A ‘United Ireland’ falls off priority list for Southern voters
STAFF REPORTER, Irish News, April 7th, 2026
THE cost of living and housing are the two most important issues for the Republic’s electorate, with a united Ireland not even making the list, according to new polling.
The rising price of goods and services resonates most with 53% of those surveyed for the poll, while 45% rank housing as a priority.
A united Ireland and the tariffs war triggered by the Trump administration did not register among the top 18 priorities among 1,286 people sampled towards the end of last week.
Immigration ranks as the third most important issue for voters though with only 20% of respondents, while 14% cited the economy.
The Trump administration and healthcare are regarded as a priority for 13% and 10% of voters, respectively, when asked by Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks.
Other issues listed, such as poverty and inequality, the Israel/Gaza war and climate change, were seen as priorities but only in single digit percentages.
The poll puts Sinn Féin ahead of its Dáil rivals on an unchanged 22%, three points ahead of Fianna Fáil, which saw its rating increase by one point on last month.
Fine Gael is unchanged on 17%, while the independents are down one point to 10%, a single point ahead of the Social Democrats. Social Democrat leader Holly Cairns and Taoiseach Micheál Martin are neck and neck in the leaders approval/disapproval ratings.
Allister raps DUP over Easter Rising post by President Connolly
JAMES MCNANEY, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2026
MP'S FURY PARTY DID NOT VETO COMMENTS ON O'NEILL BEING AT EVENT TO MARK 1916
TUV leader Jim Allister has questioned why the DUP allowed the Stormont Executive's X account to be used to promote an Easter Rising commemoration.
The Executive Office shared a post about the First Minister's attendance at the event at the GPO in Dublin on Easter Sunday.
The building in O'Connell Street was at the centre of the fighting during the 1916 rebellion.
The Executive's official X account posted: “First Minister Michelle O'Neill has attended the annual Easter Rising commemoration event in Dublin.
“The ceremony, which was led by President Catherine Connolly, marked the 110th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.”
On her personal X account, Mrs O'Neill said: “Today, we remember the generations of Irish men and women who devoted their lives to the cause of freedom.
“I was proud to join with leaders from across Ireland at the GPO in Dublin.
“The vision and ideals of the 1916 Proclamation remain as relevant as ever, an independent and sovereign Ireland rooted in equality and justice for all.
“Westminster has never, and will never, act in the interests of communities on our island.
“Now is the time to take our future into our own hands by building a new and united Ireland.
“Together, we can shape an Ireland that provides real hope, opportunity and prosperity for every worker, family, and community that calls this place home.”
However, Mr Allister said: “Unionists need to answer a very simple question: what is the point of being in government if the official Northern Ireland Executive account can be used to promote republican terrorism?
“The DUP have repeatedly told the public that nothing happens within the Executive Office without (Deputy First Minister) Emma Little-Pengelly's approval.
“They point to supposed unionist safeguards and vetoes. So who authorised this post? Will it now be removed?
“And if unionists cannot prevent this, what exactly are they in government to do?
‘Who approved this, and why?’
“On a day when Christians across the world marked the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope of eternal life, the Executive's official X account carried just one message.
“That message highlighted Michelle O'Neill's attendance at an Easter Rising commemoration in Dublin.”
Mr Allister added: “The issue is not that Sinn Fein holds these views — we all know that.
“The issue is that unionists are participating in a government which allows the official Executive platform to be used in this way.
“The public is entitled to clear answers: Who approved this? Why it was approved? And what unionists in government are now going to do about it?
“If unionists cannot stop the Executive being used to promote this, then what credibility do they have in claiming they are in government to defend Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom?”
The Executive Office said: “The First Minister and Deputy First Minister attend a wide range of events.
“The First Minister attended an event organised by the Irish Government.
“It is normal practice for ministerial visits to be shared on official departmental channels.”
The DUP was also approached for comment.
Masked colour party leads Derry Easter Rising parade
Irish News, April 7th, 2026
Young teenagers were among children who carried petrol bombs ahead of the march
A MASKED colour party led a controversial Easter Rising commemoration parade through Derry yesterday.
The parade was organised by the National Republican Commemoration Committee (NRCC), which plans events on behalf of hardline anti-agreement party Saoradh.
Several hundred people and one band took part in the procession from the Creggan shops to the republican plot in the City Cemetery.
An 18-strong colour party, which included men and women wearing combat-style clothing, led the parade, which passed off without serious incident.
