Michelle O’Neill tells Gavin Robinson to ‘butt out’ as Sinn Fein/DUP row deepens
The First Minister said she would ‘take no lectures’ from The DUP leader over a decision not to include the British Army at a jobs fair in Derry
By Allan Preston, Irish News, September 9th, 2025
Mr Robinson called on First Minister Michelle O’Neill following a row over a jobs fair in Derry.
The First Minister has told the DUP leader Gavin Robinson he should “butt out” of an argument about a jobs fair in Derry as the row between government parties deepens.
Michelle O’Neill was responding after the British Army was told it could not have a stall at the event on Tuesday.
Taking place at the council-owned Foyle Arena, the fair had been organised by the Department for Communities.
Following criticism from Sinn Féin and SDLP councillors, defence officials were told that Derry City and Strabane Council was unable to offer them a stand.
The DUP’s Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has said he is now taking legal advice over the decision.
On Tuesday morning Mr Robinson said it was unfair for young people in the city to be denied the opportunity to learn about a career in the armed forces, and called on Ms O’Neill to show she really was “the First Minister for all.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson called for unity from ministers.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms O’Neill said that Mr Robinson should respect the “democratic process” of the council, that it was “inappropriate” for the army to be invited and she would not “take lectures” from him about the issue.
“It may not have went the way the DUP would have liked, but they have to respect the outcome,” she said.
“It sounds to me like the old days of DUP domination where they got to call the shots, this choice needs to be honoured.”
In a statement, the Sinn Féin MLA Ciara Ferguson said: “Derry and Strabane Council are democratically entitled to make decisions that relates to council property and to reflect, in doing so, the deep hurt that the British Army inflicted on the people of Derry.
“The DUP leader might want to believe that we have somehow reverted to the dark days of unionist domination but those days are gone and they are never coming back.
“Michelle O’Neill has consistently shown she is and will continue to be a First Minister for All.”
The SDLP’s Foyle MP Colum Eastwood also defended councillors opposing the army involvement, noting that Mr Robinson should show “more empathy” with families in the city still affected by the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972.
Trial of Bloody Sunday Para imminent
“In less than a week Soldier F will stand trial charged with the murder of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murder of five others,” he said.
“It was completely right in those circumstances, setting aside the clear security concerns and the risk that the event would be disrupted, that councillors raise their very serious objections.”
Last week, Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson said his party “fully opposed” the army job stand, while the SDLP’s Brian Tierney said “ample opportunities” were available elsewhere and suggested it would have created a security risk.
The Ulster Unionist councillor Derek Hussey described some of the criticism during a heated council debate last week as “sheer hatred and bigotry.”
The Ranger Regiment during British Army Expo 2025 at Redford Cavalry Barracks in Edinburgh.
Mr Robinson called the decision to exclude that army a “failure of leadership” within both the SDLP and Sinn Féin because of their “prejudice.”
“They’re going to have to get over themselves on the aspirations of their neighbours...on the fact that there are other people in Northern Ireland that think differently from them.”
Referencing Michelle O’Neill, he said “the First Minister for all needs to speak up and say her people got it wrong...they have created a hostile environment which is unwelcome in Northern Ireland.”
“She attends events with the Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces and she gets plaudits for doing it, but it’s meaningless if her councillors are acting in this way in Londonderry.”
“It is intolerable and it is unsustainable that it’s ok to sip champagne with the commander in chief of the armed forces, but to deny opportunities to the young people of Londonderry.”
O'Neill accused of showing lack of leadership in Army jobs fair row
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE AND REBECCA BLACK, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
First Minister Michelle O'Neill has called on DUP leader Gavin Robinson to “butt out” amid a row over a jobs fair in Londonderry.
It comes after Mr Robinson said he does not believe Ms O'Neill is a “First Minister for all” and called on the Sinn Fein vice president to “show leadership”.
The Army had been due to attend the event but withdrew after some Sinn Fein, SDLP and independent councillors objected.
Ms O'Neill hit back at Mr Robinson's comments, saying that Derry City and Strabane District Council should be respected, and the right decision had been made.
Mr Robinson said it was “a failure of leadership” in nationalism and republicanism.
However, Ms O'Neill told the BBC that it had been “inappropriate” for the Army to be invited.
