Little-Pengelly yet to respond to presidential inauguration invite
JOHN MANLEY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
IT looks increasingly doubtful that Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will attend next week’s inauguration of Irish president-elect Catherine Connolly.
With little over four days to go until the ceremony at Dublin Castle, The Irish News understands that the Lagan Valley MLA has yet to accept an invite from the taoiseach’s office.
If Ms Little-Pengelly declines the invitation, it will be the first time since the Good Friday Agreement that a serving first or deputy first minister has not attended the swearing-in of the Irish president.
Little-Pengelly presidential snub would ‘thumb nose at nationalists’
Then First Minister Peter Robinson joined the then Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Michael D Higgins’ first presidential inauguration in 2011.
However, seven years later, after President Higgins was elected for the second time, no invites were issued because the Stormont institutions were suspended. The assembly was also suspended in 2004 for Mary McAleese’s second inauguration.
As widely expected, First Minister Michelle O’Neill will attend Tuesday’s inauguration alongside her party leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Senior representatives of the British government are also likely to be among the invited audience.
There was an expectation in some quarters that Ms O’Neill’s attendance at the 2023 coronation of King Charles would be reciprocated by her executive office counterpart’s attendance at the Dublin Castle ceremony.
President Higgins was the first Irish head of state to attend a coronation.
But unless Ms Little-Pengelly is deliberately delaying accepting the invite until the eleventh hour, all indications suggest she will snub the event.
Historian and Irish News columnist Brian Feeney said if the deputy first minister didn’t go to Tuesday’s inauguration, it would be “evidence she represents only the unionist community and thumbs her nose at nationalists”.
“Once again, unionism accentuates its isolation,” he said.
“Attending would be a huge symbolic performance and a step away from the negativity and sectarian rancour the TUV promotes, while failure to attend moves the DUP closer to that TUV position.”
The Department of the Taoiseach has yet to comment.
'Border does not apply to me': Nairac's illegal forays into Republic are revealed
ANDREW MADDEN, Belfast Telegraph, Novemner 7th, 2025
DOCUMENTARY GIVES NEW INSIGHT ON SOLDIER 'DISAPPEARED' BY IRA
A new documentary about Robert Nairac has claimed the soldier tracked down a paramilitary suspect in the Republic, against Army rules.
Nairac, who served as a liaison officer between the SAS and RUC Special Branch, was abducted from a pub in south Armagh on May 14, 1977 while working undercover and taken across the border.
He was shot dead by the IRA and secretly buried. His body has never been found.
Last year the first official search for his remains took place at Faughhart near Dundalk.
The search was largely down to information provided by former IRA man Martin McAllister.
The Disappearance of Captain Nairac will air on BBC One Northern Ireland on Monday night.
Made by Alison Millar and Darragh MacIntyre, the documentary features exclusive interviews with family and friends of Nairac, retired security personnel, and Mr McAllister, who explains how he became involved.
Nairac's case is one of the most enduring stories of the Troubles, not just because his body has not been found, but also due to the clandestine nature of his work and because of his alleged links with several atrocities.
The programme features an interview with a former RUC Special Branch officer who worked with Nairac.
He said the soldier “took risks that I would never take”.
“Robert would arrive into our office wearing Wellington waders, straight from some river or lake. And that fishing spot could be on the other side of the border,” he said.
“He would say to me and laugh: 'The border doesn't apply to me'.
“Yes, he had his edge all right. I remember arresting one suspect. He wouldn't talk, so we had to release him.
“I remember telling Robert about him, hoping that he'd get some more intelligence on him.
“A week later Robert landed into the office and said: 'Lift that lad again'. This time he told us everything.
“He pointed us to the way of a large weapons dump. I asked Robert about it and he said: 'We visited him one night in his sleep, and made him an offer he couldn't refuse'. I just replied: 'Robert, Robert, Robert'.”
The officer said Nairac was not in the SAS, but claimed he worked with them on both sides of the border.
British troops operating in the Republic was strictly against military rules, not to mention illegal as they would not have had any jurisdiction.
‘Danny Boy’
A friend of Nairac's from his native Gloucestershire, Jemima Parry-Jones, recalled how he had a great affinity with Ireland.
“My feelings for the IRA weren't kindly. And quite frankly, they're still not kindly,” she said.
“But Robert didn't seem to feel that same way. He loved Ireland. And he was passionate about the Troubles not going on... that he wanted to be a part of stopping it, which I think made it very special and meant that he took risks.”
Former Armagh councillor Seamus Murphy knew Nairac as 'Danny Boy'.
He tells the documentary: “I did see him once in full undercover mode.
“That was in the cattle market in Newry. A couple of guys from around Crossmaglen, whom I knew, met me in Newry on the street and they said: 'Danny Boy's' over in the cattle market. He's all dressed up like a farmer. He's pretending to be a bit drunk, I think'.
“So we went round for a look at him. I did see him in a dirty overcoat and Wellingtons and a cap. The overcoat was tied with a rope.
“I barely spotted him in the crowd, but he spotted us. Then about three police Land Rovers came in from different directions and blocked off the gates of the mart.
“And yes, it was him. The cattle mart? Like, on the cattle mart day in Newry, it was full of south Armagh people!”
Mr Murphy added: “He had a certain swagger and arrogance about him, and an awful habit of putting his gun down and walking away from it, which everyone thought was strange.
“Everyone knew he wasn't an ordinary soldier, but they thought he was a roaring idiot, and probably dangerous.”
On the night he was abducted, Nairac visited the Three Steps Inn in Drumintee.
The reason he was there has never been made clear, however he was said to have believed he was on the verge of an intelligence breakthrough, recruiting someone with serious links to the IRA.
Nairac, putting on a Belfast accent, sang two rebel songs in the pub and aroused the suspicion of several IRA sympathisers, who confronted him in the car park.
