Chinook with a cardboard box over his head.
Personally speaking, Squinter thinks a good show trial is long overdue.

~~~~~~~~~~

NIPS seek taigs for work and other pleasurable activities

The Brits want to increase the number of Taigs in the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Squinter learns this week.
Eager for a much-needed if rather belated career change, Squinter downloaded an application form from the NIPS website which he’s pleased to reproduce here in the hope that some of you will fill it in and return it.
£30,000 a year; 150 sick days a year; subsidised canteen; rent allowance; free membership of the prison officers’ social club, which regular readers of this column will know is a wild west-themed establishment called The Lazy B; free shiny boots.
Sure where would you get it and what are you waiting for?

First name:
a) Simpson
b) Gibson
c) Wilson

surname:
a) Simpson
b) Gibson
c) Wilson

previous
employers:
a) British army
b) RUC
c) UDA

hobbies:
a) Ulster-Scots
b) Pipe bands
c) Ulster-Scots pipe bands

place of birth:
a) Portadown
b) Londonderry
c) Comber

last job:
Head of the Colombian Cali Cartel.

reason for leaving:
Need more money.

criminal record:
The Old Rugged Cross by William McCrea (©Ye Olde Joke Shoppe)

And by total coverage you mean what
exactly?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A correspondent writes to say that he eagerly picked up Sunday Life to read the report on the Republic v Israel match only to find to his horror that the World Cup qualifier was dealt with in a single 24-word paragraph.
Can it be true?

It is Squinter’s sad duty to report that he has scanned the five pages of the paper’s ‘World Cup 2006 Total Coverage’ to find that it can indeed be true.
Happily, the report on the Azerbaijan-Poland match is satisfyingly comprehensive.

Irelandclick.com

Executive offers UVF threat victim house in loyalist area

The Housing Executive offered a North Belfast man, who is under loyalist death threat and was forced to leave his home, a flat with red, white and blue kerbstones outside.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said he was “baffled” at the “bizarre” offer to house him in Henderson Avenue at the top of the Cavehill Road in an area close to Ballysillan.
The Housing Executive later apologised to the 25-year-old who received a bullet through his letterbox along with a threat from the UVF.
Officials also agreed to remove the offer from his file that would mean he would only have two more offers under a three offer rule.
It’s not the first time the Housing Executive has bungled an emergency housing application.
Two years ago the Meekin family who had to move out of Ligoniel after daughter Emma revealed pensioner John O’Neill had sexually abused her, was subsequently offered a house in the same estate they had been forced to move out of.
“I received the bullet last year and I applied for alternative housing,” said the loyalist threat victim.
“I was given 310 points and I’m shifting about living with relatives and friends at the moment. I couldn’t believe it when they offered me Henderson Avenue with the kerbs painted red, white and blue. I felt very intimidated.”
A spokeswoman for the Housing Executive confirmed that the offer was made for Henderson Avenue, but despite the painted kerbstones, claimed the area was “mixed”.
“This man presented to the Housing Executive as homeless in November 2004 citing intimidation from his privately rented accommodation. As is standard Housing Executive practice he was offered temporary accommodation and furniture storage until the circumstances had been investigated, but made his own arrangements,” she said.
“After investigation, and confirmation from PSNI, he was awarded full duty applicant status and is currently appearing on the waiting list for permanent housing in the Oldpark and Cliftonville areas.
“He was offered permanent accommodation at Oldpark Road but this offer was refused. He was also offered permanent accommodation at Henderson Avenue, which is a mixed area, and again this was refused. However, after speaking to the applicant the district office have agreed that this will not be treated as a formal offer.
“The district office is sympathetic to this man’s situation and will make every effort to rehouse him as quickly as possible in his chosen areas of choice.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

McCartney friend in court

Glengormley man Brendan Devine who was stabbed in a Belfast bar along with Robert McCartney appeared in court on Tuesday in connection with a stolen vehicle.

Devine of Mayfield Village was charged with receiving stolen goods (a Mercedes four wheel drive) on August 3, 2003.
Charges of using a fraudulent tax disc, fraudulent registration mark, no test certificate and no insurance on the same date were also included.
The case was adjourned until June 21.
Devine is also awaiting sentencing for his part in an armed robbery in South Belfast last year.
