SAOIRSE32

IAIS

01/20/06 08:58 EST

More than 3,000 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland are to be re-examined as part of a GBP £30 million ($52 million) specialist police team looking into the past, it emerged today.

Dave Cox, who is heading the Historical Enquiries Team, said his officers would reopen the files on 3,268 cases during the Troubles and would try and achieve the best resolution for victims` families.

But nationalist victims` groups An Fhirinne said the families of people killed as a result of collusion between loyalists and the security forces doubted the enquiry team could ever get to the truth of what happened to their relatives.

“We believe our relatives were murdered by British agents, including members of RUC/PSNI Special Branch,” said spokesman Robert McClenaghan.

“Those RUC/PSNI members who organised, equipped and ran the unionist death squads are now being asked to furnish the HET with information, evidence and witnesses about hundreds of unsolved murders they themselves were involved in.”

“Those accused of murder are being asked to reinvestigate themselves. That is why the HET will fail to get to the truth about collusion. Only an independent, international inquiry will have the authority and confidence of victims` families to get to the truth about collusion and State murder.”

But Mr Cox claimed a number of republican victims` groups had already engaged with his team.

“We have met a number of republican families and, through the good offices of some of the non-governmental organisations who represent them and their solicitors, we have spoken to them,” he said.

“We have established, I think, a good rapport in certain cases. There are always going to be people who won`t trust us. It is our job to try and build that trust and hopefully the examples of cases where it has worked will lead other families to come forward.”

Sinn Fein`s victims spokesman Philip McGuigan and Mark Thompson, of the nationalist victims` group Relatives for Justice, also voiced doubts about the Historical Enquiries Team.

Mr McGuigan, an Assembly member for North Antrim, argued: “However much this scheme is dressed up, it is still an internal unit of the PSNI, and is very much the case of the state investigating the state.”

“The PSNI record to date in cases of state murder has been one of cover-up and concealment.”

Mr McGuigan said his community was also hugely sceptical of the British Government`s commitment to truth, justice or dealing with the past, and the HET did nothing to address that.

Mr Thompson said the HET was a limited police and criminal justice initiative aimed at addressing the past in absence of a proper non-punitive truth recovery process.

“It will, by definition, not address the nature, causes and extent of the conflict,” he said.

“The fact that it is a police investigation may prove problematic in the long-term with possible prosecutions. But, more importantly, the very same institutions that were at the heart of the conflict as protagonists are undertaking this initiative and are answerable to Peter Hain. It is not independent. As a result, we fail to see how such an approach can be compatible with international human rights investigative standards, in particular Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998,” Mr. Thompson said.

A total of £24.3 million has been ring fenced for the police unit and a further £7.3 million for forensic scientists using modern techniques to help solve the cold cases.

The Historical Enquiries Team will begin its work on Monday, focusing on an initial batch of 100 cases and are examining all the unsolved murders in chronological order. The first case dates back to April 1969.

Mr Cox, a former retired Metropolitan Police commander, said: “I do not for a moment underestimate the complexity of this challenge or the potential emotional stress for relatives associated with revisiting these tragic events. That is why families will sit at the very heart of our investigations and that is why our primary objective will be to work with them to achieve some measure of resolution for them.”

Originally it had been estimated that there were 2,000 unsolved murders.

However, the enquiries team are looking into 3,268 deaths because while in some cases one person may have been convicted, there are other suspects who avoided arrest.

Families will be consulted by the team on whether they want to proceed with the prosecutions or if there can be any other form of resolution.

A total of 84 staff have been recruited.

Retired police officers formally in the Royal Ulster Constabulary will be involved as well as a mixture of retired and seconded officers from English, Scottish and Welsh forces.

A helpdesk will be operational at the team`s Sprucefield headquarters outside Lisburn for families.

The idea of the historical enquiries team was first floated by Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde in September 2004.

Mr Cox said that when a family wanted a prosecution and the evidence existed, the team would pursue it in the courts.

SDLP policing spokesperson Alex Attwood claimed the Historical Enquiries Team, which hopes to clear its list of cold cases within six years, was a brave initiative and a good idea.

“The HET is a big initiative - it will be judged and should judge itself on whether it, without fear or favor, looks at all killings - loyalist, republican and state,” the West Belfast Assembly member said.