Nairac was beaten and driven a short distance over the border, where IRA man Liam Townson was summoned.
Townson shot Nairac dead. The soldier never revealed his true identity. All those involved in the abduction and murder fled, leaving the body where it lay. It is believed other IRA figures were called in and Nairac was secretly buried.
‘Open running sore’
Mr McAllister explained what drew him to the case, stating the situation was an “open running sore” in south Armagh.
The former IRA man said in the decades since Nairac's disappearance, “every imaginable horror has been laid at his door”, with claims he was involved in various atrocities including the Dublin-Monaghan bombings, the Kingsmill massacre and the Miami Showband massacre.
“It just becomes a figure of speech with no proof,” he added.
He described speaking to lots of people over the years in an effort to put together a jigsaw puzzle of exactly what happened.
He said while people are “shy” about giving information, they would give it to him.
“It's been on my mind constantly because it's an open running sore in this area,” he said.
“This man was a soldier, and I was his enemy.
“But to 'disappear' somebody is something I never, ever agreed with.
“No one should be left in such a position whereby they haven't a grave to visit.
“This man should be back with his family.”
Speaking after last year's search ended, Jon Hill of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains said he still believed the information received was credible.
“The fact that we haven't found Robert Nairac's remains does not change that,” he added.
“It is our experience from other searches that while we have been in the right area, the precise location has not been found the first time round.
“There is always a concern that once it is known that we are starting a search in a particular area that it is assumed that we have all the information that we need, and people who could help may think there is no need for them to talk to us.
“Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Mr McAllister pledged that he will not give up on his search, describing it as a “matter of honour”.
Emotional plea by son of man murdered by loyalists
CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
Thirty-five years on from UVF shooting, British Government told to ‘press ahead with legacy plan’
THE son of a Co Tyrone man shot dead by loyalists has urged the British Government to implement planned changes to the Legacy Act.
Tommy Casey’s son made the call ahead of a commemoration to mark the Sinn Féin member’s murder 35 year ago.
Mr Casey (57) was shot dead by the UVF at the home of a friend near Cookstown on October 26, 1990.
The now defunct Historical Enquiries Team previously confirmed that four members of the UDR were questioned about the killing.
The father of 11 was killed as he visited a friend’s house unannounced and may not have been the intended target.
Mr Casey’s wife Cathleen, who It is believed the target may have been former republican prisoner Sean Anderson, who was also shot dead a year later.
Tommy Casey, who was shot dead in October 1990, and his wife Cathleen was in a nearby car, was also wounded.
In the weeks leading up to the attack, Mr Casey’s own home at Kildress, near Cookstown, was sprayed with gunfire by loyalists.
A commemoration for Mr Casey and his wife Cathleen, whose anniversary is this month, will be held at St Joseph’s graveyard, Killeenan, on Sunday.
Under the British Government’s Legacy Act all inquests and civil cases were ended.
Last month, the British Government introduced a new bill at Westminster to implement a joint legacy framework agreed with the Irish government.
Under any new legislation, the controversial Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) will be rebranded the Legacy Commission.
Mr Casey’s son, Conor Casey, has pledged to continue his campaign for justice.
“After years of waiting for a proper investigation, we were granted an inquest, which was then taken away from us,” he said.
“The Secretary of State is talking about a new Legacy Act that will give us a new investigation.
“We ask that this is urgently brought to a head so that we can have an investigation and the truth we have waited on for so long.”
35 years waiting for investigation
His solicitor Gavin Booth, of Phoenix Law, said: “It’s truly scandalous that after 35 years the Caseys have never had a proper investigation into their father’s murder.”
Mr Casey’s killing was part of a series across east Tyrone 35 years ago.
A week after his death, UDR member Albert Cooper (42) was killed when a booby trap bomb exploded under a car at his garage in Cookstown on November 2.
Days later, on November 8, Catholic man Malachy McIvor (43) was shot dead in Stewartstown, Co Tyrone, as he worked on a car in a garage.
It was reported at the time that his murder was in retaliation for the killing of Mr Cooper.
Mr McIvor, who was from Moneymore in Co Derry, had no connection with the republican movement.
Stormont ministers fail to reach agreement over Grand Central Irish language signs
ALAN ERWIN, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
TALKS between two Stormont ministers at the centre of a row over Irish language signs at Belfast’s Grand Central Station have failed to resolve their differences, the High Court heard yesterday.
A judge confirmed the legal challenge mounted by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson will now advance to a full hearing early next year.
Irish language rights group Conradh na Gaeilge and TUV MLA Timothy Gaston were also both granted rights to participate in the case.
Mr Bryson is seeking to judicially review Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins for approving the installation of Irish signs at Grand Central.
He claims the decision to allocate £150,000 for the train station project was so controversial and cut across other Stormont departments that the issue should have been brought to the executive committee for discussion and agreement.
By failing to take that step Ms Kimmins breached the Ministerial Code, the high-profile activist contends.
DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has already obtained permission to intervene in the proceedings based on his opinion that the decision was cross-cutting.
In September the challenge was put on hold after Mr Justice McAlinden urged the executive to attempt to resolve the dispute and avoid being seen as a “laughing stock”.
He called on ministers to enter discussions instead of spending vital public money being on opposing sides in a legal battle.
It was also suggested that the new appointments of Northern Ireland’s first Irish language and Ulster-Scots commissioners could be consulted in a bid to defuse the argument.
At a review hearing yesterday counsel representing Ms Kimmins, Tony McGleenan KC, confirmed talks have taken place.
No resolution between Sinn Fein and DUP ministers
“The two ministers in the Department for Infrastructure and the Department for Communities have met to discuss these issues, but there has been no resolution in respect of their separate positions,” he said.
The court was told there is no indication that the dispute will be brought back to the executive committee.