In January this year Devine, John Connolly O’Connor and William Evans pleaded guilty to robbing a Cashco employee and taking a cash-box valued at £1,800. The boxes usually contain about £25,000.
Devine is also due to make another appearance before judges in the summer. This relates to an incident in November 2003 when a pub bouncer was stabbed.
He has been charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and unlawfully and maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.
A second man Hugh ‘Applegoat’ McCormick, from Carryduff, has also been charged with offences linked to the attack.
McCormick is the brother of James ‘Dim’ McCormick who has been charged with attempting to murder Devine during the pub brawl, which resulted in the death of Robert McCartney.
Devine will be one of the witnesses who will testify against those accused of attempted murder on himself and the murder of Robert McCartney.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

PSNI will police Live 8

The PSNI will be taking part in the policing operation surrounding the G8 anti-globalisation day, Scottish police have confirmed to the North Belfast News.

But cops on this side of the Irish Sea are remaining tight-lipped about the role they will play, prompting speculation that the riot squad could be deployed in case of violence.
A counter insurgency operation could also be carried out on activists travelling from Ireland.
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly said questions had to be asked on the role the PSNI would play in the massive event.
A spokesman for the task force specially set up to plan the policing of the massive Live 8 concert confirmed to the North Belfast News this week that PSNI officers would be involved in the massive concert and rally events planned for July.
“There is some involvement from Northern Ireland, the extent (of which) we would not say,” said a spokesman.
“As far as I’m aware there will be officers coming from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
The protests are to coincide with a meeting between the leaders of the world’s top industrial nations at the G8 summit at Gleneagles in Perthshire from July 6 to 8.
Organisers like Bob Geldof have urged 1million people to converge on Edinburgh.
Estimates of the policing operation in Scotland have been said to be close to £120m by one newspaper. But no overall figure has yet been given by the British government for the cost of hosting the Gleneagles event.
“Questions are raised over what role the PSNI will play, be it in riot control like we had in Ardoyne on July 12, or in counter insurgency and monitoring anti-poverty and anti-war protesters over there,” said Gerry Kelly.
“Certainly this role will not address the issues of global poverty and in fact it could make the situation worse. It doesn’t bode well for Edinburgh in having a police force there that operates on an anti-community and sectarian agenda.”
A PSNI spokeswoman refused to say what the role of the PSNI would be in Live 8.
“The PSNI has agreed in principle that if support is required we will consider meeting that requirement in the context of our own operational requirements.”

Journalist:: Andrea McKernon

Irelandclick.com

Girdwood: Brits to go back in

British army could go back into Girdwood because kids are ‘wrecking’ the base…

The NIO has threatened to put the British army back into Girdwood barracks, if locals don’t keep children from wrecking the base, a community worker has said.
Manus Maguire from Manor Street Community Association was given the startling ultimatum this week by an NIO official.
The British army has engaged a contractor to dismantle the base after local teenagers gained access.
But it’s believed no night watch men are employed at the base and children and teenagers are gaining access through gaps in the outer steel walls.
The North Belfast News understands that the British army is looking at options to improve security including the use of soldiers to guard the barracks.
A security source said the vandalism could hold up the work of the contractors for months.
The vandalism, which occurred over the weekend, has raised the dual issue of parents knowing where their children are, and the risk of serious injury or death in the base.
Manus Maguire urged parents to keep their children out of the dangerous grounds.
“The sangars are still there and the kids are climbing up them. It’s very dangerous and the kids are just going in wrecking. The NIO contacted us and told us if local community workers couldn’t stop kids going in, then they would bring the army back in.
“We then gave the phone number of the NIO to residents to voice their concerns because they are being tortured by these vandals and the NIO told them it was nothing to do with them,” he said.
But a spokesman for the NIO refused to be drawn on the issue saying: “Proper security has to be provided for the site to allow the contractor to continue his work to return the site to civilian use.”
A spokesman for the British army confirmed it was reviewing security at the base.
“Because of the vandalism at the former Girdwood army base in North Belfast at the weekend, the MoD is reviewing security measures to protect contractors carrying out demolition on the site,” he said.
Meanwhile CCTV cameras have already been installed at Girdwood.

Journalist:: Andrea McKernon

Unison.ie / Irish Independent

Boys escape near blast

THREE children had a lucky escape yesterday when the pipe bombs they discovered failed to detonate after they hurled them on the ground. Christopher McElroy (8), his brother David (7) and their friend Adam Currie (8) found a bag containing 13 bombs in a derelict flat in Portadown, Co Armagh.