“The SDLP hope the leadership of the HET will do this. We believe it will. The HET has a strong leadership and procedures and must ensure that all agencies, particularly the British Army, comply or are forced to comply with its investigations. Unlike the Hain/Adams attempt to bury the past through the on-the-run/state killers proposals, the HET attempts to tell the truth, identify those responsible for deaths and help bring closure and healing.”

“These are the right principles to deal with the past - not the shoddy approach of Hain/Adams.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said the launch of the team was an important step towards a new future in the North.

“We will never forget those who lost their lives as a result of the Troubles,” he insisted.

“Nor will we forget those who continue to mourn these losses and who have to live with the consequences on a daily basis. The Government, through the provision of additional funding to set up the Historical Enquiries Team, is committed to addressing unanswered questions for as many families of victims as possible.”

“I do not under-estimate the challenges that lie ahead for the team in investigating this complex and sensitive work. I believe the efforts in meeting these challenges will be of vital importance as we continue to move the peace process forward and assist those who have been most directly affected to reach some understanding and closure on the past.”

Irwin Montgommery, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, also welcomed the launch of the review team and hoped for progress on unsolved cases.

“While our expectation of what the review will achieve has to be tempered with the realism of impact of the passage of time and the unavailability for one reason or another of witnesses, the review team`s work is a clear signal that crime cannot be allowed to go unacknowledged even if, at times, it will be inadequately punished,” he said.

“DNA may uncover new evidence and witnesses may feel more secure about coming forward. I hope that those who think that they have got away with past atrocities will now start to look over their shoulders and realise that justice may catch up with them after all.”

BBC

By Mark Devenport
BBC NI political editor

The Ulster Unionist Party has suggested to the government the rules of the Stormont Assembly should be changed to enable members to vote for their preferred temporary alternative models of government.

Senior party sources say this would require fresh legislation which should include a so-called “sunset clause” to ensure a temporary system would end in May 2007, when the next assembly elections are due to take place.

It is understood the party’s preferred Plan B would give assembly members the right to scrutinise laws related to Northern Ireland and also give them financial powers related to the budget of Northern Ireland departments.

UUP sources say that if a reconvened assembly could not form a full power-sharing executive, then it should have the opportunity to vote on their proposals or the ideas of any of the other parties.

The Ulster Unionists are not the only party to have suggested alternative arrangements for refloating the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The SDLP has proposed appointing unelected “civic administrators” who could run local government departments instead of direct rule ministers.

The DUP is due to hand Tony Blair a 16-page document next Tuesday with its latest idea.

“Facing Reality” is understood to suggest a two stage process in which the assembly could be brought back with lesser powers; full devolution could follow once the parties were confident that all sides were committed to peaceful politics.

Sinn Fein has consistently argued that such “halfway house” ideas were not consistent with the Good Friday Agreement.

However, a senior UUP source argued that it was dangerous to let the current vacuum continue. The source said it was “humiliating and embarrassing” for Northern Ireland politicians to continue to be kept by the taxpayer, whilst a talking shop assembly was not an option.

Modular devolution

The source said the current process had “no focus, no deadline and no reason to take risks” and local politicians were merely spectators as the economic reality changed around them.

Although the UUP acknowledges that other parties may object to their ideas, the party source said the assembly should be given a role because “trust will only be built when you work together, you can’t build trust at long range”.

The UUP call their idea “modular devolution”.

Apart from scrutinising laws and budgets, they envisage a role for assembly members in the meetings of north-south and east-west institutions.

The UUP believe that if the idea is given a fair wind, Westminster could amend the current Stormont rules by the summer, or by September at the very latest.

The inclusion of a “sunset clause” is designed to reassure nationalists who will suspect that unionists want to set up an alternative form of government, then never allow the old power-sharing executive to be restored.

Derry Journal

Friday 20th January 2006

The Saville Inquiry says a decision to use the photographs of two soldiers in this year’s commemoration poster does NOT breach an anonymity ruling. The poster - a popular collectors item –features a photograph of Britain’s top army officer, General Sir Mike Jackson, who was a captain when he served with the Parachute Regiment in Derry on January 30, 1972.

However, the poster also includes images - taken in 1972 - of two unidentified soldiers who were in the city on Bloody Sunday. The Saville tribunal had ruled that no pictures could be published of those soldiers granted anonymity while giving evidence. However, a spokesperson for the Inquiry says that, as the pictures included on the poster have previously been in the public domain - and as they are not accompanied by the soldiers’ names - there has been no infringement of the ruling. John Kelly, whose brother, Michael, was among those shot dead on Bloody Sunday, believes the poster “contains a very powerful message.”