Mr McGleenan added Ms Kimmins is willing to seek advice from Irish language commissioner Pól Deeds, although he played down the chances of any engagement finding a solution.
A row is still rumbling on about Irish language signage at Belfast’s Grand Central Station, which was approved by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons and Ms Kimmins have been unable to reach agreement on the matter after discussions
“This case will require a hearing,” he stated.
During brief exchanges Mr Bryson consented to Mr Gaston intervening in proceedings but raised an objection to Conradh na Gaeilge’s bid for the same status.
However, Mr Justice McAlinden ruled that both applications for permission to make written submissions are to be granted.
Listing the case for a two-day hearing in January, the judge said: “I’m quite happy to get everyone’s views about this matter… I’m trying to ensure everybody has a say.”
Outside court Mr Bryson claimed Mr Gaston will be able to bring “valuable material” to the legal challenge.
He also insisted the Irish language commissioner has no statutory power over Translink or to make recommendations unless jointly approved by the first and deputy first minister.
“Thus (it) ensures a unionist veto. The commissioner has no role in this case,” Mr Bryson contended.
Dr Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh from Conradh na Gaeilge said the campaign group will be able to make contributions supporting dual-language signage at shared spaces and travel hubs in line with best practice across the UK and Ireland.
He added: “We also welcome that the infrastructure minister will be seeking guidance from the newly appointed Irish language Commissioner, and fully expect that guidance to overwhelmingly endorse the decision to erect English and Irish language signage in Grand Central Station.”
Loyalists to march on newly-opened Boyne Bridge Place
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
LOYALISTS are planning to march down Boyne Bridge Place just days after the new road next to Belfast Grand Central station is due to be opened, it has emerged.
It comes just weeks after loyalists said they would place Orange Order flags up and down the stretch, which will be one of the first places many arriving rail passengers will see in Belfast.
The stretch, formerly part of Durham Street, is to be officially renamed Boyne Bridge Place, to mark the site of the former Boyne Bridge, which was demolished last year as work got underway on a new public realm outside Grand Central Station.
The £340m travel hub opened its doors last September, but the demolishing of Boyne Bridge caused protests amongst residents of the adjacent loyalist Sandy Row area, due to claims the structure contained the remains of a bridge crossed by King William III and his troops on the way to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
The march, which is due to be held on November 29, is being organised by the 1642 Boyne Bridge Defenders Historical Group.
The group was formed as part of the protests against the removal of the Boyne Bridge during the construction of the transport hub.
The parade, which has been approved by the Parades Commission, is due to leave Sandy Row Orange Hall at around lunchtime.
According to the Parades Commission, the parade will begin opposite the Sandy Row Orange Hall before continuing down Sandy Row where it will stop at the war memorial before continuing towards the junction of Linfield Road.
It is then that the marchers plan to cross Boyne Bridge Place if the road has been opened.
The opening of Boyne Bridge Place has been scheduled for this month, although an exact date is yet to be confirmed.
If the road is not yet opened, organisers plan to take an alternative route to City Hall.
Although the event coincides with the day that a Palestinian flag is due to be flown at City Hall, it is not thought the two events are linked.
Stormont department's disclaimed accounts overstated income by £12m
LIAM TUNNEY, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
WATCHDOG CRITICISES FAILINGS AT ECONOMY AS SHE IS UNABLE TO VERIFY ITS RECORDS
A Stormont department's accounts that were disclaimed by the Audit Office for a second consecutive year showed officials had overstated income by more than £12m.
Earlier this week the Department for the Economy (DfE) published its annual accounts for 2024-25, noting the Comptroller and Auditor General had been unable to verify them again.
A “disclaimed opinion” on accounts means the regulator was unable to obtain sufficient evidence to support the information in the statements.
Now the final accounts and associated report have revealed DfE overstated its income by £12.6m in how accruals were recorded.
Accruals are revenues earned or expenses that have been incurred, but have not yet been paid or received.
DfE reported £91.5m for accruals and deferred income at March 31, 2025. In her report, Dorinnia Carville said her team had reviewed a sample of these.
“Based on that work, I estimated an extrapolated error of £12.6m within the £91.5m accruals balance in the core financial statements,” she said.
“These errors were due to overstatement or the department being unable to provide sufficient supporting evidence.”
Ms Carville added DfE had a responsibility to ensure it reported a “true and fair view of their value”.
‘Irregular expenditure’
Elsewhere in the accounts, she noted DfE had accumulated £55m in “irregular” expenditure, where necessary approvals had not been sought and obtained from the Department of Finance.
The irregularities related to DfE's Post Graduate Award (PGA) Scheme, which provides funding to allow students to study at a UK institution.
Following a previous audit, the Department of Finance changed its approval processes, rendering expenditure on PGA irregular, as a business case had not been completed for it at the time.
“On the basis that... approval was not in place, I consider £18.9m of expenditure on this scheme in 2024-25 to be irregular,” said Ms Carville.
“My regularity opinion only covers income and expenditure in the year of account; however this now brings total irregular expenditure on this scheme to £55m since the revised ESA 10 arrangements were first brought into place.
“Further irregular expenditure is expected in future years until payments under the old scheme cease. Approval has been received for a new PGA scheme commencing in 2026-27.”
The Audit Office assessment also noted issues around Northern Regional College, which DfE said related to “delays and quality issues”.
Ms Carville's report said the college's response to its auditing responsibilities was “unacceptable”.
“Working papers relating to NRC were only presented for two out of 10 account areas and the department told me that it remained concerned about the quality of information the college was able to provide,” she said.
“Additional delay was caused by the college making manual amendments to its component information, outside of its accounting system, which took time for my team to identify.
“The combination of these issues meant that there was insufficient time available to complete my work on the 2024-25 NRC component information and still achieve statutory deadlines.