Belfast Telegraph

Man due in court over bar shooting

By Brian Hutton
10 June 2005

A man charged in connection with a sectarian bar shooting in Derry was due before court today.

The 26-year-old is accused of causing grievous bodily harm and possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to commit an arrestable offence.

It is understood the charges relate to an incident in Derry’s Waterside on Wednesday night at the Oval Bar in Duke Street, during which a man was shot in the head.

The male victim, believed to be Protestant, was also shot twice in the hand, while a woman sitting near him was hit in the chest.

The wounded man underwent further treatment yesterday. However, his injuries were not thought to be life threatening.

Belfast Telegraph

Millionaire loyalist shot 11 times
Life term for killing terrorist

By Ashleigh Wallace
10 June 2005

Justice in Northern Ireland should be dispensed in a court of law and not down the barrel of a gun.

That’s according to Superintendent Roy McComb, the senior investigating officer involved in the prosecution of Portadown man Robert Young - who was yesterday handed a life sentence after being found guilty of murdering Jim ‘Jonty’ Johnston.

Young (41), from Ulsterville Park, appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court and was yesterday told by Mr Justice Higgins: “You have been found guilty of the murder of James Herbert Johnston.

“The only penalty in this jurisdiction for murder is of imprisonment for life, to which I sentence you.”

The court is expected to reconvene at a later date to decide what tariff Young must serve. It is understood he plans to appeal against his sentence, which was passed following a six week Diplock trial.

During yesterday’s hearing, the court heard that blood which matched Young’s was found on barbed wire fencing close to the murder scene along the escape route taken by the gunmen.

When he was arrested two weeks after the murder in his parents home, Young denied the murder to police.

He told them that at the time of the killing, he had been at his sister Lorraine’s house in Holywood.

When Young was examined by a doctor, he was found to have injuries which the judge said were “consistent with scrambling through rough terrain and through thick and sharp vegetation”.

Johnston, a member of the Red Hand Commando, was hit 11 times when two gunmen opened fire at his plush home on the Ballyrobert Road in Crawfordsburn on May 8, 2003.

Also appearing in court yesterday was Young’s sister Lorraine (35) - the former sister-in-law of Stephen Warnock who was shot dead in Newtownards in September 2002.

The mother of three, from Church Hill, claimed her brother was with her the night Johnston was killed. However, after finding her brother guilty of the murder, Mr Justice Higgins said if Young was guilty of murder, she was guilty of perverting the course of justice.

Holywood woman Susan Ferguson (35), from Westlink, was also found guilty of possessing a magazine for a Taurus pistol which was found on top of her fridge and which was connected to the murder.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Supt Roy McComb said: “Whatever people thought of Jim Johnston and whatever crimes he was suspected of, no-body has the right to kill him.”

He added that justice should be dispensed in court and not “from the barrel of a gun”.

BBC

**Takes a real man to gang up three on one woman and using baseball bats. There’s something they can be proud of.

Masked gang attack woman in house

A woman has been treated in hospital after being beaten by a gang of masked men who broke into her home in Ballymoney, County Antrim.

Three men forced their way into her house in the Mosside area of Ballymoney at about midnight on Thursday.

They beat her with baseball bats, causing severe bruising to her body.

The gang ransacked the house before escaping in a car in the direction of Armoy. Police are describing the attack as a paramilitary-style assault.

They have appealed for anyone with information concerning the incident to contact them.

Sean Farren, SDLP Assembly member for North Antrim, described the attack as “brutal and horrifying”.

“There can be no possible justification for acts like this and there can be no toleration of them either,” he said.

Guardian

Abuser ‘forced family to flee home’
Police unable to stop paedophile living near his schoolgirl victim

Steven Morris
Friday June 10, 2005
The Guardian

The family of a schoolgirl claim that they have been forced out of their home after a paedophile who was jailed for sexually assaulting the child moved back into their street after being released.

**First off, the scum was only given an 8 month sentence and then was out in 5. Now this. Crimes against women and children are not seen as serious by the men who make the laws.

