Conference on bridging Narrow Ground between Protected Disclosures and Conditional Amnesties at QUB, Belfast October 18th
Truth and reconciliation: Letter in Irish Times, July 29th, 2025
Sir, – Edward M Neafsey is absolutely right in pointing out one of the key limitations that prevents many victims and survivors of the Troubles from engaging with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to secure truth and, or justice for them, (Letters, July 23rd).
But in fairness to the ICRIR this is not the commission’s fault, it is due to basic defects in the Legacy Act and implicit in its terms of reference, which the current British government is attempting to address now.
We also believe that the lack of any form of conditional amnesty for former combatants is a key factor in ensuring the full facts of many legacy cases never see the light of day and that former miscarriages of justice are not addressed.
Time to do so is rapidly slipping away, especially for the most violent years up to the end of 1976 when most people were killed or injured.
One major problem is the insistence by the authorities and by some victims groups that cases can only be addressed through the criminal justice system.
As one of the most distinguished and authoritative contributors to the debate, Tom Hadden has pointed out in the latest issue of Fortnight, “In reality, the two objectives of truth recovery and reconciliation require very different skills and formal powers”.
The ICRIR may be salvageable as the investigatory body or one devoted the reconciliation, but it cannot be both. As currently constituted it is primarily an investigatory one, as required by the Act.
However, we believe that a narrow ground has emerged in the debate that suggests there is a path between protected disclosure and conditional amnesty that can provide for truth recovery and reconciliation through mediation as an alternative to the existing processes and procedures.
Conference
With this in mind, we are proposing to hold a conference on October 18th, at Queen’s University, Belfast, at which we hope to address the realistic options for unshackling the present and the future from the perpetual legacy wars.
These include continuing access to the courts for all Troubles-related criminal and civil cases.
Continued use of the ICRIR for those who seek to access its services.
We are also proposing the speedy conclusion of all outstanding public inquiries.
Access to a mediation process based on our conditional amnesty proposals for those who wish to use it.
In addition, we propose the establishment of a Joint British-Irish review body to monitor progress in all of these areas.
The conference should be taking place shortly after the UK Supreme Court has given its decision on the British government’s appeal against the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal decisions upholding objections to the current legislation. – Yours, etc,
HARRY DONAGHY, Northern Chair,
JOHN GREEN, Southern Chair,
PADRAIG YEATES, Secretary,
Truth Recovery Process,
Dublin 13.
LETTER FROM EDWARD F NEAFSEY, Irish Times July 23rd, 2025
Northern Ireland reconciliation
Sir, – Thank you for your comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the controversy surrounding the Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy and Reconciliation Act.
You mention the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal’s decision in Dillon, et al and point out that the court found the ability of the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to grant amnesty to those who co-operate with it is “incompatible” with obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
It is also important to note that the court held the ICRIR process failed to comply with human rights requirements related to the participation of the next of kin in investigations and the power of the Northern Ireland Secretary of State to withhold sensitive information from them. That may be why just a small percentage of families whose loved ones were killed during the Troubles have engaged with the ICRIR. – Yours, etc.
EDWARD M NEAFSEY,
Avon,
New Jersey,
USA.
ICRIR appeals for witnesses over two deaths during Troubles
Rebecca Black, Irish Telegraph and Irish News, July 29th, 2025
Fresh appeals have been made for witnesses to the separate deaths of a man and a woman in Belfast during the Troubles.
The families of Teresa Carson and UVF member William Marchant have been waiting for years for answers.
The appeals will involve distributing posters and organised leaflet drops in the areas relating to both investigations.
Ms Carson (47) was found dead on the Glen Road on November 24, 1974.
It is understood she had witnessed a robbery at St John's GAC Social Club on Whiterock Road hours before.
She was last seen in the grounds of the club at 12.15am getting into a white car.
Mr Marchant (39), who was also known as Frenchie, was shot by the IRA near the Progressive Unionist Party offices on the Shankill Road at approximately 3pm on April 28, 1987.
He later died at the Mater Hospital.
A brown Datsun Bluebird, registration number YOI 2557, was used in the attack.
It had been hijacked earlier in the day after a family was held at gunpoint overnight at Tullymore Gardens in west Belfast.