Impeded from completing procedures
“Given the time constraints, my team was impeded from completing all necessary procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support my opinions on the group financial statements.”
DfE said work to “rectify complex and historic accounting issues” was continuing.
Permanent secretary Ian Snowden said: “The department has made progress in the last 12 months. This year, the accounts have been certified and laid on time, and the improvements in the quality of the accounts have been recognised by the Audit Office.
“That said, I fully recognise the seriousness of the issues highlighted by the Audit Office and I am committed to addressing all issues, urgently and thoroughly and I want to thank the Audit Office for their commitment to working collaboratively with the department.
“The department has increased direct engagement with NRC's governing body, accounting officer and senior management team, appointed a chair with strong experience in addressing governance issues, and introduced a new oversight regime.
“These measures lay the foundation for a stronger, more compliant position in 2025-26 and beyond.
“The department remains fully committed to strengthening financial governance and delivering high standards of accountability to the Assembly and the public.”
NRC was approached for comment.
In summing up the accounts, Ms Carville said she was unconvinced the department had resolved matters raised by her the previous year.
“My responsibility is to conduct an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK), applicable law... However, I was not able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an opinion on the financial statements for the Department for the Economy...”
Health service staff across NI to receive 'pay parity' after 'extraordinary steps' by Executive
ABDULLAH SABRI, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
The Health Minister has confirmed that healthcare staff are expected to receive a pay increase that will restore parity with the rest of the UK after “extraordinary steps” taken by the Executive.
Nurses here had warned of imminent strike action if a 3.6% increase recommended by the independent Pay Review Body was not met.
Health staff can expect to see the changes come through by February of next year, according to Mr Nesbitt.
The UUP leader said: “The Executive has given me approval to deliver pay parity for health service staff, which was our original intention and what unions and professional bodies have been asking for and is their right.
“This would restore pay parity with the percentage uplifts as recommended by pay review bodies being back dated in full to 1 April 2025.
“I would expect our HSC workforce to receive their uplift and back pay in their February 2026 pay packets.
“In addition, and to ensure that issue of late payment of pay awards will never happen again, I can confirm that as Health Minister I am committed to ensuring future pay awards are prioritised in my budget allocation at the start of the financial year and adjusted as necessary to ensure parity.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said “extraordinary steps” had been taken to deliver the pay packet. “The Executive has found the entire amount for this pay parity pressure,” the Lagan Valley MLA said.
“The Department of Health could not fund any of it. That was disappointing. But our nurses deserve fair pay and pay parity — that's why we have taken extraordinary steps, working with the Health Minister and department to ensure this could happen.”
First Minister Michelle O'Neill urged Mr Nesbitt to “act swiftly to conclude that agreement”.
British Medical Association (BMA) NI Council chair Dr Alan Stout welcomed the news but said the lengthy time of approval has meant “the goodwill of doctors has been stretched to breaking point.”
Representatives of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) met with Mr Nesbitt, saying the announcement had come after “deep frustration over this issue”.
Rita Devlin, executive director of the RCN in Northern Ireland said: “This has been a long and protracted process to get to this stage, and we welcome the confirmation that pay parity will be reinstated for hard working health care staff.”
Officers in past may not have carried guns at some meetings: Boutcher
ANDREW MADDEN, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
CHIEF CONSTABLE SAYS HE'S NOT AWARE OF ANY SINN FEIN WEAPONS REQUEST
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said there “may” have been occasions in the past when officers have not worn their personal protection weapons at public meetings.
Mr Boutcher added that the issue has not been raised with him during his tenure.
The chief constable was speaking during a meeting of the Policing Board following allegations that Sinn Fein representatives have “directed” officers to remove their guns before meetings.
Ulster Unionist Party MLA Jon Burrows, a former officer, made the claims earlier this week, which Sinn Fein has denied.
Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly raised the issue during yesterday's meeting.
Mr Kelly said the essence of Mr Burrows' comments were that Sinn Fein representatives “are using language like directed, instructed, forced, and gave ultimatums to members of the police service to do things that they don't want to do”.
He said: “I actually find that his accusations, or his comments, are a bit of an insult to the intelligence, and the reputation of the police officers, and quite condescending, because he's insinuating that the officers are incapable of making their own decisions.”
Mr Kelly said that it would be helpful if the chief constable could address the issue.
No political party raised weapons issue with Botcher
Mr Boutcher replied: “So let me be very clear, and hopefully this clarifies the position for everyone, at no stage have Sinn Fein, or for that matter any other political party, raised any issues with me, or anybody in the executive team, about police officers carrying personal protection weapons at public meetings.”
Mr Boutcher said: ”I have to say, I insist on my police officers carrying their personal protection weapons because I'm aware of the threat to them. It's an operational matter, it's not for any political party, or other people outside of the organisation.
“There may have been occasions in the past years gone by, where for all sorts of different reasons officers have not had a protection weapon with them, in circumstances where I'm sure they would have felt that it was the right thing to do, because of the bespoke issue of a meeting,” he said.
The chief constable was asked to clarify if such incidents have happened in the past.
“Whilst I've been here, which is over two years now, I do not know of any [such incidents],” he said.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: “I've been doing the local policing role for about nine, 10 months now, and it's a really operational role.
“So I get out and about a lot and spend time with the neighbourhood team up in west Belfast.
“That's kind of who we've been talking about here.
“And I used to be the area coordinator and commander up in Derry City in Strabane, so I have a pretty good handle on it.
“Certainly in my time, there were no demands made around what police should or should not be carrying. That's not to say it may not have happened and officers aren't prepared to put their hands up. I don't think we can be any clearer than we have been today but to say that, as the old saying goes: 'Don't ask, as refusal may offend'. You know, don't put officers in an awkward position.
“They have our absolute support.”