Meanwhile, Foyle MP Colum Eastwood pointed out that the trial of Soldier F over the murder of two men in Derry in 1972 is due to start next week.
He said in that context it was “completely right, setting aside the clear security concerns and the risk that the event would be disrupted, that councillors raise their very serious objections”.
He also accused the DUP of “desperately trying to make this a political row when there are grieving families in this city about to face some of the most arduous days of their struggle for justice”.
Earlier Mr Robinson told the BBC Nolan Show: “The First Minister for all needs to speak up and say her people got it wrong, those councillors got it wrong.
Creating hostile environment
“They have created a hostile environment which is unwelcome in Northern Ireland. She attends events with the commander in chief of the British armed forces and she gets plaudits for doing it.
“But it is meaningless if her councillors are acting in this way in Londonderry.”
Mr Robinson added: “Any time you hear a Sinn Fein representative say 'we believe in a shared future, we believe in a shared society, our First Minister is a First Minister for all', I think the lion's share of people in Northern Ireland will sit back and say 'no, you are not'.
The DUP leader said Ms O'Neill had to “understand it is more than her own back yard which lives in Northern Ireland”.
He added: “I don't paint her as a First Minister for all, I don't believe she is, I never have. My view on that won't change.
“(Deputy First Minister) Emma Little-Pengelly is in that office very much for the reasons of balance and the system we have.
“I don't buy in to the mantra that the First Minister is a First Minister for all, I believe she should be.
“I believe Emma Little-Pengelly displays leadership far beyond that of the co-habitant of Stormont Castle.
“They need to demonstrate there are people in this community who don't share their outlook and they have every right to share a different outlook, to believe in what they believe and pursue opportunities with the British Army.”
Sinn Fein was approached for comment.
Ms O'Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly are due to appear together before their Stormont scrutiny committee later this week.
MLAs returned to Parliament Buildings this week as the Assembly reconvened following its summer recess.
Army promotion in Derry was never a very good idea
Pro Fide, Pro Patria, Irish News, September 10th, 2025
IT should hardly come as a surprise that there should be robust opposition to the proposed involvement of the British Army in a jobs fair which opened yesterday at the publicly owned Foyle Arena in Derry.
The history of the British military in the city and the region is a shocking one, with the killing of 14 innocent civilians by the Parachute Regiment during a civil rights march in 1972 an outrage which will never be forgotten.
It was inevitable that the presence of soldiers either in or out of uniform at the Derry and Strabane Cross Border Job Fair would offend, and there was also a likelihood of a significant protest when it got underway.
“The decision by the British Army to withdraw its application for an official stand at the event, which is organised by the department for communities with support of Derry and Strabane Council, was entirely appropriate
The decision by the British Army to withdraw its application for an official stand at the event, which is organised by the Stormont department for communities with the support of Derry and Strabane District Council, was entirely appropriate in the circumstances.
It needs to be stressed that young people from across Ireland are completely entitled to pursue a career in either the British or, indeed, the Irish army, as many have always done on a regular basis.
The information which will enable them to make up their minds is readily available both online and via personal applications, and there could be no justification for any attempt to interfere with this process.
A high-profile British Army PR initiative taking place at a civic facility is a totally different matter, with elected representatives having a responsibility to make their views clear when the issue was debated as a meeting of the Derry and Strabane council.
It was disappointing to hear unionist voices suggest that those from both Sinn Féin and the SDLP who were against a platform being provided for the British military at the Foyle Arena leisure centre were motivated by what was described as hatred and bigotry.
Every single death which took place during the Troubles, whether carried out by loyalists, republicans or the forces of the state, was not just wrong but cruel, dreadful and capable only of causing bitterness and grief among all sections of our divided society.
Holding firm views about the perpetrators can never be regarded as bigotry, and it is essential the sense of hurt and loss which exists among the family and friends of each victim is fully recognised across the board.
The idea that some form of sanction should be imposed on Derry and Strabane Council by the department for communities is ludicrous and can only undermine the significant overall progress which has been made in terms of encouraging reconciliation and avoiding any repetition of the mistakes of the past.