Appeal for Witnesses to come forward
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) has launched appeals for witnesses to come forward in relation to investigations into both deaths following requests from the victims' families.
Established in December 2023, it aims to provide information to families, victims and survivors of Troubles-related deaths and injuries and promote reconciliation.
Assistant commissioner Amanda Logan said their families asked the ICRIR to help them find out what happened to their loved ones.
“We have always underlined the commission's unwavering commitment to helping families find the unvarnished truth and this is at the centre of our witness appeals,” she said.
“The relatives of Teresa Carson and William Marchant believe that someone may hold vital information that could prove key to the investigations. These families have waited many years for answers and we at the commission are committed to doing everything we can to support them.
“If members of the public have any information about either of these cases, please come forward.”
She added: “No matter how unimportant your information may seem, what you share could be vital to finding the truth for the families. All information we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
Decision by the UDA's inner council to approve ceasefire 'immediately known to MI5'
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, July 29th, 2025
DECLASSIFIED FILES REVEAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING STRATEGY FOR LOYALIST LEADERS
Almost immediately after a meeting of the UDA's inner council approved a ceasefire in February 2003, MI5 was aware of what had been discussed in the room, declassified Government files have revealed.
The material, opened at The National Archives in Kew, also showed that UPRG member Tommy Kirkham broke the UDA's own embargo on the statement to confidentially send it to the Government.
The Downing Street files revealed the creation of a strategy to fund 'community leaders' in loyalist areas in a plan to move people away from paramilitarism, something which in some cases actually helped embed it by allowing paramilitaries to get funded by government by day while being terror bosses by night.
Amid immense internecine loyalist feuding which had seen multiple murders, in 2003 the UDA moved towards announcing a new ceasefire.
A confidential memo from the NIO's associate political director, Chris Maccabe, briefed Tony Blair on the UDA announcement to be made later the following day.
The official said: “We have now received from Tommy Kirkham the final draft of the UPRG press release on tomorrow's statement on behalf of the UDA.
“The proposals, to be known as the 'John Gregg' initiative, [someone has written an exclamation mark by hand in the margin] cover considerable ground...”
Maccabe said that Kirkham had told the NIO that the statement had been agreed with the UDA earlier that day.
He said that MI5 had since confirmed that the press release “was approved at a meeting between the UPRG and the UDA inner council at lunch time... it was apparently also agreed at the meeting that the UDA would be given a copy at 10.00 tomorrow, but Kirkham has broken this embargo — a recognition on his part, I think, that if you want a considered response from Government, you have to give Government time to prepare it.”
Maccabe described the statement as “a very positive development” which “lends weight to the many approaches we have received lately claiming that there is a significant core within loyalism that is willing and able to steer its supporters down a political path”.
He said that Kirkham defended calling the statement the 'John Gregg initiative' on the basis that “Gregg was, apparently, instrumental in taking the UDA in a more moderate direction, and the decision to name the initiative after him has helped to buy in sceptics”.
He went on: “It is also significant that the UDA will now re-engage with the Decommissioning Commission (Kirkham has told us that the new contact will be himself, although that is not yet for public consumption) and that they are even prepared to consider putting forward options looking at the future membership of the organisation, even if talk of disbandment is unlikely...”
Convert to Evangelical Christianity
Kirkham, a veteran UDA figure, led the South East Antrim UDA's split from the wider organisation in 2007, something which precipitated a more serious descent into crime.
Last year, the Sunday Life reported that Kirkham had converted to evangelical Christianity, but that had failed to impress doubting loyalists who viewed it as an attempt by the terror gang's leaders to get the PSNI off their backs.
A secret February 21, 2003, document, seemingly from MI5, has not been released. Details of a meeting with UPRG members on April 14, 2003, and a briefing for that meeting — both classified 'secret' — have also been retained by Government and have not been declassified.
On February 17, 2003, UUP leader David Trimble and his chief of staff, David Campbell, met Tony Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, in Downing Street.
‘An expensive initiative’
A note of the meeting by the NIO's political director, Jonathan Phillips, recorded: “David Campbell said that the local community fund announced at Hillsborough on February 12 had taken them by surprise and overlapped somewhat with ideas they were working up to engage former UDA leaders in establishing a charitable company headed by senior business people in Northern Ireland with the aim of helping communities to rid themselves of the influence of paramilitaries.