Green light given for £12m redevelopment at location of controversial Derry bonfire
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
PLANS to transform the site of a controversial bonfire in Derry have been given the goahead by council officials.
The long-awaited £12 million mixed-use project at Meenan Square in the Bogside area of the city has been given the greenlight by Derry City and Strabane District Council.
The site is located close to the landmark ‘Free Derry Corner’, and is set to become a mixed-use development, comprising community services, housing and essential local amenities, including retail, commercial and office space.
Eight new homes are also included in the plans being taken forward by Apex Housing and Meenan Square Developments Ltd.
The proposal to redevelopment the site, which has hosted the controversial bonfire, has been in the making for a number of years.
The project was finally rubberstamped at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday night.
Speaking following the announcement, First Minister, Michelle O’Neill said it was a “landmark day” for the Maiden City.
“This is a landmark day for the city of Derry,” she said.
“Today’s decision is about the future, one built on regeneration, opportunity and community pride. This investment will deliver much needed modern facilities, support local jobs, and create a shared space that reflects the resilience and spirit of the city.”
Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly MLA, added: “The Meenan Square project shows what can be achieved when government, housing providers and communities work together. Through the Urban Villages Initiative, we are investing in people and places, helping to transform neighbourhoods.”
The project will also include a number of new homes for the area in a move spearheaded by the Apex Housing Association.
The association’s Chief Executive Sheena McCallion welcomed the news.
“This project will restore a key focal point in the Bogside with new homes, community, youth and commercial spaces designed to serve and support local residents for generations to come. We’re particularly excited about the inclusion of critically needed new homes within the city,” she said in a statement.
The area has been the site of controversy in recent years with a bonfire lit in August attracting a great deal of criticism thanks to posters and flags attached to it.
DUP leader hits out at Alliance's record on youth as he condemns attack on office
STAFF REPORTERS, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
LONG SAYS 'RECKLESS ACTS OF INTIMIDATION' WON'T STOP PARTY DELIVERING FOR NI
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has hit out at Alliance in a speech made hours after a “sinister attack” on the centre party's headquarters.
Mr Robinson last night condemned the attack on the party offices tweeting: “I have never equivocated over my condemnation of violence, including targeted attacks on party offices of Alliance or anyone else.”
His criticism of Alliance came in an address to the DUP's Young Democrats - where he hit out at the Alliance's record with young people.
Alliance's Newtownabbey office was targeted with loyalist graffiti in what police called a “sectarian-motivated hate crime”.
Graffiti was discovered on the external window and door shutters of the party office and nearby fence in the Farmley Road area on Wednesday morning.
Police confirmed the incident is being treated as a sectarian-motivated hate crime and say it could have happened several days before.
Party leader Naomi Long said the “reckless acts of intimidation” will not deter Alliance from working to support people across Northern Ireland.
Sinister Attack
Ms Long said: “Alliance will always stand firm in delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.
“Those responsible for this sinister attack on party headquarters were deliberately trying to incite fear and intimidation. But we will remind them that these reckless acts will never deter Alliance.”
She also urged her colleagues in the Executive to do more to stop these incidents.
“The abhorrent incidents that we've seen in recent months directed at politicians and political parties have been utterly unacceptable and are a direct consequence of the harmful rhetoric being spread by individuals both in the chamber and on social media,” she added.
“This serves as yet another reminder that everyone in public life must play their part in reducing the temperature of the current toxic rhetoric and demonisation.
“It has a real-life impact and isn't conducive to stability or people's safety.”
However, speaking to members of the DUP's Young Democrats last night, party leader Mr Robinson said: “For some time, the Alliance Party has claimed to be the voice of youth and the next generation in Northern Ireland. But increasingly, the illusion on which that image was built is fading fast.
“Many young people from a unionist background who once believed Alliance stood for a shared Northern Ireland now see a very different picture.
Championing causes that unite
“Alliance has become a champion of causes that divide rather than unite — whether through their relentless push for Irish language signage regardless of consent or cost, their one-sided pro-Palestine flag waving, or their extreme climate proposals that would drive up taxes and cripple our ability to invest in the infrastructure Northern Ireland needs to grow.
“Far from representing moderation or balance, Alliance has become a party that preaches one thing and practises another — a party more interested in grand gestures than in the real, practical work of improving people's lives.”
Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray urged anyone with information about the attack on the Alliance office to come forward.
“We have launched a proactive criminal investigation,” he said.
The PSNI remains committed to doing everything we can to ensure our elected representatives and their staff can undertake their work free from harassment, intimidation or any other form of criminality.”
Last month Ms Long condemned a “mob” who turned up at her home to protest, saying a “line was crossed”.
Muir urged to vest land at Mobuoy superdump over car-drifting events
GARRETT HARGAN, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
Environment Minister Andrew Muir has been urged to vest land at the Mobuoy superdump as it emerged a car-drifting group is now using the site to host events.
Social media page Troublemakers Ireland, which appears to be the organisers at the former City Waste site, previously shared photos of what it says is a lease agreement with the owner of the site. It mentioned a one-off payment of £6,000 due on June 1, 2025.
Earlier this year Paul Doherty and Gerard Farmer were jailed for their role in the illegal dumping of waste there.
Troublemakers Ireland has accused the PSNI of “trespassing without a warrant”.
Police said buildings on the site are in a dangerous condition and the dump could pose a risk to people's safety.
“We are working with multi-agency partners and we share real concerns about this site and its suitability,” the PSNI added.
The council is also investigating noise complaints.
The group shared a video from November 2 on its page of a car crossing the Foyle Bridge at speed and switching lanes into oncoming traffic.
Mocking Police
Mocking police, the page tagged Police Derry City & Strabane saying “feeling amused”, and stated: “What happens when you put two interceptors at the gate of our track: play with fire, get smoked.”
