'Loyalist paramilitary transitioning has failed', says ex-security watchdog
Mandy McAuley, BBC Spotlight programme
Lord Alderdice, the former Alliance Party leader who was the chairman of the Independent Monitoring Commission, has said that talks with Loyalist paramilitaries should stop. He was responding to the arrest and conviction on firearms charges of Winston Irvine, who worked as an interlocutor with the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), which represents mainstream loyalist groups.
A senior LCC source told Spotlight that loyalist transition is on course to be concluded this autumn, with an announcement of the complete dismantling of all paramilitary structures.
Irvine, of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast, was a well-known community worker before being given a two and a half year sentence over guns and ammunition found in the boot of his car in 2022.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) is appealing the sentence for being "unduly lenient".
Irvine's conviction has returned attention to loyalist funding and paramilitary groups.
Set up in 2015, the LCC says it represents a loyalist leadership committed to transition, the scaling back of criminality and ultimately disbandment.
A source in the organisation told Spotlight that Winston Irvine has been instrumental in moving the mainstream Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) away from criminality, and that a final push for loyalist transition is imminent.
Winston Irvine was jailed last month.
Seven years is long enough
Lord Alderdice spent seven years on the Independent Monitoring Commission, which was given access to secret intelligence to report on paramilitary activities, before it was wound up in 2011.
He said the transition process is "not working".
"A halt should be called, and you can't call a halt now sooner than today.
"There comes a point when you have to say no, this hasn't been delivered.
"It's not going to be delivered. And, actually, by continuing we are making it worse."
Lord Alderdice told the programme he does not believe the loyalist paramilitaries are making a genuine effort to transition away from criminality.
"What I've seen is more talking about transition, and transformation, and no doubt with an invoice provided, for how much money is needed to be made available from public services in order to pay off these people."
The police released a photo of one of the guns they seized from Irvine's car.
‘They’re just being given money’
Cathy McIlvenny's sister, Lorraine, was murdered by UDA members in 1987.
She previously told Spotlight, in 2013, that she dealt with Winston Irvine when he arranged a punishment shooting of her nephew, Craig, in 2002.
Cathy believes the sentence given to Irvine is not enough, and says loyalist paramilitaries will continue as long as funding is still available.
"They're just being given money to keep them quiet and make it look to the rest of the world now that the British government has solved the Northern Ireland problem.
"But, it hasn't. It's made it worse for the communities."
In 2013 it was alleged to Spotlight that Winston Irvine was a UVF leader, something which he has denied as "preposterous".
Cathy McIlvenny's sister and nephew were killed by loyalist paramilitaries
No explanation was given in court as to why Irvine and his co-accused had the guns.
Following the arrest, police discovered UVF paraphernalia in Irvine's home, and that of his co-accused Robin Workman.
However, in sentencing, Judge Gordon Kerr KC concluded the movement of weapons had not been directly connected to terrorism.
54-year-old, Workman, of Shore Road in Larne, was sentenced to five years - the minimum custodial sentence, which the PPS said it would not be appealing.
Covert police surveillance
The guns were found by covert police six weeks after a hoax bomb, which targeted a peace event in Belfast attended by then Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney in March 2022.
Police said UVF involvement in the hoax attack was a primary line of inquiry.
Simon Coveney, the then Irish Foreign Minister, was told he would have to leave the building in North Belfast
Prior to his arrest and conviction, Winston Irvine spent more than a decade as a paid community worker.
That role gave him access to high-level contacts and enhanced his credibility as a peace builder.
The 49-year-old, who received a number of supportive character references during the case, provided a pre-prepared statement in which he claimed to be a "trusted interlocutor" in community relations and the peace process.
However, his arrest sent shock waves through the British and Irish governments because of how they often rely on community workers to engage with loyalist communities.
Following his arrest, Irvine was suspended from his role at the north Belfast community group Intercomm Ireland, in line with its internal disciplinary procedures.
He left the organisation several months later.
Intercomm said it was "difficult to convey the impact" the case had on its team who were "shocked, disappointed and felt let down" by Winston Irvine's actions.
A statement added that "significant reorganisation (was) required to continue to deliver on our commitments to projects and fulfil obligations to funders and to the community".
But Irvine continued to work on funded projects in unionist and loyalist areas while on bail for the weapons charges.
The Spotlight programme Caught: Guns in the Boot is available on the BBC iPlayer now and you can see it on BBC One at 22:40 BST on Tuesday.
PSNI officers told not to intervene during race riots unless life at risk
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, June 17th, 2025
DETAILS OF INSTRUCTION SENT IN EMAIL
PSNI officers were told not to interfere with violent mobs during last week’s race riots unless life was at risk.
Details of the tactics deployed by the PSNI during consecutive nights of violence emerged after a chief inspector sent an email to colleagues at Causeway Coast and Glens district on Friday.
It is considered unusual for internal PSNI correspondence relating to ongoing operational matters to enter the public domain.
The email message appeared to be in response to criticism of police after footage showed an officer standing with his hand in his pocket as masked and hooded men dragged wheelie bins on to a burning barricade across the main Derry to Belfast railway line in Coleraine.
In one clip masked men can be seen casually pushing the large blue bin past two PSNI officers as they make their way to the barricade at a level crossing close to the local train station.
Seconds later another masked man is filmed dragging a green wheelie bin in the direction of the burning barricade as cheers go up from onlookers.
Sources say a riot squad unit was located in an Asda car park a short distance from the railway line, but the specially trained officers were not tasked to help their colleagues.