“This would be an expensive initiative. Jonathan Powell said that it would be likely to attract our support. Campbell may come back with drafting suggestions for this paragraph.”
Years later, Campbell would become chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council — a legal body which represents the views of illegal loyalist terror groups — and Powell would be central to the setting up of that body.
A highly-classified email sent on February 26, 2003, with the subject 'UPRG statement' has not been declassified.
Another document marked 'secret', with the subject 'statement anticipated from the LVF', which was sent the previous day has also been withheld.
An NIO briefing for a meeting between the Prime Minister and the UVF-linked PUP in February 2003 said: “At Hillsborough on February 12 you asked David Ervine to report back to you with a strategy for empowering loyalism, harnessing the £3m fund for generating community leadership you announced at Hillsborough. Ervine saw Des Browne last week and presented some good ideas on reconnecting socially-excluded groups.
“They have agreed to talk further about how a longer-term strategy might be developed.”
He was told that “central to the success of the development of a strategic and integrated plan will be the active engagement and 'buy in' of community leaders”.
A suggested area for public funding was “the development of a community capacity building and leadership programme” aimed at “people who are beginning to see the importance of engagement in the political process”.
It said that there was engagement with “community representatives and other key stakeholders” about how to design a new fund.
Two months ago, Winston Irvine, once a senior PUP figure, was jailed after being caught with guns and ammunition in his boot — and with a host of UVF material at his home.
He had been funded as a community worker, been feted by senior government figures, and was invited to high level talks with PSNI commanders.
UDA London ‘brigade’ stands down
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
A UDA unit based in London has stood down and transitioned into an “old comrades association”, it has been reported.
Founded in 1971, the UDA was responsible for hundreds of sectarian and other murders during the Troubles.
Many of the killings were carried out under the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) cover name.
The group has been linked to several mass murders during the years of conflict, including the Greysteele Massacre, when UDA/UFF killers shouted “trick or treat” before spraying the packed Rising Sun Bar with gunfire, killing six Catholics and two Protestants, on Halloween night 1993.
Members of the group were also involved in gruesome ‘Romper Room’ murders in the 1970s, when victims were often viciously beaten and tortured before being killed.
At its peak the UDA had thousands of members and was the largest loyalist paramilitary group.
Despite involvement in some of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, the deadly paramilitary group was not banned by the British government until 1992.
UDA in several British cities
It called a ceasefire in 1994. As well as having a large membership in the north, the UDA also had members in several British cities, including London.
Dr Aaron Edwards, a leading authority on loyalist paramilitary groups, said UDA sources in London have confirmed that the organisation’s London ‘Brigade’ has now stood down.
In a statement it said: “The OC (Officer Commanding) of the UDA London Brigade has stood himself down. The rest of the brigade have respected his decision and have also stood down. Collectively they will now function as an old comrades’ group.”
Dr Edwards described it as “significant”, coming at a time of increasing speculation about the future of loyalist paramilitary groups.
The academic said the London leadership made regular trips to Belfast and was represented on the organisation’s ruling “Inner Council”.
“It is purely a recognition that political and cultural activism is the only way forward,” the source said.
Claims of official business in the Wimbledon Royal Box ‘an insult to the public’s intelligence’
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
THE notion that Emma Little -Pengelly was conducting official Stormont business in Wimbledon’s Royal Box “insults the intelligence of the public”, Stormont’s Opposition leader has claimed.
The Executive Office has confirmed that the deputy first minister’s trip to watch the July 3 ladies singles’ Centre Court clash between Emma Raducanu and defending champion Marketa Vondrousova earlier this month was taken in an “official capacity”.
The Irish News revealed that the taxpayer-funded cost of the trip, on which the deputy first minister was accompanied by her husband and Education Authority boss Richard Pengelly, was almost £1,000.
The total cost of £980 included £96 for “airport services” and £152 on transport.
Mr Pengelly is understood to have paid for his own flights, with the couple spending two nights in London.