Guardian

IBUPROFEN - ‘Safe’ drug link to heart attacks
Millions face painkiller dilemma

Sarah Boseley, health editor
Friday June 10, 2005
The Guardian

Nine million people with arthritis were yesterday left in a dilemma as ibuprofen, a painkiller which has long been considered one of the safest drugs on the market, was linked with heart attacks.

The news will dismay those who depend on drugs to reduce the stiffening in joints, alleviate the pain and allow them to lead a normal life.

The question mark over ibuprofen, of which Nurofen is one of the best known brands, and the other less well-known non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) follows on the heels of the crisis over a newer class of medicines used for the same purpose.

The drug company Merck took its best-selling Vioxx off the market after trials showed it, too, was linked with heart attacks. A whole class of drugs, known as the Cox2 inhibitors, is now under investigation.

The biggest support group for people with arthritis made a heartfelt plea yesterday for doctors to advise them on what they should do.

“Medicine is an important element in the treatment for the vast majority of people with arthritis. There is now much confusion and worry over the risks associated with many of the medicines used for arthritis,” said Neil Betteridge, chief executive of Arthritis Care.

“We urgently need the medical profession to take a lead in helping people with arthritis decide what treatment is right for them. Of course, any medicine that brings a benefit is likely also to carry a risk of some side effects. Indeed, doing nothing to manage your condition may also carry a risk.

“However, there needs to be very clear communication of both the risks and benefits associated with each and every treatment.

“Ultimately, it is the person with arthritis who will decide what to take for their condition and their decision needs to be an informed one.”

Confidence in ibuprofen, which as an over-the-counter painkiller had sales of over 200m in 2000, was further dented by a study published last week by researchers at the University of Southern California, who said they had identified a link to breast cancer.

Today’s paper, published in the British Medical Journal, comes from academics at Nottingham University, who identified 9,218 patients in England, Scotland and Wales aged from 25 to 100 who had suffered a first heart attack.

They then looked to see if they had been taking NSAIDS and Cox2 inhibitors.

Their results were adjusted for factors linked to heart attacks, such as age, heart disease, smoking habits and whether they were also taking aspirin, which reduces the heart attack risk.

They found that the risk of a heart attack was increased in those who had taken the drugs in the three months before their heart attack.

For ibuprofen, the risk rose by almost a quarter (24%) - higher if they had been on it longer - and for a similar drug called diclofenac it rose to 55%.

The increased risk with the Vioxx (generic name rofecoxib) was 32% and with an other Cox2 called Celebrex (celecoxib) it was 21%.

The authors were particularly concerned about older NSAIDS like ibuprofen, because many people will have switched to them after the furore over the Cox2s. For every 1,005 people over 65 taking ibuprofen, they say, one will have a heart attack.

The authors, Julia Hippisley-Cox, professor of clinical epidemiology and general practice, and Carol Coupland, senior lecturer in medical statistics, call for an investigation of the heart risks of all these drugs.

They say that given the high prevalence of the use of these drugs in elderly people and the increased risk of heart attack with age, there could be considerable implications for public health.

In a separate editorial in the BMJ, Peter Juni, senior research fellow in clinical epidemiology at the University of Berne, and colleagues say that some of the results of the study could be explained by other factors.

Large-scale clinical trials comparing the efficacy and side-effects of the drugs may be necessary to determine the best treatment for people with musculoskeletal pain, they say.

smh.com.au

**Glad to hear our ‘three-decade conflict’ ended in 1998.

Queen may make first Ireland visit

June 10, 2005 - 6:19AM

Queen Elizabeth may soon make her first state visit to Ireland, Irish President Mary McAleese said after meeting the monarch.

The Queen has avoided visiting Ireland because of security worries stemming from neighbouring Northern Ireland’s three-decade conflict, which ended with the 1998 Good Friday peace accord.

“The Irish and British governments are agreed that a visit should take place and the timing is for decision by them in the light of the successful development of the political process in Northern Ireland over time,” McAleese said in a statement.

The possibility of a state visit by the Queen has been discussed for years. She has been wary of visiting Ireland since her husband’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was killed by the Irish Republican Army while holidaying there in 1979.

The IRA declared a cease-fire in 1994 but a breakaway group known as the Real IRA remains active. Prince Charles and other senior royals have visited the country.