A group of masked youths carrying petrol bombs and other items walked ahead of the colour party as it made its way to the cemetery.
Some of the children with petrol bombs appeared to be as young as early teens.
The route of the parade was lined with flags, while ‘IRA’ lettering was also fixed to several lampposts throughout the area.
While the PSNI was not visible on the ground, a helicopter circled overhead when those taking part reached the cemetery.
As the event came to a close and the colour party dispersed, the police chopper hovered at low altitude.
The commemoration included several international speakers, while a statement was read out on behalf of republican prisoners.
The main address was delivered by Derry republican and Saoradh National Executive member Barry Millar.
“We are told by former republicans and the gatekeepers in Dublin and London that the struggle is over,” he said.
“They point to the sterile halls of Stormont and the partitionist assemblies as proof of progress. While they occupy the seats of power in Stormont or Leinster House, content to manage British rule or partitionist interests for a paycheck, we remain steadfast.”
The speaker was critical of the Good Friday Agreement.
‘Rebranding the Conquest’
“The Good Friday settlement was not an end to the struggle, but a rebranding of the conquest,” he said. “You cannot reform a colony; you must end it.”
Alliance Policing Board member Peter McReynolds said he was disgusted “at the scenes today in Derry”.
“We don’t want or need to see masked men or organisations on our streets in 2026,” he said.
“This isn’t commemoration, it’s criminality, and young people being exploited into violence.
“Anyone with influence needs to unite and show their opposition to such displays.”
Meanwhile, in an Easter statement, the New IRA has said it continues to recruit.
The statement came just days after the paramilitary group claimed responsibility for forcing a delivery driver to take a proxy bomb to Lurgan PSNI station.
“While the British government continues presence in Ireland, the IRA reserves the right to use every means at its disposal to end that presence,” it said.
“Let there be no doubt we have not gone away.”
The group said it has “used the recent time to adapt, recruit and modernise”.
“Our intelligence is sharp and our reach is long,” it said.
The organisation said it remains “committed to the path of revolution” and that while it does not “seek conflict” it will “not shrink away from our duty”.
“Our volunteers remain active, disciplined and prepared to strike without warning,” it added.
SDLP Policing Board member Colin McGrath said: “The future of the new Ireland that we all seek will be achieved and only achieved through constitutional politics and dialogue.
“I would urge those that think violence, which didn’t work previously, to cease their threats and allow us to build the new Ireland that is inclusive, welcoming and focused on being constructive rather than destructive.”
Police probe after masked men take lead role in sinister Easter parade
GABRIELLE SWAN and ABDULLAH SABRI, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2026
The PSNI has promised to investigate after masked individuals were again seen on the streets of Northern Ireland.
A number of people were wearing paramilitary-style uniforms at a dissident republican Easter march in Londonderry yesterday.
It was organised by the National Republican Commemoration Committee on behalf of Saoradh, the political wing of the New IRA.
PSNI evidence-gathering resources were in Creggan for the Easter Monday parade.
From the beginning of the parade to when it dispersed, police observed participants wearing paramilitary-style uniforms. It's an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 and a breach of a Parades Commission determination on the parade.
Area Commander of Derry City and Strabane Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney said: “The outcomes of our investigations from previous years illustrates that where offences occur, we will investigate.
“As this is now a live investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”
It came after a masked colour party led an Easter parade in west Belfast on Sunday.
Masked men dressed in black with berets and sunglasses marched from Dunville Park to Milltown Cemetery.
That parade was organised by the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), widely believed to be the political wing of the INLA.
Speaking after the scenes in Derry, Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said it was outrageous that people in masks and berets were able to walk the streets.
Gathering evidence
A police helicopter monitored yesterday's procession overhead but there was no visible police presence on the ground.
A crowd of a couple of hundred people followed the parade to the cemetery, including a number of young people with their faces covered, some carrying petrol bombs and planks of wood.
The event, billed as the 'Unfinished Revolution National Easter Commemoration', concluded with speeches at the cemetery.
A small fire was started in the middle of the road outside some shops in the Creggan area.
Mr Beattie said: “We hear this every single year that the police are standing back and they're gathering evidence, but that evidence doesn't seem to be leading us anywhere because these things happen every single year. And we now have people wearing terrorist-related uniforms and the police are not intervening.
“Now, I fully understand the issue that the police have. We have evidence-gathering people in the area, but it doesn't seem to achieve anything.