TSG riot squad kept a mile away
It is understood members of the Tactical Support Group were parked just over a mile away from the burning barricade.
The footage emerged days after concerns were raised about the PSNI response to the race riots in Ballymena, Co Antrim, last week.
Officers in high-viz jackets could be seen failing to intervene as several homes were attacked by a frenzied mob in the Clonavon Terrace area of the town.
PSNI officers told not to intervene in disorder that saw homes torched
The attacks, which involved homes being set alight, took place just metres from Ballymena PSNI station. SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan later said “it’s a bad image when property is being attacked and people potentially being in danger”.
The PSNI are continuing to investigate last week’s race riots during 64 officers were injured.
Several homes were torched during the disorder, which took place over several nights.
In her email, the senior officer, one of the highest-ranking in the causeway district, said the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) was “extremely proud of all the work you are doing and because of that we are able to confidently reassure the community we are doing everything we can to keep them safe”.
Public criticism
Part of the message sent to police officers after public criticism of police standing back while wheelie bins are added to a fire on the train line
She added that police were “aware of various social media posts regarding our response over the last few days.
“These posts do not capture the bigger picture,” she said.
Significantly, the senior officer provides a unique insight into the PSNI’s tactical approach to the outbreak of violence, referring to Article Two of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to life.
“It is important for you to understand our expectations – unless there is an obvious Art 2 issue – we do not expect you to expose yourself to significant risk unnecessarily,” she said.
The senior officer then provided a long list of potential risks including “environment, numbers of people, hazards, inadequate resources, equipment”.
‘Apply the NDM to your decision making’
She urged officers to “apply the NDM to your decision making/risk assessing”.
NDM is a reference to the National Decision Making Model, a framework used by officers to help with decision making.
The chief inspector added that the PSNI response to incidents in the area was “professional, proportionate measured and also very brave”.
“We are aware of incidents where sufficient resources / and equipment was not readily available and officers were still putting themselves in harm’s way to protect members of the community,” she added.
The PSNI was contacted. MLA Gerry Carroll said: “Nobody should not be exposed to unacceptable levels of danger during the course of their day. However, these communications from the Chief Inspector call into question the very purpose of the PSNI. For the past week, vulnerable families have sat inside their homes, terrified by the racist thuggery and violence on the streets. They have felt utterly unprotected by those responsible for ensuring community safety. PSNI leadership has serious and urgent questions to answer about their strategy for tackling racist violence on our streets.”
Mother accused of child cruelty as daughter (13) faces rioting rap
Paul Higgins, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
COURT HEARS MUM 'WAS WATCHING GIRL THROW STONES AT POLICE OFFICERS'
A mother and daughter appeared in court yesterday facing charges arising from the recent disorder in Ballymena.
While the 13-year-old schoolgirl is charged with rioting on June 11, her mother (39) was charged with child cruelty in that, on the same date, she “wilfully neglected” her daughter.
The mother, who cannot be identified to protect her daughter's identity from being made public, was the first to be called into the dock of Coleraine Magistrates' Court.
A detective constable said that, according to the police's case, her daughter was present along with “hundreds of others” causing damage to public and private property.
The cop claimed the teenager was there for around two-and-a-half hours during which time she was allegedly seen “throwing stones at the police in the Bridge Street area”.
Mother watched her throwing missiles at police
The detective constable said that on reviewing CCTV footage, her mother was allegedly identified as being present during the disorder, was “aware of her daughter's involvement” and was “watching her throw items at police lines”. The court also heard claims the mother “gave her a drink afterwards” and “she was also present when her daughter was struck by a blast from the water cannon”.
The detective constable explained police believe they can positively identify the teenager from footage due to her “distinctive clothing”.
When the girl was arrested last Friday, she was wearing the same clothing and was also found to be in possession of a face covering and “pink marigold gloves” which matched the suspect on the CCTV footage.
During interviews, the mother identified herself in footage but “refused to confirm that her daughter was present”. “She stated that she does not know the person who police stated is her daughter on CCTV,” said the detective constable, adding that the defendant further claimed the person she gave a drink to “was a stranger”.
The detective constable said police were objecting to the mother being granted bail given that public disorder was still ongoing and with a risk to others, up to and including a risk to life, “police believe that it's important to send a strong message that deters persons from getting involved in serious disorder”.
“Police believe that if a strong deterrent message is not sent, the public disorder could lead to death or serious injury and injury to members of the public, particularly foreign nationals in the Ballymena area,” said the officer.
He highlighted that according to the police's case, the mother “has allowed her 13-year-old daughter to actively participate in a riot” in circumstances where she knew her daughter was at least partially disguised and throwing missiles at police.
Mother had conviction for child cruelty
Defence solicitor Garrett Greene argued that despite police concerns over ongoing disorder, the mother is not charged with public order offences and that if stringent conditions were attached, she could be granted bail.
Judge King agreed and in granting the defendant bail in the sum of £500, he ordered her to reside at home, to be electronically tagged, to observe a curfew from 7pm to 7am and to stay away from any public protests.
The teenager then appeared by video link from custody and confirmed she understood the single charge of rioting. Her bail application took a lot longer as the detective constable raised concerns about her being bailed to live with her mother.
Judge King conceded that it was “somewhat bizarre” to release her into the care and custody of a person charged with child cruelty, but he emphasised that, given her age, there was a strong presumption in favour of bail.
Police confirmed that social services had “reservations rather than objections” to the teenager going to live with her mother.
The judge granted bail in almost the same terms and the girl will appear at the Youth Court on July 2.