Immigration issue threatens to divide Newry
Conor Coyle, Irish News, September 10th, 2025
Hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters took to the Newry’s streets last weekend to demonstrate support for and action against a council proposal to join the ‘City of Sanctuary’ network. Conor Coyle reports
PSNI in attendance at Saturday’s rally in Newry
INCREASING anger and division has been on display in Newry over immigration issues after a tense protest and counter-protest at a council decision to progress a motion for it to become a ‘City of Sanctuary’’
Hundreds took to the streets last weekend to demonstrate support for and action against a council proposal to join the network.
City of Sanctuary UK says it works with individuals, groups and organisations “in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, solidarity and compassion for people from a forced displacement background”.
Groups, cities and local authorities can sign up to the local network coordinated by City of Sanctuary charity to declare they are a safe space for those seeking asylum and to commit to proactively integrating asylum seekers into the local community.
However, a rally held in Marcus Square in Newry on Saturday, organised by a group known as the ‘Locals First Initiative’, saw speakers claim the City of Sanctuary organisation was “infiltrating” the council and would be able to directly dictate council policy.
One speaker led chants of “Sinn Féin are traitors”, aimed at local councillors from the largest party in the council area, who supported a motion to approve the council joining the City of Sanctuary network.
Several of those in attendance carried tricolour flags, while earlier this year a march took place through the town which advertised that “Ireland is for the Irish” – and that Newry “will not be a sanctuary for illegal immigrants”.
A public meeting had previously been organised by the same group to take place at a local hospitality venue which was later cancelled as the owners became aware of the content of the meeting.
No decision as yet on ‘City of sanctuary’ affiliation
Newry Mourne and Down District Council says it has not yet agreed to join the City of Sanctuary Local Authority Network, or to work towards formal recognition as a Council of Sanctuary “at this time”.
“A report on the City of Sanctuary movement was first considered at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee meeting on 16 June 2025,” a statement said.
“Council agreed at a meeting on Monday 7 July 2025 that a report providing additional information would be brought back to a future meeting of Council’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee for further consideration,” a statement said.
The move is set to be discussed at a council meeting next week, after councillors earlier approved a motion to for the council “to join the Local Authority Network and work towards formal recognition as a ‘Council of Sanctuary”.
Some local representatives have said the numbers which attended last weekend’s rally were largely made up of those who travelled from elsewhere and that it did not represent a groundswell of support for anti-immigration sentiment locally.
Among the anti-immigrant groups in attendance were Sinne Na Daoine, which describes itself as a “community watchdog”, which has in recent months carried out “patrols” across towns south of the border.
Sinn Féin MP Dáire Hughes has said the Newry rally was part of “attempts by micro groups to stir hostility toward migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and minority communities across Ireland”.
A tricolour is held aloft at the rally in Newry last Saturday
“The overwhelming majority of people across Ireland reject this toxic narrative. Ireland today is diverse, modern, and compassionate. People who have decided to make Ireland their home are essential to our communities, our economy and our pub-lic services.
“This is evidently the case here in Newry, where workers from many backgrounds make a vital contribution to our everyday lives.”
Sinn Féin councillors in Newry, Mourne and Down previously voted in favour of approving the council joining the City of Sanctuary Network.
DUP and ex-UK Independence Party councillor Henry Reilly addressed the rally in Newry last weekend and his party has opposed any move to make Newry a City of Sanctuary.
Cllr Reilly, who was convicted of assaulting a female police officer at his home in 2021, told the Irish News he believed a move to join the scheme would be “a disaster” for local residents.
City of Sanctuary UK has denied claims that contractors who provide accommodation for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office target areas designated as part of the scheme.
Competing housing needs
“From what we have seen in other areas of the UK where they have signed up, the Home Office moves to locate a lot of refugees in that area,” Cllr Reilly told The Irish News.
“It seems like the likes of Serco and Mears will follow the areas that sign up and will buy up vacant properties in that area and turn them into HMOs to house asylum seekers.
“That brings different cultures to different areas and increases house prices for people living in that area, pricing them out of their own area.
“It does change the character of the area and you start to feel it is no longer part of the UK.”
Cllr O’Reilly expressed a particular worry that former Afghan soldiers would end up being relocated to the Newry area and “cause friction” with the local community. He described the atmosphere at Saturday’s rally as “nasty”.
“They were calling me Nazi scum, they were the most aggressive, nastiest people I have ever seen.”