Ms Little-Pengelly, whose salary is £125,000, described being invited to the Royal Box as the “honour of a lifetime”, while her husband faced criticism at the time, as the Wimbledon trip was taken in the midst of an unfolding crisis over a lack of school places for dozens of children with special educational needs.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill was also invited to Wimbledon but declined, instead attending the all-Ireland semi final between Tyrone and Kerry on July 12.
The Executive Office has said there were no costs associated with the first minister’s trip to Croke Park.
Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw, the chair of Stormont’s Executive Office scrutiny committee, has queried the “justification” of the DUP deputy first minister’s trip to Wimbledon.
Declined to comment
Ms Little-Pengelly’s Stormont office has declined to say whether she had any other engagements or meetings while in London or to clarify how the trip was of interest to the public.
Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole told The Irish News that “no one begrudges” the deputy first minister a trip to Wimbledon but he said it was “astonishing that she thought it appropriate that the public should have to meet the cost of what is clearly a jolly day out at the tennis”.
“The idea that official business was conducted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon insults the intelligence of the public here,” the SDLP MLA said.
“Given the pre-existing public frustration over the hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on five star hotel trips by ministers, it beggars belief that the deputy first minister expected the public to meet the cost of a trip that most ordinary people in Northern Ireland could only dream about.”
Mr O’Toole said he intended to “establish if any official business took place and why it justified cost to the public purse”.
“ Astonishing that she thought it appropriate that the public should have to meet the cost of what is clearly a jolly day out at the tennis”.
The public deserves transparency, restraint, and respect for the value of every pound
Timothy Gaston, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
PLATFORM
ON SATURDAY, The Irish News revealed that the taxpayer had been invoiced by Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly for the cost of a £980 jolly to Wimbledon.
She and her husband had received Royal Box hospitality from the All England Club, and I don’t for a moment begrudge her accepting it. She’s perfectly entitled to do so.
However, the issue arises from her decision to expect the public purse to pick up the near £1,000 cost of travel to and accommodation in London.
When you break the cost of the trip down – with taxpayers even covering a £96 charge for “airport services” (whatever they were) and a £12.50 booking fee – the story becomes even more outrageous.
While I’m sure she had a very pleasant time, it’s hard to see what the benefit to Northern Ireland was from Emma Little-Pengelly attending Wimbledon. So what’s the justification for the public paying the bill?
The Executive Office defended the spend, telling The Irish News: “The travel and accommodation costs incurred by the deputy first minister are in line with NICS policy.”
If that is the case, then NICS policy is simply wrong.
Over £470,000 spent on foreign travel
In June, I revealed assembly answers showing that across the executive, departments had spent over £470,000 on foreign travel in just over a year – more than £52,000 of it personally spent by ministers.
Topping that table was The Executive Office, with £126,000 on travel outside the British Isles.
Conor Coyle’s story underscored the importance of examining the cost of travel within the British Isles as well – a matter I intend to press ministers on once Stormont returns in September.
Not that I have much hope of getting satisfactory answers.
After revealing the £126,000 cost of Executive Office foreign travel, I asked the first and deputy first ministers to provide the business case for each event they and officials from their department attended outside the British Isles since February 2024.
The response said nothing about the six-person trip to New York for St Patrick’s Day, which cost a staggering £38,000 – over £6,300 per person. Or the £46,618 cost of sending the joint first ministers plus 10 officials to Washington in 2024.
Despite being asked to explain every trip, Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly merely replied: “All associated arrangements are consistent with NICS guidelines and the principles for managing public resources as set out in Managing Public Money NI, which encourages a proportionate approach to evaluation and appraisal.”
Such a newspeak answer – while typical of Stormont – shows contempt for the public who foot the bill.
But it would be a mistake to think this cavalier attitude to public money is confined to The Executive Office.
In June, I revealed further shocking examples of Stormont extravagance in other departments – including £11,134 spent on a trip to New York for Climate Week NYC, where three officials, including the agriculture minister, flew across the Atlantic to discuss sustainability.
Contempt for public
“ Such a newspeak answer – while typical of Stormont – shows contempt for the public who foot the bill”
When I asked Minister Muir whether climate-related travel was being offset or accounted for in his department’s carbon commitments, the best he and his officials could come up with was: “Climate change-related travel is not being offset or accounted for in Daera’s carbon commitments. Carbon emissions associated with Civil Service air and rail travel are gathered at a NICS-wide level and any related carbon reduction policy associated would most likely be NICS-wide.”