Police confirmed the driver of a red Lexus made off from officers and crossed the Foyle Bridge.
SDLP councillor Declan Norris said: “The minister must take responsibility and move to vest the land at Mobuoy.
“This site will need to be vested eventually as part of any credible clean-up plan, so there is no sense in further delays given the scale of the contamination and the very real risks to public health.
“I want to acknowledge the important work being done by the DAERA team developing the remediation strategy.
“That effort must now be matched by the minister stepping up, taking control of this situation and putting immediate safety measures in place as we prepare for the clean-up to begin.”
Crippling Costs of Clean Up
DAERA said: “The public consultation on the draft remediation strategy for the Mobuoy site closed just a few weeks ago on October 2, 2025 with responses now being carefully considered to inform the finalised remediation strategy.
“Vesting of the site and remediation plans are decisions for consideration and will necessitate, amongst other factors, departmental and public spending approvals and engagement with the Executive and the Assembly.”
It comes as The Gathering environmental group announced a community inquiry into the Mobuoy illegal dumping scandal will commence on Monday.
In 2014 the Assembly unanimously voted for a public inquiry into the illegal dumping.
People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said Stormont's “failure to follow through with that commitment” means campaigners have had to take it upon themselves to hold an inquiry.
“The clean-up at this site is going to cost tens, if not hundreds, of millions of pounds,” he added.
Former taxi driver added to financial sanctions list over alleged New IRA links
CONOR COYLE, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
A FORMER taxi driver from the Creggan area of Derry has become just the second person in Northern Ireland to face financial sanctions from the British government over suspected involvement in terrorism.
Kieran Gallagher (48), from the Creggan Heights area of the city, has been the subject of an assets-freeze by the UK Treasury.
A statement from the Treasury said the UK government has “reasonable grounds” to suspect Mr Gallagher is involved in terrorist activity linked to the New IRA.
An asset-freeze has also been announced against the dissident republican group.
The financial sanctions have been imposed by the Treasury under Counter-Terrorism Regulations 2019, and prohibit dealing with funds or economic resources which are directly or indirectly owned, held or controlled by a designated person.
Mr Gallagher and the New IRA have joined an extensive list of individuals and groups subject to an asset-freeze in the UK, which include Russian oligarchs, Islamic extremist groups and state-linked cyber criminals.
He is also subject to director disqualification sanctions which prohibitly or indirectly taking part in or being concerned in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
According to the government, Mr Gallagher is suspected of being involved in terrorist activity by providing financial services, or making available funds or economic resources, for the purposes of terrorism; and being involved in terrorist activity by facilitating terrorism.
The 48-year-old was convicted in 2024 of assault on police after an incident in Chamberlain Street in Derry, for which he received a three-month suspended sentence.
In 2022, a case against Mr Gallagher and 40 other republicans for allegedly failing to comply with Parades Commission conditions during a march in Newry was dismissed by a judge after a “fundamental” prosecution oversight.
It’s understood Mr Gallagher does not have any terrorism-related convictions. him from acting as a director of a company or direct- turn to Kieran Gallagher has been the subject of an assets-freeze Lucy Rigby MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said the sanctions were introduced to “protect national security”.
Asset-freeze the second case of sanctions against a person for terrorism-related activity in north
“These designations reflect this government’s continued commitment to protecting the peaceful consensus of the people of Northern Ireland, and to upholding the principles of the Good Friday Agreement in support of the UK’s wider efforts to protect national security for all citizens,” Ms Rigby said.
“The designations announced today send a clear signal that the UK works proactively to stop terrorist financing and will take action against those who try to exploit the UK’s financial system for this activity.”
The asset-freeze handed down to the Derry man is the second case of financial sanctions against a person for activity related to terrorism in the north.
Brian Anthony Sheridan, with an address in Armagh, was added to the sanctions list in December 2024 as the British Government said they had also “reasonable grounds” to suspect him facilitating terrorism and associating with members of the New IRA, as well as making funds available for the organisation.
The dissident group emerged in 2012 when the Real IRA, independent republicans and members of Republican Action Against Drugs merged.
The group’s last significant action is thought to have been a gun attack carried out on retired PSNI officer John Caldwell at a sports complex near Omagh in February 2023, while it has also claimed responsibility for the murder of Lyra McKee in 2019.
ECHR still protects us 75 years on – and that’s why some want rid of it
PLATFORM: GRAINNE TEGGART
Amnesty International says that to remove or weaken the convention would ‘strike at the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement’
THIS week marks the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The convention was drafted so that never again would governments be free to act without accountability, and championed the belief that ordinary people should be protected from the abuse of state power.
People here know and have experienced this abuse in manifest ways, so it is deeply concerning that today, that safeguard is under attack.
Some voices in Westminster and in sections of the media now argue that the UK should leave the convention.
They claim that the ECHR prevents the UK Government from “protecting veterans”, particularly in Troubles-related cases.
Recent Belfast court rulings finding key parts of the UK Government’s Legacy Act unlawful have been seized upon as ‘proof’ that the convention obstructs political aims.
For victims and survivors here, those rulings meant something profoundly different.
It meant that long overdue truth and accountability are still possible. For families who have carried grief and unanswered questions for decades, that matters.
The courts found that significant elements of the Legacy Act were incompatible with basic human rights, particularly the right to truth.
The last Conservative government’s Act was designed to end inquests, close down investigations, and introduce a system of immunity from prosecution for perpetrators.
Families who have waited decades for answers were told, in effect, that accountability could be sacrificed for political convenience.
The Belfast courts had their say on the legislation. It was not political favour or negotiation that protected victims’ rights; it was the European Convention and the rule of law.
The suggestion by some that the solution to courts upholding rights and the rule of law is to abandon the ECHR is not just misguided, it is dangerous.