“In my opinion, it sums up the very essence of this year’s commemorative programme which is entitled: ‘towards justice’. “For far too long these people have remained hidden. It is time that the people of Derry saw them, as it were, in the flesh.”

Derry Journal

Friday 20th January 2006

Shankill relative Alan McBride has revealed that he had to think “long and hard” before accepting an invitation to deliver this year’s Bloody Sunday memorial lecture in Derry. Mr. McBride - whose wife Sharon was among ten people killed in the 1993 IRA bombing of Frizzell’s fish shop - was confirmed this week as the main speaker at the January 27 event in the Guildhall.

Mr. McBride yesterday attended a seminar organised by republican ex-prisoners to discuss proposals for a museum on the site of the former Long Kesh prison. The Belfast man - who, during the 1990s, followed Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams around the world demanding an explanation for the Shankill Road atrocity –admitted to being “surprised” at receiving the invitation to speak at this year’s 34th anniversary event. “I must say I was a bit surprised to receive the invitation because I think I’m the first person from my background to be asked to do this. I am nervous about it but also looking forward to it. It will be challenging for both me and my audience.

“I admit I did have to think long and hard about it before I accepted. In fact, it took me a few days to make up my mind. But I concluded that if there is a right time to do this, then it is now.” Mr. McBride is hoping for a “good reception” from the audience at the event.

“I’ll be saying things republicans may not want to hear,” he said. “I haven’t softened my opinions or views on the IRA and I will be taking the opportunity to challenge republicans.” Mr. McBride said he had no plans to attend the annual commemorative march - which takes place on Sunday, January 29. But, he added: “This does not mean that I do not support the rights of the victims’ families to look for justice.”

Derry Journal

Friday 20th January 2006

The number of men out of work in the Derry City Council area is more than double that of the Northern Ireland average. The latest unemployment figures reveal that 7.8 per cent of the Council area’s males (of working age) are without jobs.

Across the North, this figure stands at 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of females out of work in the Derry area is also higher than the average for across the North. In the Derry Council area, 2.2 per cent of females of working age are out of work while across the North this figure stands at 1.2%. It’s a similar situation in Strabane where 6.7 per cent of males of working age are without jobs. In Limavady, 3.8 per cent of males of working age are without work –mirroring the Northern Ireland average.

Meanwhile, the overall jobless figures confirm that Derry and Strabane continue to top the unemployment league table. According to the new government figures published this week, seasonally adjusted figures for December showed 27,199 people in Northern Ireland (2.6% of the workforce) claiming benefit. The new figures reveal that, in the Derry City Council area, 5.1% of people of working age were out of work. 2,651 (7.8%) men and 717 (2.2%) women were without jobs in the local council area.

This marks a drop of just 20 on the previous month’s figures and a decrease of 33 in the past 12 months. Strabane, meanwhile, remains in second place in the jobless chart. 1,124 people - 844 men and 280 women - were out of work in the Strabane area.

NIO Enterprise Minister, Angela Smith, commenting on the latest labour market figures, says: “The Northern Ireland labour market is continuing to perform well. Unemployment levels remain below the UK average and employment has increased by 2.9% during the last year. “The positive results by our production and service sector industries also indicate that the Northern Ireland economy is performing well. “The annual growth in output levels for both the production and service sector industries is significantly higher than the UK equivalent. This shows that NI companies are continuing to rise to the challenge and are producing encouraging results in the face of difficult trading conditions.

“Through the implementation of the Economic Vision we will continue to encourage firms to develop new products and services, to seize business opportunities as they arise and to avail of the new technologies and infrastructure that are now available.”

Irelandclick

The Mater Hospital is involved in a new initiative that tailor trains people out of work for posts that suffer a staffing shortfall at the hospital due to lack of local expertise. The new project has cross-party support.

Each year statistics are produced that show the extent of unemployment and deprivation in the North, with the data produced pored over by government experts who pledge to work hard to make sure things improve.

The rate of progress can often be very slow, and as initiatives and programmes get bogged down in bureaucracy and political wrangling, the situation on the ground changes little for the ordinary person, who still face problems such as lack of employment and poverty.

Under these circumstances, people in deprived areas in North Belfast on both sides of the community will be forgiven for not getting too excited to know that members of the North Belfast Partnership Board met with Direct Rule minister Angela Smith in Belfast Castle this week, to announce yet another employment initiative. This time, however, a radical new approach to these problems could signal a breakthrough that both the British government and all the local political parties are confident will benefit everyone in the community.