Most likely? It would appear that Minister Muir neither knows nor cares – and yet he is all too keen to lecture our farmers on their responsibilities.
Other departments are no better, with the education minister running up a taxpayer-funded bill of £8,128 in his first year in office – including visits to Washington and Iceland.
While ministers run up bills for lavish travel – often incurred on trips of questionable value to the people of Northern Ireland – ordinary people continue to struggle to get by.
It’s time for Stormont ministers to be reminded of a simple truth: they are not globetrotting dignitaries on unlimited expense accounts – they are public servants, accountable to the people who pay their bills.
When a mother can’t get a classroom assistant for her child, when a hospital cancels operations, when farmers are drowning in red tape – and yet ministers are racking up five-figure travel tabs to sip cocktails in New York and pose in Washington – it’s not just tone-deaf.
It’s contemptuous.
The people of Northern Ireland deserve better than vague justifications and hollow slogans. They deserve transparency, restraint, and respect for the value of every single pound. Until that happens, every plane ticket, hotel bill, and airport service charge should be scrutinised – because it’s not their money. It’s ours.
Timothy Gaston is the TUV MLA for North Antrim
Michelle O'Neill accused of 'pathetic attempt to rewrite history' over Legacy deaths
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, July 29th, 2025
O'NEILL SAYS DEATHS SHAPED HER LIFE AND THAT IRISH UNITY CAN BE SOLD TO UNIONISTS
First Minister Michelle O'Neill has been accused of a “pathetic attempt to rewrite history” after saying the killing of local people by “the British state” shaped her life growing up in Co Tyrone.
The Sinn Fein vice president also claimed there are “many people”, including unionists, who are “open to being persuaded” about a united Ireland.
Ms O'Neill, who has been criticised for attending republican commemorations and claiming there was “no alternative” to IRA violence during the Troubles, said she was aware from an early age that she “grew up in a family, in a society, in a community that was discriminated against, that was treated with inequality on a day-to-day basis”.
“[There was] a lot of loss in the community, many moments when the British state killed local lads, local people, local people that weren't much older than me… all those moments contribute to shaping who you are,” Ms O'Neill told the Irish Times.
Coagh and SAS
One of those killed was her cousin, Tony Doris. The IRA man was shot dead by the SAS along with two others in Coagh in 1991 when Ms O'Neill was just 14.
“It was horrendous for his immediate family, obviously, and all these things have lasting impacts, and that's the same for every family that lost,” she reflected.
“My experience, unfortunately, was felt by far too many people.”
Last year a coroner found SAS soldiers were “justified” in using lethal force. Peter Ryan and Lawrence McNally were also killed when intercepted in a stolen car. DUP MLA Trevor Clarke branded Ms O'Neill's comments as “deeply offensive and a pathetic attempt to rewrite the brutal history of the IRA's terrorist campaign”.
“Seeking to shift blame onto the British state while defending those who were on 'active service' with the IRA and were dealt with by the security forces is repugnant and shows a complete disregard for the suffering inflicted on innocent victims,” he added.
“These remarks are not the words of a leader seeking to represent all communities. They are the words of someone still trying to justify and sanitise sectarian, ruthless murder.”
Referring to Ms O'Neill's claim in the same interview that she has lived up to her promise to be a “First Minister for all”, Mr Clarke said her actions suggest otherwise.
Glorifying violence
“True leadership demands honesty about the past, not excuses or glorification of violence,” he added.
TUV councillor Allister Kyle also criticised the remarks which he said reveal a “deeply warped” worldview.
In the interview, Ms O'Neill said partition has “failed” her community as she spoke about her goal of bringing about a united Ireland, as she expressed support for her party's commitment to secure a border poll as early as 2030.
However, she said she is “less fixated on a date” and more interested “that we get it right”.
“The Irish Government really, really need to treat this with urgency… give people the tools in which to make an informed decision,” she said.
Ms O'Neill said she believes there are “many people”, including unionists, who are “open to being persuaded”, adding: “The argument to be made is that there is something better for all of us.”