It implies that when human rights prevent the government from avoiding accountability, the answer is to remove those rights. That is not the thinking of a democracy confident in itself.
The human rights compliance of the UK Government’s Legacy Act was challenged under the European Convention on Human Rights
If the UK Government can pick and choose when rights apply and who they apply to then they aren’t rights at all, just privileges granted to a select few.
In Northern Ireland, we know what happens when rights are absent or denied.
The ECHR is not just a legal text for us. It is an integral part of our peace settlement. The Good Friday Agreement explicitly embeds the convention as the minimum standard for rights and equality.
It shaped policing reform and helped build institutions that communities could start to trust after decades of discrimination and abuse. Rights realigned power. They gave people confidence that the state could be held to account.
To remove or weaken the convention would strike at the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement itself. The peace settlement we have today cannot be taken for granted. You cannot pull out a supporting beam and expect the structure to remain standing.
The ECHR guarantees fairness, it holds power accountable, including in the courts, and ensures facts are tested in a court of law, not distorted by politics or pressure from any side. Rights do not create injustice. They prevent it.
Our new public opinion research shows that the public understands the value of these protections far better than some politicians.
More than eight in 10 people across the UK believe that human rights are as important, or more important, today than when the convention was created.
When asked which rights matter most to them, people chose the right to a fair trial, the right to life, and the right to privacy and family life.
A strong majority believe that rights must apply equally to everyone and that there must be a legal safety net to hold government accountable. People believe that rights should be permanent, not something a government of the day can erode for political gain.
Human rights protect ordinary people. They protect families still searching for answers about what happened to their loved ones. They protect the falsely accused. They protect those failed or harmed by state systems. They protect democracy.
At 75 years old, the European Convention on Human Rights continues to do exactly what it was designed to do: hold power to account.
In Northern Ireland, where the past is still present and the realisation of rights continues to be hard fought for, we need these protections now more than ever.
Grainne Teggart is Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland deputy director
Foolish to believe Irish unity debate can happen without governments
DENIS BRADLEY, Irish News, November 7th, 2025
I OPENED my emails to find an invitation to a debate between Sam McBride and Fintan O’Toole, taking place in a venue in Derry that regularly organises political and current affairs discussions.
Those events normally attract a loyal but small enough coterie of people.
I pressed the acceptance button, only to discover that the event was already oversubscribed. Packed.
That surprised me, but pleased me that there was such interest.
McBride and O’Toole have written a book together, both of them arguing for and against a united Ireland. It is a clever idea.
From a first glance, it is ironic that the best arguments for Irish unity seem to come from McBride and the best arguments for remaining in the UK come from O’Toole.
Like old-time musicians, they are now touring the country, packing small town halls.
Aside from my surprise and annoyance at not getting a ticket for the event, it struck me that if you want to attract a crowd to an important discussion or debate, you have to have a ‘big name’, a celebrity.
It is a good and welcome development that the two journalists are helping to promote this debate and that the debate itself is becoming more structured and developed.
Maybe the ‘celebrity’ involvement is the only way such discussions have any appeal in this day and age, but it would be better and healthier if the debate was also happening among the ‘great unwashed’.
And in this debate, the ‘unwashed’ enfolds a wide circumference. In loyalism, in republicanism, amongst the middle class, the working class, among the geeks and the don’t carers.
This debate is certainly about the political future of this island, but it is even more than that.
It is a challenge to the politics and to the people of the two islands.
It is a challenge to find a consensual way of resolving an old and contentious issue that has caused grief, destruction and death for so long on the two islands.
And it continues its destructiveness.
It is foolish to ignore elephants that dominate rooms and this elephant is making it nigh impossible to conduct normal politics in the north.
It is a debate that is almost certainly going to gain impetus and traction, which makes the stubbornness of unionism in trying to distance itself from ever engaging in the debate even more politically foolish.
If half the people want the debate, the half that doesn’t want it won’t be able to invalidate or undermine the debate by turning their back, folding their arms and staying ‘schtum’.
The constitutional debate cannot be left to discussions in town halls and on the streets
“ If half the people want the debate, the half that doesn’t want it won’t be able to invalidate or undermine the debate by turning their back, folding their arms and staying ‘schtum’
In the years leading up to the ‘peace process’, 20 or more years after the violence had broken out, there was an outbreak of discussion and debate.
It certainly was not as formal nor public as the present one.
It happened at two levels: among the two governments, but also among the paramilitaries, and occasionally between the paramilitaries.
It was the beginning of a recognition that violence had lost its impact and a better and different solution had to be found.
There were those who claimed that the ‘peace’ came more from the ground up to the governments, rather than from the governments down into the communities. That seems like an exaggeration. The probability is that it came from both directions at the same time and that real and lasting progress is only ever attained when it comes from the top down and the bottom up.
Which makes the absence of the governments from the present debate even more surprising and disappointing.
Aside from the Shared Island initiative by the Irish administration, which has done some very good work, there is no evidence of involvement or encouragement by either government.
It is cowardly and foolish politics to think that such an existential debate can be left to its own momentum and to the interesting discussions that take place in a town hall.
Hilary Benn says border poll is 'way off in the distance' - as UUP calls on government to 'better promote' the union
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, November 7th, 2025
NI Secretary Hilary Benn says his focus is on trying to improve the lives of the people here.
The government is committed to the Union, and the prospect of a border poll is “way off in the distance” according to Hilary Benn – but an Ulster Unionist MP says it could “better promote” the link between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
The Secretary of State’s comments come after his Conservative opposite number Alex Burghart said this week that the UK state should not be neutral in the “unlikely” event of a referendum on breaking up the UK.
Under the Belfast Agreement, a vote can be called when the NI secretary of the day believes there’s a likelihood a majority would vote to leave the UK. Despite no evidence that is likely, Sinn Fein has demanded a border poll by 2030.