Called the Equal Employability Access Project (EAP), it’s the first initiative of its kind that seeks to solve a range of problems in the North Belfast area through interaction between the North and West Belfast Trust and a range of employment agencies.

The theory behind the project is that the Mater Hospital, a major employer in the area, which faces constant skills shortages will train prospective employees and tailor that training to the hospital’s needs.

Under the terms of the EAP those people who are out of work would be given support and encouragement to build up the confidence to apply for these jobs, and if they are successful, will then get training once in the position to fulfil the needs of the hospital.

The benefits of the system are clear to see. Not only are jobs being created in the local community, but also one of the community’s main resources, the local hospital, is operating with sufficient staff and therefore providing a better service to local patients.

Speaking at the launch of the EAP Angela Smith said everyone in North Belfast would see the positive knock on effects of the programme.

“This project will not only benefit those who gain employment through the scheme and the Mater Hospital, but also their communities who can only gain from having higher employment. “This project is a demonstration of how we can join up different parts of the public sector, to create better public services and at the same time create good quality employment opportunities for the people of North Belfast.”

An issue that has dogged employment schemes in the past has been the question of how sustainable the jobs being created are. Over the years a raft of initiatives have been introduced which did little more than cook the employment figures and place the unemployed in temporary jobs with little or not prospects.

Angela Smith says the fact that the Mater Hospital is the primary source of employment will ensure the jobs are sustainable.

“In the past we have often used the voluntary and community sector as a basis to create employment, but this hasn’t always been sustainable. I am delighted to see the Mater Hospital interested in this process, and seeing how they can use their employment opportunities for the benefit of people in their area.

“They know that if they can get local people, with local understanding and good skills they will have a stable labour force, able to provide high quality services.”

The minister went on to say she would be following the scheme’s progress with interest and said the plan was to roll it out in other areas.

Director of Human Resources at the Trust and chair of the EAP, Eamonn Molloy, also emphasised that the scheme would offer viable employment, acknowledging that any post would have to be competitive and offer good conditions to those who are recruited.

“We understand that when the person improves their confidence and is ready to enter the job market there is choice out there, but we are confident that the jobs we have available will be attractive. “We have developed a DVD which explains the opportunities available in the health service to unskilled long-term unemployed people.

“We hope that by using this medium we can convince people that a future in the health service is worthwhile,” he said.

Sinn Féin councillor for Oldpark, Carál Ní Chuilín, is joint chair of the North Belfast Partnership Board and she sought to allay fears that the unemployed will be forced into unsuitable work.

“The EAP is about growing the confidence of people and creating community empowerment. “My party would never back a scheme that forced people into work when they were not ready,” she said.

“If someone does take part in the six week job preparation and personal development programme, and does not feel ready for employment, then they will not be forced into work.”

Cllr Ní Chuilín said the scheme was a very good way of improving confidence, and added it was good news for North Belfast.

“The project is very rewarding and through devices like the DVD it can spread understanding about what the options are to those who are unemployed so that we can get them back into work when they are ready.”

DUP Councillor Ian Crozier is the other joint chair of the North Belfast Partnership Board. He echoed Cllr Ní Chuilín’s support, praising the scheme and the benefits it will provide for North Belfast.
“This is about using the Mater to help employment and I hope that it is a success,” he said.

“Although you may come in at a basic level, there is opportunity to get promoted and this is to be welcomed.

“There is funding there from Europe to help make this a success and the trade unions are also involved so along with the other support and training, there is recourse to meaningful employment.”