Gardaí stopped buses on border checking for illegal immigrants after riots
Conor Shiels, Irish News, June 17th, 2025
GARDAÍ boarded buses crossing the border looking for undocumented migrants as anti-immigrant violence gripped the north last week.
The checkpoints happened near the border crossing point near Ravensdale in Co Louth on June 13.
Campaigners have documented at least two incidents on the day where buses were stopped along the stretch of road between Dublin and Belfast.
The first was an Ulsterbus Goldliner service which left belfast at around 11am, meanwhile an Aircoach service was also stopped later in the afternoon. Eyewitnesses reportedly saw a prison van parked alongside the second checkpoint at which the Aircoach was stopped.
“Those removed are detained until they can prove their immigration status or their status as a UK or Irish citizen
The incidents happened on June 13, following days of violence forced families to flee from their homes in Northern Ireland. Some of those taken off the buses and prevented from travelling further included three non-white concert-goers including at least one who reportedly had a Dublin accent.
Meanwhile, it is alleged that a white woman who also could not produce identification was allowed to continue on her journey.
Claire Mullaly, a spokesperson for End Deportations Now Belfast told The Irish News that gardaí boarded the bus and began asking passengers for identification.
She said they specifically removed non-white passengers who could not produce documents while allowing white passengers in the same predicament to remain on board. She branded the incident as “disgraceful” in light of the anti-immigrant violence that took place in Northern Ireland in recent days.
Gardai questioned non-white travellers
“It’s not compulsory to carry or produce ID in the Common Travel Area if you’re an Irish or British national,” she said.
“During these checks, the guards approach people who aren’t white and demand ID. If they can’t produce it, they’re taken off the bus, while white passengers aren’t. That’s what happened on Friday. This is discriminatory ID checking, this is racial profiling.”
Speaking about the immigration checks, Ms Mullaly said her group had been collecting such testimonies since 2019 and they followed a pattern.
“Those removed are detained until they can prove their immigration status or their status as a UK or Irish citizen. We’ve never heard of a white person being removed from the bus,” she said.
“These are people living day-to-day lives. The border is so big that if someone really wanted to sneak across, they’d find another way.”
The gardaí were contacted repeatedly by The Irish News but had not responded at the time of publication.
Absence rates rose at schools in Ballymena amid outbreak of racist riots
Rebecca Black, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
GIVAN TELLS ASSEMBLY SOME PUPILS EVEN ATTACKED HOMES OF CLASSMATES
Absence rates at some schools in Ballymena have spiked amid racially-motivated violence, the Stormont Education Minister has said.
Children in the town also attacked the homes of their classmates, Paul Givan claimed in the Assembly.
The DUP minister said 84 newcomer children at Harryville Primary School have not been attending, while attendance is at around 65% at St Patrick's College.
The Assembly also heard yesterday that the Housing Executive provided emergency temporary accommodation for 16 households in Mid and East Antrim, as well as advice for 50 households, as a result of the unrest.
Violent scenes broke out in Ballymena last Monday after an alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.
Following a peaceful protest, there were attacks on the homes of some residents — as well as rioting.
Mr Givan was speaking during questions for his department in the Assembly yesterday, in response to being asked by Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole what is being done for children caught up in the disorder.
Mr Givan said is it “outrageous” that, over the past week, children have been coming into school traumatised as a result of what has been happening.
“Alarmingly, we're also dealing with some children who engaged in the rioting and attacked some of the houses of the very children in their class,” he said.
“So, this is an appalling situation, one which is complicated and requires intervention.
“My team have been engaged with a number of schools as a result of the picture that we have had to deal with. We have engaged the emotional wellbeing unit within the Education Authority, the intercultural services, and try and provide support for these schools.”
Half pupils at schools absent during riots
He said absence levels at Harryville Primary School and St Patrick's in Ballymena were around half.
“That is a clear problem, but it's also complicated by the fact that we are dealing with children in both schools that were engaged in this trouble, and children in both schools that were the victims of that trouble, and it's one that does require concerted effort. And to assure the member, I and my team are very much engaged in trying to provide that support,” he said.
“I've been hugely impressed, as I go around schools, where I see the many different newcomers within controlled schools, Catholic maintained schools, integrated schools, and the work that goes on by the school leaders and the teachers to ensure that there is an inclusive environment where diversity is respected and indeed celebrated.
“Our schools have often been the safe haven within their communities where, outside of the school walls, there have been challenges.
“What has happened in a number of these schools I find particularly alarming, and that is why there needs to be support. And my team at senior levels have been engaging in respect all of this.
“I take a very simple view: there is a time and a place to debate immigration policy, but whenever you are in Northern Ireland, and particularly whenever you are a child in Northern Ireland from whatever background, you have to be treated with respect, you have to be supported, and you need to be protected.'
Pledge to do ‘all that I can’ to support safe school environments
“And that has not been the case over the past week, and that is wrong, and I absolutely condemn what has happened in respect of these particular issues.
“I will do all that I can to support those within our school environments that need that support.”
Mr Givan went on to say that his own family supported a family from Ukraine, with three children staying with his parents in Co Armagh.
“They went to schools that went out of their way to make them feel welcome, and they regard Northern Ireland as their home and they will be here for many years to come, and they should be welcome here in Northern Ireland,” he added.
In an update yesterday, the PSNI said they had made five more arrests in connection with the arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre on Wednesday, including a man in his 20s and another man aged 25 who remains in police custody.
Police confirmed that the total number of people arrested now stands at 28 and said there will be “more to come in the coming days and weeks”.