“The Parades Commission are going to have to look at whether or not they're going to allow any of these parades to go again next year, because this is simply not acceptable.
“I can fully accept the police saying that they can gather evidence from the parade to take further action at a later stage, but we've been saying that for far too long.
“No paramilitary, no terrorist organisation — and nobody linked to either — should be allowed to parade wearing paramilitary terrorist-style uniforms.
“Certainly, they should not be walking the streets wearing balaclavas and sunglasses and berets promoting terrorism.”
DUP Policing Board member Trevor Clarke said: “Where masked men appear in such settings, serious questions must be asked.
“This cannot be brushed off or ignored by the police.”
He pledged to raise the issues directly with senior officers.
“The public is entitled to clarity on how such displays are being assessed and what action is being taken,” he added.
“We all have a responsibility to move society forward, not drag it back.
“That means challenging paramilitary symbolism wherever it appears and ensuring that the rule of law is upheld without fear or favour.”
An application for yesterday's march lodged with the Parades Commission stated the number of participants notified would be 200, including one band. The number of likely supporters was notified as 300.
A series of conditions had been placed on the march, including a ban on paramilitary-style clothing, and flags, bannerettes and symbols relating to proscribed organisations being displayed.
The Parades Commission determination said: “The commission notes that there has historically been serious criminal offending associated with this parade.
“In 2025, a number of participants engaged in serious disorder directed against police.
“There were also suspected breaches of the conditions imposed by the commission in relation to the wearing of paramilitary-style clothing.
“The commission would urge all those organising and participating in this parade to make every effort to comply with its determination and to seek to prevent any offending from occurring again.”
PSNI is right to adopt 'least worst option' tactic for policing marches
ALLISON MORRIS, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2026
ANALYSIS
Once again, masked men have appeared on the streets of Northern Ireland in a display that was entirely expected and predictable.
At one time, the republican Easter parades would have had much more outward displays of violence, with shots fired in the air or sinister threats issued by speakers.
Numerous prosecutions over the years have seen a reduction of those types of events, with the organisers even applying for permission from the Parades Commission.
This acceptance of the regulations around parades and marches would have been sneered at in the past by those who claimed to be involved in armed action against the state — a state they obediently seek permission from.
Easter weekend is the most important occasion in the republican calendar. In Dublin, the main commemoration of the 1916 Rising is attended by the Taoiseach and the Irish president.
It marks events that led to the formation of the state and are part of history and not at all controversial.
In Northern Ireland, they have always been a feature of the Easter weekend, albeit they highlight the various shades of green that exist among republicanism, with multiple marches starting on Saturday and ending on Easter Monday.
The Sinn Fein-organised rally is always the largest by far, but the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) draws significant crowds.
Despite being officially on ceasefire since 1998, the political wing of the INLA still leans very much into the past, with masked men in distinctive black and white uniforms taking part.
The 'colour party' has been a part of that parade for decades, something well known to the authorities, hence the hum of the police helicopter over Milltown Cemetery during the march on Sunday.
UUP leader Jon Burrows said the presence of masked men in west Belfast was an “insult to the victims of terrorism” and an “affront to the rule of law”.
The Parades Commission was notified in advance of the march, which featured four bands and had an expected 500 participants and 300 supporters.
‘Least worst option’
The PSNI tends to take the 'least worst option' approach to these marches. They use cameras perched on top of Jeeps, officers recording with handheld devices, and helicopter footage gathered.
Any alleged offences by identifiable participants or organisers are then prosecuted at a later date.
What they don't do is send riot police into a graveyard to snatch masked marchers from the parade. To do so would most likely cause disorder, could potentially lead to injury or even death, and it would hand a huge propaganda coup to the organisation targeted.
The same rule is applied to both republican and loyalist groups.
Loyalist marches glorifying dead terrorists take place annually. The parades to commemorate UVF man Brian Robinson and that to honour the UDA's Joe Bratty and Raymond Elder are policed in a similar hands-off fashion.
It makes much more sense from a policing point of view to gather evidence and act later.
In Derry, the Monday parade organised by the New IRA's political wing, Saoradh, has resulted in violence in and around the city's cemetery, often involving very young participants.
Pictures of young men carrying petrol bombs and sticks on Monday in the city are a depressing repeat of the past.
They will destroy parts of their own community, cause destruction and mayhem, and some will get life-altering convictions.