Journalist:: Evan Short

Irelandclick

North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness has told the North Belfast News that allegations that the murderers of Daniel McColgan are being protected because they are police informers are deeply disturbing and must be investigated.
Last week Fr Dan Whyte said it was believed the loyalist killers of the 21-year-old Catholic postman have escaped justice because they are police informants.
Speaking on the fourth anniversary of the murder of Daniel McColgan, Fr Dan Whyte described as “appalling” reports that the gunmen are being protected by elements within the PSNI.
Daniel McColgan was shot dead on January 12, 2002, as he went to work in a mail sorting office in the loyalist Rathcoole estate.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name for the UDA, said it carried out the killing.
Within days of the murder, the names of two senior loyalists from south-east Antrim were being linked to the murder. One of them, now the UDA’s leader in the area, is reported to be a Special Branch informant.
Fr Whyte, from St Mary’s on the Hill parish in Glengormley where two other victims of the UDA were shot dead in recent years, said the feeling in the community is that the killers are being shielded.
“The names of the people who murdered Daniel are known among this community, that’s the feeling around here,” he said.
“The other common understanding is that the police know who was involved in the killing but they have not been touched because they are in positions as informants.
“These are the genuine concerns my parishioners have. It is absolutely appalling that the guys who did this are walking the same streets. They have committed murder, yet nothing has been done.”
Alban Maginness said the St Bernard’s priest’s statement had aired the widely held belief that Daniel McColgan was murdered by well-known members of the Rathcoole UDA.
“This is an extremely serious allegation, and I will be contacting Fr Whyte to follow up on it.
“It must be taken seriously. We do know that there was a pattern of protecting UVF killers involved in the murder of Raymond McCord and at least nine other cases.
“We need to make sure the same was not the case with the UDA, which was responsible for a spate of murders close to Rathcoole around the time that Daniel was killed,” he said.
“The SDLP will raise these concerns at the Policing Board.
“We will also be contacting the McColgan family to hear their views.”
A spokesman for the PSNI said 12 people have been arrested in connection with the murder but there have been no charges. He said detectives remain resolute in their determination to bring the father-of-one’s killers to justice.
Daniel McColgan was one of four young men murdered by loyalists in south-east Antrim during a 12-month period between July 2001-02.
The others killed were Ciaran Cummings, Gavin Brett and Gerard Lawlor. The PSNI has yet to charge anyone in connection with these deaths.

Journalist:: Staff Journalist

Irelandclick

Sinn Féin’s Briege Meehan has called on Newtownabbey Council to deal with the issue of Travellers after the Housing Executive wrote to the Council stating their wish to lease land to develop a transit site in the borough.
Since a change of legislation in 2003, the Housing Executive has assumed responsibility for the provision of transits sites for Travellers. It has identified the need for the development of five sites throughout the North, including the Greater Belfast area, which includes Newtownabbey.
Cllr Meehan urged the Council to consider providing land.
“To avoid the unnecessary hassle of illegal Travellers camps in every council area, and particularly Newtownabbey, we have a duty under the Good Friday Agreement to provide a transit site so that the Travelling community can be facilitated, and put in a situation whereby the hassle of illegal parking is avoided,” she said.
“These sites will ensure that the Travelling community and local residents do not come to loggerheads over the issue.”
Acknowledging the sensitivities surrounding the issue, Cllr Meehan said any site would have to secure the backing of both the Travellers and local residents.
“As yet there have been no sites earmarked but any site would have to be acceptable to the residents, the Council and the Housing Executive. But the bottom line is that the Housing Executive has an obligation to provide a transit site in the borough.”
But DUP councillor Jackie Mann, who sits on the Travellers issues committee, refused to be drawn on the transit site proposal.
“We don’t have land to use for Travellers. There is no land that I know of and it is something that I would have to discuss. To accommodate them you have to convert the land, put in stand pipes and toilets, but I am not saying I would object to it and I am not saying I wouldn’t. I don’t know.”
Derek Hanway from Traveller support group, An Munia Tober, said it was essential transit sites were developed in the Greater Belfast area.
“We have had examples over the last 12 to 18 months of Travellers being victimised in the public eye for illegal encamping and that is because there has been no access to transit sites across the North, so we would support the Housing Executive efforts to facilitate at least five transit sites across the North of Ireland.
He added: “Lord Rooker has said that he will not bring into effect the illegal encampment order until five transit sites are provided and it’s really crucial that we have those as soon as possible and councils like Newtownabbey have to live up to this responsibility.”

Journalist:: Evan Short

Belfast Telegraph

Demands for answers over spending of taxpayer cash

By Noel McAdam
20 January 2006

A total of 451 prison officers were forced to move home in Northern Ireland as a result of the Stormontgate spy ring scandal, it emerged last night.

And the total cost of the hundreds of re-locations to the public purse was more than £9m, the Government disclosed. Direct Rule Minister Lord Rooker also revealed that the associated security measures brought the total costs up to £24.6m.

The figures added fuel last night to demands for a full Parliamentary debate as the political controversy refused to fade away.

Ulster Unionist peer Lord Rogan said: “It is inconceivable that a scandal that cost taxpayers millions in any other part of Government would not be properly investigated or even debated at a Parliamentary level.”