However, Hilary Benn – the man with the power to call a vote – says that won’t happen. Responding to a question from Cool FM, Hilary Benn said “the government strongly supports the Union, as I've said to you before, the prospect of a border poll is way off in the distance, because nobody is arguing that there is an appetite for constitutional change here in Northern Ireland.
Robin Swann, UUP
“I think we'd all be better advised to be concentrating on the issues of the moment, the needs of today, which is trying to improve the lives of the people of Northern Ireland. And that's what I'm trying to do”.
Responding to the remarks, South Antrim MP Robin Swann said the focus must be on making Northern Ireland work for everyone. “Constitutional change simply isn’t on the agenda in Westminster or in the minds of the average person as they navigate the challenges of day-to-day life.
“Our focus must remain on delivering at every level of government; that means fixing our health service, growing the economy and improving outcomes for all. Any movement towards or talk of constitutional upheaval would not only be to the detriment of the people of Northern Ireland, but will distract from real priorities and delivery that we need to see from the Executive. It is also not what the people of Northern Ireland want.
“NI has a bright future, as part of the UK, and the British Government would do well to better promote the value that NI adds to the Union, and the value the Union adds to NI”, Mr Swann said.
Nama chief asked at trial why bad bank didn't report alleged Cushnahan £5m fee
SAM MCBRIDE, Belfast Telegraph, November 7th, 2025
LAWYER OF ACCUSED QUIZZES CEO ABOUT NOT CONTACTING HIS CLIENT ABOUT CLAIM
Nama's chief executive has come under pressure to explain why the Republic's bad bank never reported Frank Cushanhan to the Garda over an alleged payment he said was totally inappropriate.
Giving evidence yesterday for the first time on the 14th day of the trial in Belfast Crown Court, Brendan McDonagh told the jury that a multimillion-pound payment to Cushnahan — who was a paid adviser to the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) — would have been so serious that any deal involving such a payment would have collapsed had that been known at the time.
Prosecutors allege that much of the £15m 'success fee' that major US fund Cerberus paid involved fraud, with two-thirds of the money destined for two Belfast business figures now on trial.
Frank Hugh Cushnahan (83), of Alexandra Gate in Holywood, is charged with fraud by failing to disclose information and fraud by false representation. His co-accused, former solicitor Ian George Coulter (54), of Templepatrick Road in Ballyclare, faces two charges of fraud by false representation, and charges of making or supplying articles for use in fraud, removing criminal property, and transferring criminal property.
Both men deny all the charges.
Mr McDonagh told Crown counsel Jonathan Kinnear KC that Nama would not have sold its entire Northern Ireland loans portfolio to US vulture fund Cerberus, as it did in 2014, if it had known that Cushnahan was in line to be paid millions — as the Crown say he was.
The jury has already heard that just before Cerberus came in to buy the loans, another major US fund, Pimco, had been frontrunner to do so but had pulled out after its lawyers became concerned that the payment to Cushnahan could be in breach of anti-fraud laws.
Yesterday, part of an email from Mr McDonagh was read in court. Writing to senior colleagues as the Cerberus deal closed, he said that “given the prior issue with Pimco, we have to ask Ron [Rawald, at Cerberus] are BR [lawyers Brown Rudnick] or Tughans sharing the success fee with any other party, including FC [Frank Cushnahan]?”
Mr Kinnear asked: “If shared with Frank Cushnahan, what would the impact have been on the deal?”
Mr McDonagh replied: “The deal wouldn't have happened.”
When asked why that would be so, he said: “Because it wouldn't be appropriate that anyone associated with Nama would share in such a fee.”
By that point Cushnahan had resigned from Nama's NI Advisory Committee. However, Nama specifically asked Cerberus to certify in writing that no money would be going to anyone employed by Nama, or on its board, or who either currently or previously was on any of its advisory committees.
Mr McDonagh said that phrasing was “very intentionally” drawn widely. Cerberus told the Irish state body that it could confirm no such payments would be made.
Under cross-examination from Frank O'Donoghue KC, for Cushnahan, Mr McDonagh was asked why Nama never contacted Cushnahan to ask him about “the allegation that he was to get a success fee from Pimco”, noting that “he was readily contactable”.
Mr McDonagh interjected: “Maybe.”
The barrister went on: “If the allegation was correct, the conduct was potentially a criminal offence in the Republic of Ireland, isn't that right?”
Nama's chief executive replied: “I'm not a lawyer, so I can't determine that.”
Mr O'Donoghue asked: “Did anybody think to report Mr Cushnahan either to the Guards or, indeed, to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)?”
Mr McDonagh said: “At the time, it was an allegation made by information provided by Pimco. That's all we knew.”
The barrister replied: “But that's not the point… surely that was a matter to be reported by Nama either to the Guards or SIPO. That didn't happen, did it?”
Nama's most senior executive replied: “That didn't happen at the time.”
Under cross-examination by Greg Berry KC, for Coulter, Mr McDonagh agreed with him that he had “no issue” with the concept of a success fee in principle “because what was being paid by the buyer to their advisers was their business”. He said the amount “surprised me” but “it wasn't my business”.
£15 million fee ‘a fairly standard amount’
Mr Berry said the jury would come to hear later in the trial that it was “a fairly standard amount for that type of transaction”.
The witness agreed that he wasn't concerned about payments to Tughans because it wasn't linked to Nama.
The court was told that the involvement of Brown Rudnick — the law firm at the heart of the collapsed deal with Pimco and the success fee arrangement — in the Cerberus deal was only revealed at the very last moment.
Its role was only communicated to Dublin on the afternoon of the day the deal was to be announced in April 2014.
Mr Berry said that “this fly in the ointment from Nama's point of view came along” at a time when a press release had been scheduled and a call set up with the Stormont Executive.
The trial will continue next week.