While the PSNI said there was a “reduced level of disorder on Sunday”, they confirmed officers still dealt with “sporadic disturbances in different locations”.
The violence in Ballymena last week was sparked following an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in the Clonavon Terrace area.
Two 14-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were charged with attempted rape at Coleraine Magistrates' Court. They spoke through a Romanian interpreter.
Police deny Troubles murder inquests ‘leapfrogged’ by Omagh bomb inquiry
David Young, Irish News, June 17th, 2025
A SENIOR police officer yesterday denied that long-delayed inquests have been “leapfrogged” as she defended the PSNI decision to divert resources to servicing the Omagh bomb inquiry.
Giving evidence to a coroner in Craigavon, temporary Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan sought to explain the move to take specialist researchers off inquests into historical cases for a period of six months to instead work on preparing and vetting documents for the public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity in the Co Tyrone town.
Ms McGuigan, who heads up the PSNI’s legacy and disclosure branch, was testifying at a preliminary hearing in the inquest for a police officer murdered in 1977.
Sergeant Joseph Campbell was shot dead outside Cushendall RUC station in February 1977.
Evidence at previous hearings and the contents of legal correspondence from the police had indicated that police work to disclose documents to the inquest was set to be affected by the six-month diversion of the branch’s 30-strong team to the Omagh inquiry.
However, yesterday Ms McGuigan insisted that the impact on the Campbell case was likely to be minimal, as she highlighted that much of the disclosure research had already been completed.
She said a review exercise of the documents would be able to continue while the work required by the Omagh inquiry was continuing.
But Ms McGuigan did acknowledge that the diversion would have an impact on other inquest cases.
She highlighted that if the full team was not diverted onto the Omagh work, then the disclosure exercise for the public inquiry would have taken three years.
“The inquiry team were also aware that it was looking like it was going to take that length of time (three years), and they had indicated to us that that was unacceptable, which obviously we accepted as well,” the officer added.
Waiting ten years
Karen Quinlivan KC, representing the Campbell family, noted that the inquest was first ordered 10 years ago. She said the disclosure process had been ongoing in other cases for even longer.
Omagh Bombing Inquiry chair Lord Turnbull. Left, Sergeant Joseph Campbell
“What we’re trying to understand is why the Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) thought that the Omagh (inquiry), which was only ordered in 2024, should leapfrog every other case, can you explain why that was considered appropriate?” the barrister asked.
Ms McGuigan replied: “I think it would be right to say that we’re certainly not making it a leapfrog or putting it ahead, and I appreciate that it may look like in the past we have delayed or created a delay (in inquests). We are trying our best to look at ways to be more effective and efficient.”
Ms Quinlivan added: “Apparently the Chief Constable accepted that the delay of three years was unacceptable for the Omagh families, but, respectfully, he’s had no problem with delays – if we just confine ourselves to this case – of 10 years was acceptable for this family.”
The officer responded: “I don’t think that the Chief Constable would say that 10 years was acceptable for this either.”
Police deny Troubles murder inquests ‘leapfrogged’ by Omagh bomb inquiry
David Young, Irish News, June 17th, 2025
A SENIOR police officer yesterday denied that long-delayed inquests have been “leapfrogged” as she defended the PSNI decision to divert resources to servicing the Omagh bomb inquiry.
Giving evidence to a coroner in Craigavon, temporary Chief Superintendent Claire McGuigan sought to explain the move to take specialist researchers off inquests into historical cases for a period of six months to instead work on preparing and vetting documents for the public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity in the Co Tyrone town.
Ms McGuigan, who heads up the PSNI’s legacy and disclosure branch, was testifying at a preliminary hearing in the inquest for a police officer murdered in 1977.
Shot dead outside Cushendall RUC station 1977
Sergeant Joseph Campbell was shot dead outside Cushendall RUC station in February 1977.
Evidence at previous hearings and the contents of legal correspondence from the police had indicated that police work to disclose documents to the inquest was set to be affected by the six-month diversion of the branch’s 30-strong team to the Omagh inquiry.
However, yesterday Ms McGuigan insisted that the impact on the Campbell case was likely to be minimal, as she highlighted that much of the disclosure research had already been completed.
She said a review exercise of the documents would be able to continue while the work required by the Omagh inquiry was continuing.
But Ms McGuigan did acknowledge that the diversion would have an impact on other inquest cases.
She highlighted that if the full team was not diverted onto the Omagh work, then the disclosure exercise for the public inquiry would have taken three years.
“The inquiry team were also aware that it was looking like it was going to take that length of time (three years), and they had indicated to us that that was unacceptable, which obviously we accepted as well,” the officer added.
Karen Quinlivan KC, representing the Campbell family, noted that the inquest was first ordered 10 years ago. She said the disclosure process had been ongoing in other cases for even longer.
Omagh Bombing Inquiry chair Lord Turnbull. Left, Sergeant Joseph Campbell
“What we’re trying to understand is why the Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) thought that the Omagh (inquiry), which was only ordered in 2024, should leapfrog every other case, can you explain why that was considered appropriate?” the barrister asked.
Ms McGuigan replied: “I think it would be right to say that we’re certainly not making it a leapfrog or putting it ahead, and I appreciate that it may look like in the past we have delayed or created a delay (in inquests). We are trying our best to look at ways to be more effective and efficient.”
Ms Quinlivan added: “Apparently the Chief Constable accepted that the delay of three years was unacceptable for the Omagh families, but, respectfully, he’s had no problem with delays – if we just confine ourselves to this case – of 10 years was acceptable for this family.”
The officer responded: “I don’t think that the Chief Constable would say that 10 years was acceptable for this either.”