Asked about her pledge of being a “First Minister for all”, Ms O'Neill said she believes she has fulfilled her promise and cited her attendance at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and King Charles's coronation as proof — in addition to her presence at a PSNI graduation ceremony and a Remembrance Sunday service.
However, she admitted finding it challenging to participate in such events in light of her own background when asked if it is “difficult”. “But is it the right thing to do to try and reconcile the people on this island? Yes, it is. So, for me, that outweighs any personal feeling,” she said.
Ms O'Neill pointed out that at the same time, “I go to republican commemorations” as she explained the reason.
“Because that's who I am. I've never shied away from that,” she said.
Asked about her critics and those who find her presence at republican commemorations difficult to accept, Ms O'Neill said: “I understand there are many people out there that have a different narrative than me and I respect that that's their view. It's also perhaps their lived experience, but mine's different.”
On her relationship with Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Ms O'Neill said they are “completely different characters” with “different backgrounds” and a “completely different outlook” but “also very understanding of the fact that we have to work together to try and lead the Executive”.
However, the First Minister was critical of what she branded “lack of leadership in political unionism, particularly in regard to bonfires and its faux outrage at times around particular issues”.
“The constant attacks on the GAA tell people who support the GAA and people from an Irish national identity they're not welcome in this place,” she added.
“Political unionism would need to think about that.”
Archbishop Martin: Lough Neagh pollution is a spiritual and moral crisis
Conor Sheils, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
THE head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has criticised the environmental damage at Lough Neagh.
Archbishop Eamon Martin made the comments during a visit by Irish church leaders to the site in recent days.
This year marks the third year that toxic algae has been detected in the summer months.
Campaigners have said the algae problem at Lough Neagh is so bad that travellers flying into Belfast can see it from the air.
The harmful spread is blamed on high levels of nutrients generated by run-off from agricultural fertilisers, alongside other significant factors including sewerage discharge and the zebra mussel species.
The archbishop joined other church leaders on a visit to the lough during which they met members of the Southwest Lough Neagh, Rivers and Islands Association, along with residents – including fishing and environmental advocates.
Following the visit, Archbishop Martin said that environmental degradation was not only a scientific and political issue, but also a deeply spiritual and moral one.
“What does it mean for faith communities to ‘put out into the deep’ and face the ecological crises of our time?” he said.
“How can we collaborate across denominations, sectors, and borders to renew our responsibility as stewards of creation?
“What prophetic voice might the churches raise in solidarity with vulnerable ecosystems and communities?”
The warming climate and higher levels of nutrients in the water are thought to be behind the increase.
Earlier this month it was announced that eel fishing in the lough has been suspended for the rest of the year.
“For the first time in generations, eel fishing was suspended, not because of legislation, but because ex-port markets rejected the eels due to poor fat content, likely a result of Lough Neagh’s ecological deterioration,” Archbishop Martin said.
“For many families, a centuries-old way of life has come to an abrupt and painful end.”
Last week, The Irish News revealed that just 14 of more than three dozen ‘actions’ aimed at improving water quality in Lough Neagh have been delivered so far by Stormont.
Last year ministers announced a raft of measures to tackle the pollution crisis but a majority of the initiatives, many of which require executive approval, have yet to be put into effect.
The Department of the Environment admits there has been ten reports of blue-green algae at Lough Neagh this year, including five blooms in the first three weeks of this month.
Patients face GP disruption just as new role announced
Allan Preston, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
GPs across Northern Ireland will begin collective action this week
HEALTH Minister Mike Nesbitt has announced a new dedicated role to tackle hospital waiting lists – but patients will first have to endure the effects of a showdown with GPs across Northern Ireland who will begin collective action this week
Yesterday, Mr Nesbitt appointed senior surgeon Professor Mark Taylor to become Northern Ireland’s first regional clinical director for elective care.
Tasked with helping the department to reduce the “national shame” of waiting lists, Professor Taylor said he would work “relentlessly” while acknowledging it was a long-term challenge.
Within 40 minutes of that announcement, GPs confirmed they will start collective action this week in response to Mr Nesbitt imposing a contract for 2025/26 worth an extra £9.5m, far below the £80m figure the BMA claim is needed to stabilise primary care.
The BMA says the “series of collective action” will now continue across Northern Ireland until the department makes an improved financial offer.