There is always a close eye paid to how police react and comparisons to previous years and other parading disputes will also be made, but in reality there is no foolproof way of policing the disorder.
Prior to the formation of the New IRA, the Derry Easter commemoration was organised by the Real IRA, who would bring a masked man out to read a statement each year, often threatening members of the security forces.
Old Bailey bomber and high-profile dissident Marian Price was charged on two occasions in connection with the parade. Once was in 2005, when she was charged with taking part in an illegal parade, for which she was later acquitted.
In a second incident, she pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a masked man who read out a Real IRA statement advocating violence against police officers in 2011.
In Lurgan, the Republican Sinn Fein march featuring masked members of the Continuity IRA resulted in so many arrests in the past that it has now been downgraded to a wreath laying and a reading of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, a document first read by Patrick Pearse on April 24, 1916, outside Dublin's General Post Office.
However, the handling of parades commemorating the past, whatever the group responsible for organising them, is not solely an issue for the PSNI.
How we as a society view remembrance is also a political issue.
It is one that requires a deeper dive into understanding why such events still take place and at times manage to attract such large crowds.
Fewer homes built than a decade ago in worsening housing crisis
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, April 7th, 2026
NORTHERN Ireland is building fewer homes now than a decade ago, despite a worsening housing crisis, according to the latest figures.
The Department of Finance data shows that there were just 6,624 starts in 2025 compared to 7,457 in 2016.
The figures, obtained through an Assembly question, cover both private and social homes across all 11 council areas.
The declining output has coincided with a dramatic surge in rents.
According to Property Pal, the average rent across Northern Ireland has risen 51% since 2020, from £659 to £994 per month.
In Belfast, average rents have jumped from £760 to £1,163 – a rise of £403, or 53%.
In Ards and North Down the increase has been even sharper, up 57% from £633 to £991.
Housing output peaked in 2018 when 8,624 homes were started and 7,641 completed, levels that have not been achieved since.
The data shows up stark regional disparities across Northern Ireland.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon recorded more starts than any other council area every single year without exception, topping 1,000 starts in six of the and accounting for more than 10,000 starts across the decade.
‘Executive not grasping seriousness of this crisis’
Mid and East Antrim recorded just 262 starts in 2025, the lowest figure logged by any council in any single year across the entire decade, and 45% below the council’s own 10-year average. Average rents in the area have risen 36% since 2020 to £757 per month.
Newry, Mourne and Down has seen starts nearly halve since 2021, falling from a high of 886 to just 459 last year, while average rents have surged to £867 per month over the same period.
Derry City and Strabane recorded just 398 completions in 2025, more than a quarter below the city’s 10-year average for house building.
Rents cross £1,000 a month threshold
Meanwhile, Belfast, which faces the most acute housing pressure in the north, saw completions fall from 720 in 2016 to 555 in 2025, a drop of 23% over the decade, as average rents in the city crossed £1,000 a month for the first time.
SDLP opposition Communities spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA said the figures came as no surprise.
“The failure to build much-needed affordable and social housing has led to huge waiting lists, soaring rents and many families being priced out of the housing market,” he said.
“Our outdated wastewater infrastructure, the failure to fund NI Water and lengthy planning delays has led to many private developments being held up. Thousands of social homes have been lost through the right to buy and the Housing Executive has not been empowered to borrow funds and embark on an ambitious and much needed programme of house building.
“This year the Executive will miss its own target for building social homes – they are clearly failing to grasp the seriousness of our worsening housing crisis. The North simply does not have the homes needed to meet demand and unless we see a change of approach and an increase in houses built things will only get worse.”
A Department for Communities spokesperson said: “The Minister
Northern Ireland is building fewer homes now than a decade ago despite a worsening housing crisis, according to the latest figures, right
has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to realising the Northern Ireland Executive’s ambition to deliver at least 100,000 more houses by 2039 through the Housing Supply Strategy, at least a third of which will be social.
“The Programme for Government currently includes a target of starting work on at least 5,850 new-build social homes by 2027. In addition, there are approximately 5,500 social homes currently under construction across Northern Ireland.
“The £30million additional funding for the Social Housing Development Programme that was confirmed in December enables the delivery of up to 1,750 new home starts in 2025-26. This means that the allocation for the Social Housing Development Programme has increased to over £207million: in cash terms, the largest ever allocation of budget to the Programme.