Disclosure work under way for fresh inquest into abducted man
Rebecca Black, Irish News, June 17th, 2025
DISCLOSURE work is under way in an inquest into the death of a Belfast man whose badly beaten body was discovered in the Republic of Ireland.
The body of Thomas Lockard (34) was found by the side of a road at Raskeagh in Co Louth two days after he disappeared from his home on the Malone Road in south Belfast on April 25 1998.
Nobody has been convicted over the death.
A fresh inquest was ordered into his death last year by the Northern Ireland Attorney General, Dame Brenda King.
Mr Lockard’s sister Alice was at Belfast Coroner’s Court for the first preliminary hearing in the case yesterday morning.
It heard that a deadline of October 2 has been set for the disclosure of non-sensitive information from police as well as the Ministry of Defence, Police Ombudsman, Forensic Science Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service.
Footage from news reports is also being sought from RTÉ.
Counsel for the coroner Philip Henry said there are 34 folders of PSNI non-sensitive material which are currently being prepared, and searches within the MoD remain ongoing.
Leona Gillen, acting for the Crown Solicitor’s Office, said both the PSNI and the MoD do not foresee any problems with meeting the deadline.
Omagh inquiry will cause six months pause in inquests
In terms of PSNI sensitive material, the inquest will be impacted by a six-month pause to September 6 on work on any case other than the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.
Ms Gillen said she will seek instruction on timescales around that work.
The hearing was also told that a letter had been found dated November 2019, which had been sent by coroner Anne-Louise Toal to the next of kin’s solicitor in her previous role working as a solicitor in the Attorney General’s Office.
Mr Henry said: “Having spoken with you this morning and after we identified the letter, it was clear to us that you didn’t have any significant involvement in processing the section 14 application, and it appears that your only involvement was in relation to the letter itself and issues in and around it.
“ We welcome today’s review hearing as it’s the first time the family have a chance to see the tangible out-workings of their fight for justice for Thomas
Thomas Lockard (34 )disappeared from his home on April 25 1998
“But we thought at the outset better that everyone know that. It’s quite apparent from the fact that whenever you were assigned the case it didn’t trigger any memories of previous involvement which rather demonstrates the limited nature of your involvement with it while in the Attorney General’s Office but we put it on everyone’s radar so that they can consider their position.”
Next hearing in October
The next preliminary hearing is set to take place on October 6.
Mr Lockard’s family welcomed the inquest getting under way.
Speaking outside court, they said a previous inquest in Co Louth and criminal investigations by both the PSNI and An Garda Síochána “failed to deliver any meaningful outcome”.
Speaking for the family, solicitor Barry O’Donnell, of KRW Law, said it has been a “long, tough journey” for them.
“We welcome today’s review hearing as it’s the first time the family have a chance to see the tangible out-workings of their fight for justice for Thomas,” he said.
“It’s been a long tough journey for them.
“The prosecution of a number of persons a few years ago was a false dawn as all charges were withdrawn.
“There are many unresolved issues around the decision to drop those prosecutions.
“Today’s hearing and the welcome positive soundings of the Coroner will help restore lost confidence that they will ever get answers.
“They look forward to engaging on the next stages of the inquest.”
Kincora child abuse survivor case settled
Alan Irwin, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
A VICTIM of abuse at the notorious Kincora Boys’ Home has obtained an undisclosed settlement over claims that a paedophile housemaster was protected from prosecution because of his status as an MI5 agent.
Gary Hoy’s legal action against the PSNI and Home Secretary was resolved on confidential terms at the High Court in Belfast.
The 63-year-old declared afterwards: “This case was never about the money, it was about holding them to account.”
Mr Hoy sought damages for the ordeal he endured after being sent to the now demolished children’s home in east Belfast during the 1970s.
At the centre of the action was the role played by senior member of staff William McGrath, who became known as the ‘Beast of Kincora’.
McGrath was jailed in 1981 for abusing boys as part of a paedophile ring operated within the care facilities.
The former housemaster, who died in the early 1990s, also held a leading position in the far-right loyalist movement Tara.
Lawyers for Mr Hoy claimed the authorities enabled him to target vulnerable young victims so that more information about the grouping could be obtained.
MI5 obstruction alleged
The alleged liability went as far as actively obstructing RUC officers from investigating and pursuing McGrath specifically due to his role as an MI5 agent, it was contended.
Kincora Boys home survivor Gary Hoy. A three-day trial was due to begin yesterday, but counsel for Mr Hoy announced that proceedings had been settled on confidential terms
Claims for negligence and misfeasance in public office were advanced as part of wider actions against the PSNI, Home Office and Department of Health.
The defendants disputed responsibility for any violation in the duty of care to those targeted at Kincora, which closed in 1980 and was finally demolished in 2022.
A three-day trial was due to begin yesterday, but counsel for Mr Hoy announced that proceedings had been settled on confidential terms.
This case was never about the money, it was about holding them to account.
No admission of liability
No further details were disclosed, and no admission of liability was made as part of the resolution.
The judge, Mr Justice Simpson, commended the parties for reaching the outcome in a difficult case.
Outside court, Mr Hoy described the ordeal he has endured for decades.
“I have carried this burden since the age of 13; I never told anybody about it at the time, and I still have nightmares and flashbacks about the abuse,” he said.
Paedophile William McGrath is known as the ‘Beast of Kincora’
His solicitor, Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law, described it as a huge day for all of the survivors of Kincora.
“No child should ever be subject to abuse while being in the care of the state,” she insisted.