In a Parliamentary answer to the UU party president, Lord Rooker said that a total of 451 prison officers were moved under the Assisted Home Removal Scheme at a total expenditure of £9,387,279.

The Minister, whose brief includes finance and personnel, said that the overall expenditure on the Prison Service security measures amounted to £24.46m.

Lord Rogan said: “The Stormontgate fiasco will not go away despite the numerous attempts by the Government to sweep it under the carpet and then move on.

“The astronomical costs to taxpayers of this episode demands further investigation and explanation.

“The bill for the relocation of prison officers and associated security measures (of) over £24m….is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Under the circumstances and given Lord Rooker’s reply, I call on the Government to instigate a proper Parliamentary debate. The public deserve answers.”

His call came after DUP MP Nigel Dodds also demanded the Government provide full disclosure rather than “dribs and drabs of information”.

“The Government’s whole handling of this episode has been abysmal,” he said. “The Government needs to start giving straight answers to straight questions about ‘Stormontgate’ and tell us the whole truth,” he said.

Belfast Telegraph

By Clare Regan
20 January 2006

Investigative journalist Donal McIntyre told today how he sneaked exiled former UDA commander Johnny Adair back into the Shankill in the dead of night just a few weeks ago.

The award-winning filmmaker revealed details of the documentary he is currently making with the ousted loyalist terror boss.

The producer and director was reluctant to give away the most fascinating revelations from his adventures following ‘Mad Dog’s’ efforts to settle in the Scottish town of Troon where he is living after his release from prison.

But McIntyre did reveal that some of the filming, which has been taking place over the last four months, did take place in Northern Ireland.

“We returned to Belfast with Johnny Adair a couple of days before the New Year. He took us back to some of his old haunts and safe houses in the Shankill area when there was no-one around,” he said.

“We went to within yards of the homes of men who want to kill him. For Johnny, it was quite a scary experience. It wasn’t really as frightening for us, we had taken all the usual safety precautions.”

McIntyre said he asked to do the documentary because of a fascination with Adair’s reputation.

“Politically, Northern Ireland politics does not ignite my fire. But the thing I am interested in is people who live on the edge. Adair is a major figure from the loyalist side. He’s a character and I was fascinated by that.”

The journalist said he would be making no judgment on the terrorist and would let viewers make their own decisions. Filming is to go on for another six weeks and it is hoped the programme will be broadcast sometime in April.

“There will be an expected dance between the image that Adair wants to portray and the best that we can get out of him,” he added.

“We make no moral judgment. We just follow him and take a measure of the man. We tell the truth.”

McIntyre will next be seen on our screens with the two-part documentary, A Gangster’s Funeral, which will broadcast on Channel Five this Monday and on January 30.

The programme revisits Dominic Noonan in Manchester - a gay, Urdu speaking criminal who has spent half his life in jail.

“We catch up with him as he faces trial on charges of kidnapping and torture and deals with the consequences of his brother’s murder,” McIntyre added.

“It gives you an idea of the kind of approach that we take to these documentaries. Like Adair, he’s a fascinating man who lives on the edge.”

BreakingNews.ie

20/01/2006 - 12:13:47

The PSNI has put together a team of detectives to investigate more than 3,000 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles in the North.

The 100-strong Historical Inquiries Team has been asked to use scientific advances and new forensics techniques in an effort to achieve a breakthrough in solving the cases.

The PSNI is hoping the move will solve a number of murders, but even if it does not, families will be given whatever new information can be gleaned.

Three thousand, two hundred murders committed in the 30 years after 1968 are due to be reinvestigated as part of the initiative.

BBC

A 22-year-old man who was injured in a shooting incident in west Belfast has died in hospital.

The shooting happened at about 1945 GMT on Thursday in the Wilton Street area of the loyalist Shankill Road.

The victim was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where his injuries were described as serious. However, police said on Friday that he had died.

An investigation is under way to try to establish the exact circumstances of the shooting.

BBC

A Sinn Fein assembly member and a Derry journalist have had their convictions for murder referred to the Court of Appeal.

Raymond McCartney and Eamonn MacDermott were convicted in 1979 of the murder of RUC detective constable Patrick McNulty.

Mr McCartney was also convicted of murdering DuPont managing director Jeffrey Agate the same year.

The appeals are not expected to come before the courts until next year.

Both men denied any involvement in the murders and said they were brutalised in police custody and that confessions were fabricated.