“In addition, the Department has taken forward a wide range of innovative approaches including progressing discussions with HM Treasury around the borrowing treatment of the NIHE to secure, maintain, invest and increase supply of Housing Executive stock; the planned delivery of 300 new build, high-quality Intermediate Rent homes for low-income households; approval for NIHE to buy 600 homes to use as Temporary Accommodation to reduce use of expensive and unsuitable hotel and B&B rooms; an additional ringfenced allocation of £2.5m for Strategic Homelessness Prevention in 2025/26; working with the Housing Executive to implement the review of how social homes are allocated; and initiating a fundamental review of both new social housing grant support and design standards to ensure we are delivering the most appropriate value for money homes and more social homes per pound from the Department’s budget.”
Ballymoney hosts annual Apprentice Boys' Easter celebrations
JESSICA RICE, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2026
Thousands lined the streets to watch 72 bands and 5,000 Apprentice Boys take part in the annual Ballymoney Easter parade.
Organised by the Coleraine & District Amalgamated Committee, the Easter Monday parade is the culmination of a week-long series of cultural, community and family-focused events as part of the first Easter BallyMonday Crimson Festival.
The annual Easter Monday parade commemorates the start of the Siege of Derry, when King James II came to Bishop's Gate expecting surrender and was met instead by the defiance of the Apprentice Boys.
Various feeder parades took place across the town in the morning.
The parade, beginning from Ballymoney Showgrounds, was led by the Bushside Accordion Band, who led the officers and standards of the general committee and Coleraine & District Amalgamated Committee.
Organisers had earlier in the week urged attendees to remain focused on the “true purpose” of the Easter Monday event and avoid political messaging and canvassing.
“We ask that any political parties, lobby groups, or activist organisations refrain from bringing such activity to our parade.
“It's neither the time, nor is it your place to do so,” they said.
Residents ‘may have to block road’ to stop Cliftonville fans
MARK ROBINSON, Irish News, April 7th, 2026
ASSEMBLY speaker Edwin Poots has said local residents may have to block the road to ensure that Cliftonville FC supporters are unable to access Windsor Park following disorder on Friday.
The DUP MLA for South Belfast made the comments in response to unrest which broke out ahead of Cliftonville’s Irish Cup semi-final against Dungannon Swifts on Friday night.
A fan parade of around 200 supporters, which was approved by the Parades Commission, resulted in fireworks and bottles being thrown ahead of the tie at Windsor Park.
The disorder saw nine police officers injured and a child hit by a bottle.
A 19-year-old man has been charged with a number of offences, including riotous behaviour.
Yesterday, Mr Poots said that local residents were “hugely angry” but added that it was “not something new”.
Disorder also broke out in the area during last year’s final.
“We have been engaging with the police over the past two years,” he told the BBC.
“The last time Cliftonville came to Windsor Park there was complaints that the police were too heavy-handed and they were too restrictive to the Cliftonville football supporters.”
Mr Poots added that for “some bizarre reason” the policing effort was reduced on Friday and that the locals were “not going to accept” the behaviour anymore.
“On this occasion, they let off fireworks, they threw bottles, they threw eggs, they chanted IRA slogans and sang sectarian songs,” he said.
“I’ll make it very clear: the local community are not going to accept it anymore.
“If that involves them having to come out and sit on the road in large numbers and ensure that these people will not be able to access Windsor Park, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Former IFA President and patron of Cliftonville FC, Jim Boyce, said he, along with many of the club’s fans, were “absolutely disgusted” by the behaviour.
Mr Boyce said he didn’t think people sitting on the street is “going to be the answer” and he found some of Mr Poots’ comments “a little bit disturbing”.
The PSNI has said they will “not tolerate disorder or criminal behaviour of any kind” and noted they will “continue to work with football clubs to address any inappropriate behaviour linked to people attending matches and ensure that the local community is kept safe”.
“The vast majority of fans were there to enjoy the match, however, there was completely unacceptable behaviour from a proportion of fans both before and after the match,” a spokesperson added.
Lord Chief Justices resisted pressure to drop QC declaration to Crown
SAM MCBRIDE, Northern Ireland Editor, Belfast Telegraph, April 7th, 2026
TOP JUDICIAL FIGURE FEARED CHANGE WOULD MEAN MOVE TO DROP TITLE 'QUEEN'S COUNSEL' AND WAS BASED ON 'SMALL NUMBER OF BARRISTERS' WHO WERE ENGAGED IN 'POLITICALLY-BASED CAMPAIGN'
Successive Lord Chief Justices repeatedly refused political pressure to weaken the requirement for senior barristers to promise to serve the monarch — to the dismay of a lawyer who is now one of Northern Ireland's most senior judges.