“What happened at Kincora is well documented to be some of the most grave and horrific abuse perpetrated against children in the history of Northern Ireland.
“This has been an arduous process for Gary and others who have fought the system and held them to account.”
Priest who admitted role in IRA bombings and arms deals dies aged 95
Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
FR RYAN, WHO WAS LABELLED 'DANGEROUS' BY THATCHER, PASSES AWAY AFTER ILLNESS
A disgraced Catholic priest who admitted his role in arming the IRA for a series of bombings on mainland Britain, including the attack on the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984 targeting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has died.
Fr Patrick Ryan had been accused of involvement in Provisional IRA activity in 1988 and had been the subject of two unsuccessful extradition attempts at a time when Mrs Thatcher called him “a very dangerous man”.
Fr Ryan, who was a native of Rossmore, Co Tipperary, died in Dublin on Sunday at the age of 95 following a short illness.
He had been ordained as a priest in 1954 at the Pallottine College in Thurles and later served in Tanzania and London.
In January 1990, he was dismissed from the Pallottine Fathers. He no longer had permission to say Mass or administer the sacraments.
Becoming known as 'The Padre', he spent decades denying accusations, claiming he had raised money both inside and outside Europe for victims on the nationalist side in the Troubles but had “never bought explosives for the IRA or anybody else” and had never been requested by the paramilitary group to do so.
Libyan connection
But the priest had allegedly become the main contact for many years between the IRA and one of its main sources of weaponry and finance — Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan regime. His meetings with Gaddafi were documented in journalist Jennifer O'Leary's book The Padre: The True Story of the Irish Priest Who Armed the IRA with Gaddafi's Money.
Fr Ryan was also the first priest to contest an election in Ireland, when he ran in the 1989 European Parliament election in the Munster constituency as an Independent with Sinn Fein support. He failed to be elected but received more than 30,000 votes.
But it was his alleged role in supplying arms for the IRA that brought him under most scrutiny and caused a political storm between the UK, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland.
He had been arrested in Belgium in 1988. Following the killing of three off-duty British servicemen in the Netherlands, a tip-off led Belgian police to an IRA sympathiser's home and to Fr Ryan's arrest. He was believed to be the quartermaster of an active IRA unit in Belgium, a crucial logistical figure. Bomb-making equipment, manuals and a large sum of foreign currency were seized.
’Expert in bombing’
Repatriated to Ireland, after going on hunger strike as the UK sought to bring him to trial, the country then refused to extradite him to the UK believing he would not receive a fair trial.
Mrs Thatcher once described the cleric as having an “expert knowledge of bombing” and, in 2019, in an interview for BBC's Spotlight on The Troubles: A Secret History, he was asked if he was involved in any of the incidents of which Mrs Thatcher had accused him, to which he responded: “I would say most of them. One way or another, yes, I had a hand in most of them. Yes, she was right.”
Asked if the PM was right to connect him to events such as the Brighton bomb, he replied: “One hundred per cent.”
Five people died when, on October 12, 1984, an IRA bomb exploded inside the Grand Hotel, where Margaret Thatcher's ruling Conservative Party was holding its annual conference.
As the programme explored his key role in IRA arms shipments from Libya, he went on to take credit for introducing the organisation to a type of timer unit it used to set off bombs which he had discovered while in Switzerland.
Asked if he had any regrets, Fr Ryan said: “I regret that I wasn't even more effective, absolutely. I would have liked to have been much more effective, but we didn't do too badly.”
Locking up rioters may satisfy sense of outrage, but will it turn them into responsible people?
Malachi O’Doherty, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
The police are warning those caught up in Ballymena's rioting that they face “long custodial sentences” and I'm wondering what good that will do.
I don't believe in sending lots of young men to jail where they will be of no use to themselves or anyone else.
After days of rioting and vandalism such as we saw last week, there is always a popular demand that the law be firmly applied and that the courts will dole out harsh sentences, but a justice system that responds like that is catering to the popular mood while not creatively addressing the problem.
Mayhem such as we saw derives from immaturity, ignorance and a surfeit of energy, mostly in young men. The only conceivable solution is something that puts sense into young heads.
In prison, those men get used to the culture of the criminal life. They see that as where they fit in.
A system that took a strategic approach to reducing crime and prison costs would remove them from criminal culture, not immerse them in it.
If society's only interest is in punishing offenders then it might as well bring back the birch. If it has an interest in offenders becoming better people, then it has to come up with new ideas.
The ideas we hear espoused are that people should be locked up, the key thrown away, that if you do the crime you should do the time, that life should mean life. It is all so simplistic, and while the news that some rapist, killer or vandal has been sentenced is satisfying for a time, it is really just the story of the day.
And invariably some aggrieved relative or victim will come forward to the camera and bemoan the injustice of the short sentence.
An article in the current issue of The New Yorker deals with a theory from Malcolm Gladwell about violent crime.
It puts violence into two categories, essentially impulsive and premeditated. A young man lashes out in a rage or he acquires a pistol and plans an assassination. The end product in both may be a dead victim. One has fallen and hit his head on the kerbstone. Another is shot dead as he heads out to work. One killing is morally worse than the other. And courts do consider arguments in mitigation.
For there is no point in treating a young man with a temper in the same way as a cold-hearted killer?
The distinction isn't always obvious.
Take Winston Irvine. The public prosecutor now wants to appeal his “unduly lenient” sentence in relation to firearms offences and many agree.
The bad news is that our directionless Executive may be as good as it gets
Five hundred days after devolution returned to Northern Ireland, and it's the same old story.