Detective Constable McNulty was shot by the IRA as he left his car for servicing at a garage on Strand Road in the city.

A week later, Mr Agate was shot dead by the IRA outside his Talbot Park home.

Mr McCartney spent 17 years in prison. During that time he became the IRA’s officer commanding in the Maze and spent 53 days on hunger strike.

Eamonn MacDermott spent 15 years in prison and has worked for the Derry Journal for the last ten years.

Both men took their convictions to the Criminal Cases Review Commission four years ago.

BBC

The Republican march marks Bloody Sunday

Police in Glasgow have warned troublemakers to stay away from this weekend’s Republican parade.

About 300 protesters tried to clash with marchers in last year’s Bloody Sunday commemoration parade.

Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable Kevin Smith said the racist, sectarian and paramilitary abuse was unacceptable.

The parade by Cairde na hEireann (Friends of Ireland) is due to start at 0930 GMT on Saturday.

Parade reforms were proposed after a review by ex-police chief Sir John Orr.

Parades can be blocked if there have been offensive chants, threatening or drunken behaviour, or marchers expressing support for paramilitary organisations.

Mr Smith said police would crack down on any troublemakers who tried to replicate last year’s clashes, which led to three arrests.

“Unfortunately, the parade last year was a difficult one with a significant number of counter protesters, many of whom were clearly intent on attacking and disrupting the parade,” said Mr Smith.

“To be perfectly frank, many of those involved in the procession and many of those who came to protest about it did not come out with any great credit.

“Racist, sectarian and paramilitary abuse being hurled was the norm, with a number of bottles and other missiles being thrown, only adding to the difficulties.”

‘Important date’

He added: “There is a simple message here. If you come to take part in the procession or to protest, do so peacefully and lawfully.”

Jim Slaven, of Cairde na hEireann, said: “We expect the march to be peaceful and we believe that all participants will conduct themselves with dignity and respect for the victims of Bloody Sunday.

“This is a very important date in the Irish community’s calendar in Scotland.”

A spokesman for Glasogw City Council said: “We granted permission for the event after careful consideration of our policy on public processions.”

Flags and emblems

Ian Wilson, Grand Master of the Orange Lodge in Scotland, said his organisation was not involved in last year’s trouble and had no intention of counter-protesting at the march.

“The parade is legal and while we are out of sympathy with the political aspirations of a Republican march, this is a democracy and they are entitled to express their view lawfully,” he said.

“Counter-demonstrators are also entitled to protest but it has to be peaceful. What happened last year was a disgrace.

“I would encourage the police to be more robust in dealing with some of the paramilitary flags and emblems which were being illegally flaunted by Republican marchers last year.”

Irish Examiner

By Dan McGinn
20/01/06

A FORMER Sinn Féin election worker who admitted spying on his colleagues is safe at home, the party claimed last night.

Sean Lavelle, from Donagh in Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh, confessed to being a special branch agent since 1980 in a statement issued through his solicitor.

His move came after Gerry Adams predicted more spying allegations would surface in the party after last month’s unmasking of its head of administration at Stormont Denis Donaldson as a British agent.

But while Mr Donaldson has stayed away from his native Belfast, Mr Lavelle was assured by Sinn Féin Assembly member Tom O’Reilly that he was safe living at home.

In his statement, Mr Lavelle said he was pressured into becoming a Special Branch agent after he was arrested in 1980.

“I deeply regret my activities and the hurt which they have caused to my family and to my community,” he said.

Sinn Féin played down Mr Lavelle’s significance, claiming he had been an election worker but was no longer a party member.

Republicans have faced a barrage of allegations since Mr Donaldson last month confessed his role as a British agent for more than 20 years. The 55-year-old, was arrested by police in October 2002, along with his son-in-law Ciaran Kearney and civil servant William Mackessy, on accusations that they operated a spy ring at Stormont which went to the heart of former Northern Secretary John Reid’s office.

After a three-year legal battle, charges against the three men were dropped at Belfast Crown Court last month, with prosecutors insisting it was no longer in the public interest to pursue the case.

In a further stunning twist, Mr Adams announced a week later he had expelled Mr Donaldson from the party for spying on his colleagues.

Belfast has been rife with rumours since then about more spies in republican ranks. Several senior republicans have been warned by police that they are suspected of being agents and, although none has publicly rejected the allegations, it is clear republicans are bracing themselves for more claims.