A file declassified at The National Archives in Kew sets out a prolonged dispute between the Secretary of State and Northern Ireland's top judicial figure over the issue.
In 1995, barrister Philip Magee went to court to challenge the requirement that Queen's Counsel (as they then were) had to swear an oath of allegiance to the sovereign — something that didn't happen elsewhere in the UK. It was then discovered that an 1868 law made the oath illegal.
However, at that point, the Secretary of State decided it should be replaced with a declaration to “well and truly serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second and all whom I may lawfully be called upon to serve”, as was the case in England and Wales.
The following year, the issue re-emerged. Secretary of State Sir Patrick Mayhew and Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Hutton discussed the issue via phone on February 12, 1996.
In a February 15th memo, EM Power in the NIO said there was “no precedent from England and Wales for dealing with a candidate who refuses to make the declaration”.
The memo said it would be “highly inadvisable” to insert a reference to the declaration into the warrant of appointment, yet without that, there was no legal compulsion to make the declaration.
A month later, Hutton told Mayhew he was “afraid that your view that the Warrant of Appointment should not refer to the Declaration will not resolve the problem but may, to some extent, complicate it”.
He said that the appointment of Queen's Counsel is an exercise of the royal prerogative (the monarch's residual powers, now delegated to ministers, covering areas not explicitly set out in legislation) and the role was “an office under the Crown”.
He went on: “It is therefore inherent in the office of Queen's Counsel that the barrister who accepts that position also accepts that he receives an office under the Crown, and by the clearest implication owes a duty to 'serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and [others]'…”
He said: “Therefore a situation in which a barrister wishes to become a Queen's Counsel but declines to acknowledge that he holds an office under the Crown with a consequent obligation to the Queen is a contradiction in terms. Such a person is not entitled to be a Queen's Counsel.”
He said it would be “probably unthinkable” for an English barrister to refuse to make the declaration.
He went on: “But in Northern Ireland, a small number of barristers appear to wish to become Queen's Counsel without accepting the consequences of that appointment.
“It appears that they advance the argument (although this argument was never advanced in the past by nationalists who became Queen's Counsel in Northern Ireland) that because they hold nationalist political opinions they would be discriminated against if they are required to make a declaration to serve the Queen in the office of one of Her Majesty's Counsel.
“This point may well have to be determined in legal proceedings (in which I would not sit either at first instance or on appeal) if they wish to advance it.”
No obligation to serve the Queen
He added: “I think it is likely that if there is no longer a requirement that those who become Queen's Counsel make a declaration, there will soon be an argument that silks should no longer be called Queen's Counsel because if there is no longer a declaration to serve the Queen, it could be argued that there is no longer any reason why they should be called Queen's Counsel.”
He told the Secretary of State that if he did not enforce the declaration, this would be reversing his own position just a few months earlier, adding: “I consider that it would be most regrettable if the nature of the office of Queen's Counsel in Northern Ireland were changed on the basis of a challenge which may well be groundless and which you have already publicly resisted.”
EM Power advised Mayhew that “to accede to Sir Brian's wish” would place him “in a potentially very difficult position”.
Mayhew was advised that if he did as Hutton suggested, the legal challenge could be reactivated and “even if such an action had little prospect of success, its political impact could be considerable. It would not be easy to persuade nationalist opinion (or the Irish) that there was an objective necessity to impose such as requirement in Northern Ireland when it was deemed sufficient to leave such procedures to custom and practice in England and Wales”.
Mayhew was “strongly advised” to say no to Hutton.
Power added: “A further letter to Sir Brian seems likely to drive him deeper into his legal reference library, thus merely prolonging an increasingly tedious correspondence.
“Since the considerations by which the Secretary of State is guided in this matter are at least as much political as legal, the best way forward would probably be for him to arrange to speak to Sir Brian in the course of the next couple of weeks and explain the impossibility of the position in which Sir Brian is seeking to place him.”
Mayhew agreed to this.
However, by April 1996, Magee was writing to the Lord Chief Justice to enquire if a declaration would be enforced, making clear that he viewed this as “illegal”.
Hutton asked his private secretary, David Lavery, to reply to Magee, making clear that the declaration would be required.