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
500 DAYS AFTER DEVOLUTION NORTHERN IRELAND IS STILL IN THE SAME OLD RUT
We have a divided Executive incapable of taking the big decisions that are urgently needed in the face of our collapsing public services.
And the love-in we saw in the early days of the power-sharing administration between Stormont's two big parties is long over. First Minister Michelle O'Neill called for the resignation of Communities Minister Gordon Lyons during last week's racist attacks.
She accused him of inflaming tensions with his social media post on Larne Leisure Centre.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson responded by accusing O'Neill of “playing headline-grabbing silly games”, and saying she was “in no position to call for any minister to consider their position”.
The DUP is backing the legal challenge by loyalist Jamie Bryson of Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins' decision to erect Irish language signs in Belfast's Grand Central Station.
And the divisions between the two parties could well deepen as focus on the redevelopment of Casement Park falls back on Stormont following the Treasury's £50m funding announcement last week.
There's still a £90m shortfall, and it's very hard to see the DUP agreeing to increase the £62.5m already allocated by the Executive. The party knows Sinn Fein is under pressure from its grassroots to deliver Casement, and it will have no desire to help ease that situation.
The DUP is languishing in the polls with TUV support increasing. It's well aware that such extra funding for the GAA stadium would be as unpopular with the unionist base as it would be popular with nationalists.
Education Minister Givan most proactive
The jury is still out on the majority of ministers in terms of delivery. Although his decisions are not universally popular, the one who remains the boldest and most pro-active is Education Minister Paul Givan.
A fortnight ago, he published the findings of an independent review of the Northern Ireland curriculum which he says is no longer fit for purpose.
He argues that we have fallen behind countries which take “a knowledge-based approach to learning, focusing on the fundamentals of numeracy and literacy”, and his department is developing plans to address this.
The two biggest challenges for Stormont's power-sharing administration remain our crisis-ridden health service and our crumbling wastewater infrastructure which is limiting house building and economic development.
Professor Jon Tonge of the University of Liverpool says: “The optics of the Executive are better than its delivery.
“The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister have a cordial working relationship — one or two hiccups aside — and that matters.
“It's important that people in a divided society see a positive relationship based on mutual respect right at the top. But where are the policies and where is the delivery?”
Tonge believes that some ministers have fared better than others. “Under Mike Nesbitt, there are signs that a corner may be about to be turned in the NHS with the help of extra money,” he says.
“We have a promised curriculum review in education. But the sum of the parts doesn't amount to much when you look at the Executive as a whole. I'm trying to think of a single big policy where I'd go 'Wow!', but I can't.”
“The simple truth is ministers don't have the financial wherewithal to launch many game-changers on their own, and they duck decisions about local revenue-raising.”
Tonge adds: “Occasionally, the Executive has reverted back to unseemly sectarian squabbles. It's wasting time arguing nonsensically about Irish language signs at Grand Central station.”
Ann Watt, director of the independent think tank Pivotal, notes the positive steps the Executive has taken since its formation.
A Programme for Government has been agreed, two annual budgets signed off, and more generous funding for Northern Ireland secured via changes to the Barnett formula.
“There have been some important actions from individual ministers, including the implementation of the Childcare Subsidy Scheme, the Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls, an action plan to reduce health waiting lists, and progress on expanding the Magee campus,” she says.
Longstanding problems
However, we are still waiting for specific plans on tackling many long-standing issues like improving the waste-water infrastructure, increasing productivity and reconfiguring our hospital network.
“Without serious recognition of these issues, these problems will not only persist, but worsen,” Watt says.
“We have also seen some concerning holes emerging in the Executive's commitment to deliver its own Programme for Government priorities.
“There is insufficient funding in place to meet the house-building target, important measures to address the Lough Neagh crisis are being challenged, and waiting list funding was only found by raiding other parts of the Department of Health budget.”
A Stormont insider is even more critical of the Stormont administration “The Executive lacks a clear purpose. It's like Seinfeld, a show about nothing. There's no over-arching plot, no direction, no cohesiveness,” he says.
“It won't collapse. Despite the recent sniping between Sinn Fein and the DUP, we are not even close to that. But it's impossible to see any big future achievements from the Executive. What there is now is as good as it gets.”
Lough Neagh managers disappointed by 'science denialism' of politicians
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, June 17th, 2025
The body responsible for managing Lough Neagh has described a Stormont debate on the ecological crisis as “depressing” after promised political support “disappeared like melted snow”.
Gerry Darby, who runs the Lough Neagh Partnership, attended the Nutrient Action Plan (NAP) debate in Parliament Buildings this week where Sinn Fein and unionist parties backed a motion to scrap the NAP consultation process.
The plan aims to reduce the levels of nutrients — otherwise known as pollution — making their way into NI water bodies.
However, Mr Darby said the Stormont debate was “unfortunately hugely disappointing and, if I am honest, a bit depressing”.
“There seemed to be no recognition of Lough Neagh being part of Programme for Government priority,” he continued.
“All the original political support and concern for the plight of the lough seemed to have evaporated and disappeared like melted snow.
“It is important to remember that this government priority was a direct result of the ecological crisis on the lough which first appeared two years ago.
“The discussions by those parties that supported the motion to 'scrap the NAP' seemed focused on the potential impact of the Nutrient Action Plan on the farming sector.”
Mr Darby acknowledged agricultural concerns are “in some sense” understandable, but expressed dismay about a lack of concern for the wider impact of pollution and blue green algae on the majority of people who live in rural areas or constituents “in most of north and west Belfast who actually drink the water from the lough”. “These people seemed to have been left with no majority political support or representation on this issue,” he added.