Limiting consultations to 25 per day
The actions will include: l Limiting daily patient consultations to the recommended safe level of 25. l Refusing to carry out “voluntary activity” on behalf of secondary care and insisting on referrals for specialist appointments when appropriate. l Stopping unfunded paperwork requests. l Switching off “medical optimisation software” and using clinical judgement when prescribing instead. The BMA say the software is time-consuming and plagued with nuisance pop-up suggestions for prescriptions which may not be in the best interest of patients.
Further advice from the BMA states that it is for individual practices to decide which actions they will take in the coming weeks and months, but that it remains “paramount” they continue to comply with their professional obligations.
Dr Frances O’Hagan, who chairs the BMA’s Northern Ireland GP Committee, said that legal advice had been taken to ensure that patient care remained “as unaffected as possible” during the collective action.
“Patients are not the focus of our dispute; it is the department’s approach that is forcing us into action,” she said.
“The collective action undertaken by GPs is a clear call for the health minister to recognise the severity of the situation and to take immediate and decisive action.
“We need to reopen the negotiation for this year, and the minister allocate additional resources immediately to stabilise general practice and to engage in constructive discussions for sustainable, long-term improvements.”
Dr Ursula Mason, who chairs the Royal College of GPs in Northern Ireland, said: “Absolutely no GP will want to restrict the services they provide for their patients – and it needs to be made clear that GPs and their teams will still be working extremely hard to care for our patients.
“There are many aspects of what GPs provide that go well beyond the contractual requirements they are under and what they receive funding for, and this additional workload and the goodwill of the GPs delivering it, have been taken for granted for too long.”
Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan also called on Mr Nesbitt to “urgently” meet with GP representatives to limit any disruption.
“GPs are under pressure, and that’s affecting patients’ ability to access appointments when they need them.
“It’s time to reach an agreement and ensure patients get the care and support they deserve.”
Welcoming Prof Taylor’s appointment, he added that the surgeon would bring “knowledge, expertise and experience” to the newly created role, noting that £215m had been allocated in this year’s budget to address the pressures.
“I’ll continue to work with the health minister and others to drive forward progress and ensure our health service delivers for patients, their families and workers.”
High Court judge orders will of IRA spy Stakeknife to remain sealed until 2095
Callum Parke, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, July 29th, 2025
FREDDIE SCAPPATICCI DIED AT THE AGE OF 77 IN ENGLAND IN 2023
The will of Freddie Scappaticci - a high-ranking spy inside the IRA codenamed Stakeknife - will not be made public, the High Court has ruled.
The west Belfast man, who changed his name to Frank Cowley in 2020, was believed to be Britain's top spy inside the Provos. Scappaticci died aged 77 in 2023.
Yesterday Sir Julian Flaux ordered Scappaticci's will to be sealed for 70 years.
It is the first time, except for members of the royal family, where a court has ordered a will not be made open to public inspection.
The judge said: “There is nothing in the will, which is in fairly standard form, which could conceivably be of interest to the public or the media.”
A hearing to decide whether it should be sealed was held in camera on July 21.
Barristers for the Attorney General supported the will being sealed at the hearing in London, Sir Julian said.
The court heard a man named Michael Johnson was prepared to represent Scappaticci's interests provided the will was sealed.
Christopher Buckley, representing Mr Johnson, said making Scappaticci's will publicly available would be “undesirable” and “inappropriate”, and that Mr Johnson feared his life being put at risk if the will was made open to inspection.
Sir Julian said there was “the need to protect (Mr Johnson) and those named in the will from the real risk of serious physical harm or even death because they might be thought to be guilty by association”.
He added: “The real risk to his life and wellbeing which the deceased faced in his lifetime is amply demonstrated.
“Publication of the will would be both undesirable and inappropriate.”
The judge concluded that holding the hearing in public would have “defeated the whole object” of the bid to have the will sealed.
Sir Julian said in his 18-page ruling that Scappaticci was alleged to have been a leading member of the Provisional IRA, and was part of the “Nutting Squad” from around 1980 until the mid-1990s, which interrogated suspected informers during the Troubles. In 2003 media reports claimed that Scappaticci had spied on the IRA for the Government, and that while working for both organisations “was responsible for the torture and murder of dozens of alleged IRA informers”.