Cllr Reilly said the participation of some from the nationalist community at the rally was “really significant” as video footage showed tricolours being waved and some wearing GAA jerseys.
“I thought it was really significant. A few years ago if I had seen a tricolour at a rally I would have turned and walked the other way.
“I just got this sense that people were there out of a need to do our best for working-class communities.”
A spokesperson for City of Sanctuary UK’s Local Authority Network said any claims that private companies would target areas designated as a City of Sanctuary for housing was “completely false”.
The spokesperson said local councils, including Newry, Mourne and Down, have “limited” powers and any move to join the scheme is aimed at “integration” of migrants who are already living in the area.
“City of Sanctuary is not about immigration policy, it’s about integration,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s about ensuring that when people are placed in our communities by the Home Office and its contractors, they are treated with dignity, supported to rebuild their lives, and given the opportunity to contribute to the places they now call home.
“Being recognised as a City/Borough/Town of Sanctuary does not influence how many people are placed in an area.
“These are made by the Home Office and its private contractors, based on housing availability, affordability, and the government’s drive to distribute responsibility more evenly between regions’
“Sanctuary recognition simply means that the council and local partners are working proactively to ensure people seeking safety can become fully participating members of the community.”
Thug who stabbed child is part of ‘save our children’ vigilante group in east Belfast
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
A man convicted of the attempted murder of a 14-year-old child is part of a far-right vigilante ‘save our children’ group patrolling Belfast’s streets.
Mark Payne was convicted along with two other men of stabbing the schoolboy, who almost died from his injuries.
He was further convicted of threatening two teenage girls with a knife after they witnessed the unprovoked attack.
Payne is now part of a group of vigilantes, calling themselves East Belfast First Division, who have been ‘patrolling’ the streets. They claim to be protecting women and children from migrants.
In recent days the group has been holding protests outside a fast food outlet in east Belfast, questioning delivery drivers.
Payne was 22 when he served a sentence for the attempted murder of a child. Earlier this week, he was filmed outside Laganside courthouse, shortly after a man had appeared for racially motivated offences.
‘Freedom Dads’ and ‘Citizen Journalists’
Payne was pictured alongside convicted loyalist killer Glen Kane being interviewed by convicted armed robber Mark Sinclair, who calls himself ‘Freedom Dad’ and claims to be a citizen journalist.
Kane was part of a mob which beat and kicked to death Catholic man Kieran Abram during a sectarian riot in July 1992.
He was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to manslaughter, having initially been charged alongside others with murder.
In 2003, Sinclair was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Scottish court for a number of robberies.
During a three-week trial he claimed he had been planted in Scotland by MI5 to infiltrate the UDA, a claim the court found to be a lie.
Payne, Sinclair and Kane had been in the public gallery of Laganside court where a man had faced race-related charges earlier this week.
Later Payne was filmed standing alongside the other two outside court, and made critical comments about the justice process.
Despite publicly campaigning about protecting children, others have pointed out how, in 2004, Payne, from Callan Way, Belfast, was charged with seven offences linked to the attempted murder of a child. Two other Belfast men appeared alongside him on similar charges.
The court was told that the teenager was seriously injured after he was stabbed numerous times at playing fields in the east of the city, requiring emergency surgery for knife wounds to his stomach, chest and leg.
Other violent offences
Payne was also charged with intimidation of two female witnesses, stealing a kitchen knife, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place in connection with a burglary, and entering as a trespasser Grosvenor Rugby Club with the intention of inflicting grievous bodily harm against another man.
He was released from prison in 2008 having served half of an eight year sentence.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said he was “increasingly concerned about individuals involved in these racist vigilante protests”.
“Many have serious and significant criminal records, including harm to women and children. “These people are a clear threat to our working class communities and what we are witnessing is nothing but terror being instilled into people whose skin colour isn’t white. They are fascists and highly dangerous.
“This has been allowed to build and go unchecked for months, especially in inner east Belfast. I am furious at the lack of political response from other elected representatives in east Belfast.
“The Justice Minister said last week we all should ‘do more’ – she is the minister and she could start by implementing Judge Marrinan’s Hate Crime Review recommendations from 2020.
“Half hearted statements or silence isn’t acceptable, it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or worse. At that point, thoughts, prayers and condolences won’t wash with the public.”