When shown a draft of that letter, Murray Power in the NIO was alarmed. He said: “There is at present a difference of opinion between the Secretary of State and the Lord Chief Justice… I consider that our aim should be to ensure that the current difference of opinion does not become known to those who might wish to make mischief with it.”
He feared that Magee's lawyers would immediately write to Mayhew who, unless he suddenly changed position, would be revealed to have the opposite opinion.
That, the NIO man warned, “would scarcely be calculated to enhance the reputation of either the Secretary of State or the Lord Chief Justice”.
The Lord Chief Justice commissioned a formal legal opinion from Crown Counsel Patrick Coghlin, who would go on to become a High Court Judge and would oversee the public inquiry in the RHI scandal.
It said that while the office of QC was originally a paid Crown office in which they advised the monarch, “with the passage of time, King's or Queen's Counsel came to be simply a class of counsel who… had been given a rank superior to that of ordinary counsel”.
However, Coghlin said that an oath of allegiance was “qualitatively different” to a declaration “to serve the Queen and others”.
The following month, Hutton pointed out that Mayhew had the previous year in writing set out to the Bar Council that the declaration would be used.
He said: “I fully understand and appreciate that because of the present difficult political situation on the eve of political negotiations you would prefer not to have to make a decision whether to maintain the requirement of a declaration or remove the requirement, but it appears to me that it is a decision which is unavoidable.”
He said that if Mayhew removed the requirement “it will appear that you are either being influenced by political pressure… or you will appear to be accepting the allegation of Mr Magee (which I think is probably unsustainable on legal grounds and which you had already claimed in the earlier proceedings to be invalid) that the requirement of a declaration is discriminatory”.
In the end, Magee did not apply to be a QC and the issue appears to have faded.
But more than a year later, it remained unresolved, even though both Lord Chief Justice and Secretary of State had changed.
In a June 1997 letter to Mo Mowlam, Hutton's successor as Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, said that a Bar Council committee had now proposed altering the wording of the declaration to drop the reference to serving the Queen but his Supreme Court colleagues “are united in the view that the declaration should remain in its present form”.
Endorsing Hutton's view, he said that Mayhew had been initially reluctant to accept it, but had ultimately done so.
Carswell said: “I have little doubt myself that this is all part of an ongoing politically-based campaign to have the office of Queen's Counsel replaced by a rank entitled Senior Counsel, or something to that effect”.
In 1999, the Prime Minister and the Queen agreed that responsibility for the matter be transferred from the Secretary of State to the Lord Chancellor and that the Northern Ireland arrangements “be more closely aligned with those in England and Wales”.
In December 1999, barristers Seamus Treacy and Barry Macdonald were to be appointed as QCs, but did not believe they should have to make the declaration.
‘Place us at personal risk’
Treacy is now a Lord Justice of appeal, one of Northern Ireland's most senior judges.
The two men wrote to the Bar Council to express dismay that it was not prepared to take legal action to support their stance.
They said in a letter: “If we are forced to take judicial review in our own names, this will almost inevitably place us at personal risk because of the deeply sensitive nature of the issues involved.
“We will become identified in the public mind with this contentious issue. There are unreconciled elements in the community who may misunderstand or choose to misrepresent the nature of any such case for their own ends.
“Quite apart from this consideration we will have to bear the brunt of any opprobrium from disgruntled colleagues.”
They said “the only principles position that the Bar Council can adopt is to challenge the Chief Justice's conduct”, adding: “It is indeed unfortunate that what was to have been a proud and happy moment for our family and friends will now quite unnecessarily have a dark shadow cast over the whole event…We sincerely hope that we are not abandoned by the Bar Council and forced to take our own judicial review.”
Treacy and Macdonald took a judicial review in their own names which the Bar Council backed.
The two men boycotted their appointment ceremony while awaiting the outcome.
Ultimately, that judgment rejected all but one of the multiple grounds on which they took the case — but found that the Lord Chancellor's claim that his decision would not give rise to controversy was unreasonable and was based on “a mistaken understanding of the true facts”, thus quashing the decision.
Magee, Treacy and Macdonald all eventually became QCs.
Starmer has to choose between Irish government and veterans, say Tories
By Staff Reporter, Belfast News Letter, April 6th, 2026
The Labour government has to choose on legacy between the wishes of the Irish government and the wellbeing of veterans, the Tories have said.
The Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman Alex Burghart issued that challenge to Sir Keir Starmer after retired generals criticised the “grotesquely unfair” legal pursuit of servicemen and women who served in the province during the Troubles.
They insist that the government’s coming legacy legislation could expose former soldiers to years of prosecutions.
Mr Burghart MP has blamed Labour’s deal on legacy with the Republic of Ireland as a reason why he thinks the UK government will not placate military concerns. He told the News Letter: “The prime minister will have to decide whether his arrangement with Ireland is more important to him than his duty to veterans.
“There are very many unanswered questions about the conduct of the Republic during the Troubles but there is little hope that the new arrangement with Dublin will answer any of them.”
Mr Burghart spoke to us as former Army leaders appeared to go farther than they have done before in strongly criticising Labour’s legacy plans, and how they will affect veterans of the violent decades in Northern Ireland.
The retired generals slammed the “grotesquely unfair” pursuit of servicemen and women who served in the province during the Troubles.
The Daily Telegraph reported that General Sir Peter Wall, who was head of the Army between 2010-2014, and General Sir Nick Parker, the last commander to oversee operations in Northern Ireland, have proposed legal amendments to demand that no new investigations can begin without “compelling new evidence” being provided and assessed by the Supreme Court.
The Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland, Alex Burghart MP, has blamed Labour’s deal on legacy with the Republic of Ireland as a reason why the government will not placate military concerns
‘No moral backbone’
Using blunt language, Sir Peter was quoted as saying: “The government has no moral backbone. The stance at the top of government is incompatible with the deployment of military force. The zeal with which they are pursuing the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill completely underlines the point.
“At every level, it’s grotesquely unfair. It betrays the service of these individuals to the Crown.”
The Labour government has appeared to be trying to push ahead with the legislation despite reported opposition from the Ministry of Defence, with a further attempt to make progress on the bill expected after the Easter parliamentary recess.
Mr Burghart said that London appears to be more interested in its legacy agreement with Dublin, reached last year, on how to tackle the past. The Irish government is reported to be opposed to reforms in the coming UK legacy legislation.
Mr Burghart told the News Letter: “The government is too weak to admit that it has got this wrong from start to finish – it needs to face up to the fact that this legislation should never have been brought forward. Do the right thing and ditch it."
The Republic of Ireland has been suing the UK over legacy since 2024 over the now shelved plan of the Conservative government for a conditional amnesty for Troubles killings.
Last month, Sir Keir sidestepped a question from this newspaper as to whether he will ever challenge Ireland over this legal case.
We put it to the prime minister that we were not aware of the premier having even criticised that case, let alone taken any retaliatory action. We also pointed out that Dublin was taking the Strasbourg case over a conditional amnesty by the former Tory government that had now been shelved, and that a former Irish justice minister, Michael McDowell, had said that Ireland had operated a de facto amnesty for the IRA, and that meanwhile British soldiers had been put in the dock over Troubles-related killings. We asked if the Labour government saw the UK-Ireland summit as an opportunity for London finally to push back against the legal case?
Sir Keir did not answer the question directly, but said: “Well, I'm in the business of building structural relations, and solving problems and that is the approach that I take to all the issues between the UK and Ireland.”
Then he gestured to the Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn, who made the point that the last government’s conditional amnesty had no support among the parties, adding that the News Letter editor Ben Lowry, who asked the question, “well” knows that.
The Northern Ireland Office told the Daily Telegraph: “Our approach ensures new and robust protections, in law, for our brave Operation Banner veterans, including protection against repeat investigations and being required to travel to Northern Ireland to give information.”
Three arrested after discovery of viable device in Co Antrim
By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association, Belfast News Letter, April 7th, 2026
Three people have been arrested after a viable device was discovered in Glenarm, County Antrim , the PSNI said.
They said they received a report of a suspicious device in the Feystown Road area just after 10am on Monday .
Ammunition technical officers carried out a controlled explosion and the PSNI said it has "been deemed as a viable device".
Three people were arrested at the scene.
Two men aged 43 and 47 were arrested on suspicion of doing an act with intent to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property and obstructing police.
Both men remain in police custody.
A woman in her 70s was arrested on suspicion of obstructing police, she has since been released to be reported to the Public Prosecution Service.
Detective Inspector Lenaghan said: "Enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing to anyone who may have been on Feystown Road between 4am and 5am on Monday 6th April and witnessed something suspicious or to anyone with CCTV or other footage that could assist with the investigation, to contact detectives."