Scappaticci always denied the claim but failed in a legal bid to force the Government to publicly state he was not Stakeknife, forcing him to move to England in 2003.
Death threats continued in England
Sir Julian said: “He could not have remained in Northern Ireland, as he could have been killed by one side or the other.
“Even after he moved to England and changed his name, he continued to receive death threats.
“Such was their nature that he had to relocate at short notice several times over the years.”
Operation Kenova was then launched to probe the activities of Stakeknife within the IRA and crimes such as murder and torture, as well as the role played by the security services.
The probe, which was undertaken by Bedfordshire Police and cost tens of millions of pounds, reported its interim findings last year, after Scappaticci's death.
While it stopped short of naming him as Stakeknife, it found that more lives were probably lost than saved by the agent's actions.
The former Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police and author of the interim report, Jon Boutcher, said that the identity of Stakeknife “will have to be confirmed at some point”, but he would “have to leave this to my final report”.
He said: “For now, it suffices to say that Mr Scappaticci was and still is inextricably bound up with and a critical person of interest at the heart of Operation Kenova.
“I believe that we found strong evidence of very serious criminality on the part of Mr Scappaticci and his prosecution would have been in the interests of victims, families and justice.”
Prosecutors said at the time the interim report was published that the examination of files containing evidence of serious criminality by Scappaticci was at an advanced stage at the time of his death.
Comment
Public knowledge of the amount of money paid by the state to Scapatticci even with some redactions to protect beneficiaries in his will , is essential in the public interest. If we can't be told something so basic, what new information will ever be told to satisfy reasonable demands for greater state openness?
Brian Walker
Retired top police officer throws his hat in the ring for UUP MLA seat
John Manley, Irish News, July 29th, 2025
RETIRED PSNI superintendent Jon Burrows is among three candidates vying for the Ulster Unionists’ vacant assembly seat.
Interviews to find the replacement for departing North Antrim MLA Colin Crawford are due to take place today in a process overseen by former party leader Lord Tom Elliott.
Mr Crawford, who succeeded Robin Swann after the former Stormont health minister won the South Antrim seat in last year’s Westminster election, announced in June that he was standing down after less than a year in the role.
He said the decision to step away from politics had been taken after “much soul searching”.
It was reported earlier this month that his resignation was prompted by a dispute over a party statement on June’s racist rioting in Ballymena.
Beattie resignation
Mr Crawford’s appointment in the aftermath of Mr Swann’s election victory ultimately led Doug Beattie to relinquish the party leadership weeks later.
Mr Beattie supported an alternative candidate for the role, leading to a dispute with the party’s 14-person ruling executive.
The former British army captain, who unsuccessfully sought to retract his resignation letter, recently told The Irish News that his “liberal language” had annoyed unnamed party elders.
“Some people saw me as being too liberal and too moderate – they wanted to return to traditional, conservative Ulster Unionist Party values,” he said.
Mr Crawford had been due to step down at the end of June but was asked by the party to stay in post until a replacement was found.
The first step in the process of appointing his successor takes place today with three candidates being interviewed by a panel of party officers.
Mr Burrows is understood to be up against former Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon deputy mayor Sam Nicholson, the son of one-time MEP Jim Nicholson, and Glen Miller, who stood as the party’s Westminster candidate in East Derry last year.
When asked to confirm his candidacy for the post, the former PSNI superintendent, who has recently came to prominence as a media commentator on security issues, responded: “No comment.”
Mr Burrows, whose father Colin is a former assistant chief constable, is a strong advocate on behalf of rank and file police officers.
Notably, there are no women among the prospective candidates to replace Mr Crawford, a situation that’s thought to be bone of contention among some senior representatives.
The Ulster Unionist press office has not commented on the selection process.
The Irish News spoke to one source in the constituency who said there was concern that none of those vying for the vacant MLA’s seat had “ties to the local community”.
The same source said there was also concern that Mr Burrows was “yet another celebrity candidate the party is trying to force on an association”.
“This was a tactic developed by (UUP leader Mike) Nesbitt in his first term” the source said.
“However the experience of Tim Collins, Ian Marshall and many of the party’s MLAs who were forced on associations, this has been a disaster.”