Farmers are main culprits
“Whilst the farming sector is a very important part to our local economy, the science is very clear that the majority of nutrients contributing to blue green algae are from the agricultural sector and this scientific fact seems to have been totally ignored. In fact it almost seemed a classic exercise of science denialism.
“And in defence of the farming sector, was the real lack of blame and attention in the debate on the severe starvation of investment in the NI Water sewage treatment system.”
Water in Lough Neagh has turned green over recent years due, largely, to farming and NI Water pollution.
Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, primarily feeds on nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen which is found in sewage and slurry.
Sinn Fein has criticised NAP as being “not fit for purpose” while the DUP said the plan could “devastate” agriculture.
Both parties have accused the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister of not consulting farmers on the proposals.
But Andrew Muir said supporters of the motion overlooked “the fact” that the Office for Environmental Protection has already reported on the need for nutrient surplus to be addressed, as it is having a huge negative ecosystems impact.
Mr Darby insists there is still plenty of time for political parties to inform Mr Muir's department of what they would like to see in the NAP but in “a diplomatic and structured way”.
Following the Stormont debate he sat down with members of the Ulster Farmers Union and said he was “encouraged” by that discussion which focused on how positively DAERA and bodies like the Lough Neagh Partnership could work together.
Census data for Ballymena flashpoint shows majority arrived in a decade
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, June 17th, 2025
Over half the population in the part of Ballymena blighted by violence over the past week arrived here between 2011 and 2021 – with employment much higher and economic inactivity much lower than elsewhere, according to census data.
The Clonavon area of the town has a far higher concentration of migrants than Ballymena as a whole, which itself has higher figures than Northern Ireland generally.
Data also reveals that a majority of people in the area weren’t born in Northern Ireland, and don’t speak English as their main language.
While generally there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of people not born here, the figure in this area is much higher.
While the area has a higher than average proportion of people in low-paid work – and a majority with no qualifications at all – there are higher employment levels and fewer people deemed economically inactive than across the province.
Last week, houses of minority groups were vandalised and set alight in what the PSNI called “racist thuggery” after a peaceful protest sparked by an alleged sexual assault on a child in the town.
Few born in N Ireland
It has led to concerns being expressed by local politicians about “demographic change” in the area – claims supported by figures in the most recent census. People born in Northern Ireland are a minority in the ‘G3’ area in which trouble flared according to data from the 2021 census.
The rate of change in the area has been rapid – with 52% of those registered in the census arriving in the previous decade. However, that data will not take into account illegal migration – and only covers the period up to 2021.
The area’s MP has said that illegal immigration had been a problem in the town – a statement Justice Minister Naomi Long said he “had no way of proving”.
The TUV leader has also highlighted concerns about the “concentration” of members of the Roma community in the area, which he said had been caused by people crossing the border with the Republic, where they are entitled to move freely within the EU.
At the weekend, the News Letter revealed that the Home Office is conducting a major criminal investigation into what they suspect is an organised crime gang, believed to be trafficking Roma people into Northern Ireland, with evidence uncovered of potential fraud relating to post-Brexit immigration rules.
Many of the immigrants into Ballymena in recent years work in jobs employers say they can’t fill locally.
The scale of illegal immigration is, by its nature, hard to quantify. However, official data shows that by 2021 the small number of streets most affected by the violence has a far higher concentration of legal migrants than Northern Ireland as a whole.
Only 38% of people there were born in NI, with 57% from outside the UK and Ireland.
A majority, 53%, hold passports from countries outside the UK and Ireland – compared to just 5% in NI.
Two-thirds don’t identify as British, Irish or Northern Irish
Sixty-four per cent of people in the area identify as nationalities other than British, Irish or Northern Irish – compared to just 7% in NI.
A majority of people have languages other than English as their main language (56%), compared to 5% generally, with only 44% using English as their first language - compared to 95% across the province.
Sixty-three per cent are white, compared to 97% of the NI population, with other ethnic groups at 37%, compared to 3% in NI.
According to the 2021 census – the town as a whole has the same ethnic balance as the rest of NI – 97% white. However, figures on nationality and the first language of residents shows disproportionately high numbers of foreign nationals compared with the NI figures.
Almost four out of five people in Ballymena (78%) were born in NI, compared to 87% in NI as a whole. In the Clonavon area, 3% of those not born here arrived before 2001, another 6% arrived between 2001 – 2010. After this, numbers spiked – with 52% of the population arriving in the following decade.
There is a mixed picture economically, according to the data. Employment rates are much higher than NI as a whole – with the number of people deemed “economically inactive” much lower. This includes people who are sick or disabled, students, those looking after a home or those who retired early.
High per cent are working
Sixty-nine per cent of residents are employed, compared to 56% in NI. Economically inactive residents make up just 26% – compared to the NI rate of 41%.
The jobs are largely in low-paid industries, with over half the population classed as working as 'process, plant and machine operatives’ (25% compared to 8% in NI), or ‘elementary occupations’ (26% against NI average of 10%).
Strain on housing shows in the census data. Fifty-seven per cent of properties in this area are in the private rented sector – compared to 17% regionally.
In terms of families, 23% of people are classified as living in 'other household types' – such as HMOs – compared to just 6% in NI. The rest are one-person households or various classifications of families.
A majority (54%) don't have private transport, compared to just 20% in NI generally. The majority of the area’s population is single – 54%, compared to 38% in NI and 54% are male.
The G3 area covered by the Nisra data had a population of 785, with 261 households.