Justice Minister Naomi Long said she would implement “the most impactful hate crime provisions from Judge Marrinan’s Review of Hate Crime Legislation in the current mandate”.
“When someone is targeted because of who they are, where they are from, or what they believe, it is completely unacceptable,” she said.
“Racism and sectarianism in Northern Ireland are two sides of the one coin. Racist attitudes and the growing anti-migrant sentiment in Northern Ireland will only be addressed through a partnership approach, and will not be solved by one Department alone.”
Racist mobs have the run of east Belfast, says councillor
JAMES MCNANEY, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
Police have said “self-appointed patrols” will not be tolerated following a racist attack in east Belfast.
A mob forced a man from his car and damaged the vehicle in the incident near Connswater on Monday. The driver of a second car was also confronted.
Both incidents are being treated as racially motivated hate crimes.
The PSNI received a report of a large gathering at Factory Street in east Belfast at around 7.20pm on Monday.
It said: “It was reported that the driver of a silver car was approached by members of the group. In fear, the driver exited the vehicle, which was subsequently reported to have been damaged.
“A further report was received that the driver of a navy-coloured car was confronted by the group but managed to drive off. There were no reports to any injuries to the driver or damage to the vehicle at this time.
“Enquiries are continuing, and at this stage, both of these incidents are being treated as racially-motivated hate crimes.
“There will be an increased policing presence in the area. Self-appointed patrols are not accepted and will not be tolerated.”
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said the PSNI needed more funding.
He added: “The police are desperately under-resourced. They're being stretched.
“This has been allowed to build for months. There are people in inner east Belfast who are terrified. This isn't a perceived threat. This is an actual threat.
“It's not a question of if but when somebody gets seriously hurt or worse.
“I have nothing but the highest praise for the police on the ground, because they're doing a hell of a job on very limited resources. They need supported.
“I think that we're seeing almost a breakdown of law and order in inner east Belfast. These gangs are allowed to operate with impunity.
“I'm being contacted by people who are unionists, I've been contacted by members of the Orange Order, by loyalists who are horrified at this.
Evil and menace going unchecked
“There is a menace and an evil to this, and it feels like this has gone unchecked. It's been allowed to foment for months. These people have the run of the streets.
“If your skin is brown, this is an actual threat. You are a target for these people.”
Justice Minister Naomi Long said improving support for victims of hate crime was a priority.
She continued: “There is existing legislation in place that provides a range of protections for those who are harassed, intimidated or, on occasion, attacked, simply because of the colour of their skin.
“However, I am committed to introducing the most impactful provisions from Judge Marrinan's Review of Hate Crime Legislation in the current mandate through a Sentencing Bill and a Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill.”
DUP leader Gavin Robinson told the BBC: “You have a group of individuals who are displaying, to my mind, racist, violent intimidation.
“I will always defend the right to raise issues where they exist, but there is no tolerance in our society, and there never has been from my worldview, for breaking the law, taking the law into your own hands or creating a hostile atmosphere which is unbecoming of our community.”
“There is no substitute for law and order. We will have societal breakdown if individuals, whatever cause they suggest they are in favour of, subvert the law. That has not worked for our society in the past, and I don't support it today.”
Alliance Policing Board spokesperson Peter McReynolds MLA said: “The footage we've seen circulating on social media has been nothing short of horrifying.
“I'd advise those taking part to seriously reflect on their actions and what they expect to achieve from harassing innocent people and placing pressure on the PSNI.”
Muir aiming to intervene to support A5 court appeal
JOHN MANLEY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, September 10th, 2025
ANDREW Muir has ordered his department officials to apply for an intervention in fellow executive minister Liz Kimmins’ appeal against June’s A5 ruling.
The Alliance agriculture and environment minister’s move is designed to help the Sinn Féin infrastructure minister overturn Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden’s quashing of the decision to proceed with the £1.7bn road upgrade.
The High Court judge ruled that the A5 redevelopment could not go ahead as planned because it failed to comply with Stormont’s climate change targets.
The targets are contained in the climate legislation passed by the assembly in 2022.
Justice McAlinden highlighted how the Department for Infrastructure was in breach of Section 52 of the legislation, as it had failed to produce evidence showing how upgrading the A5 would be consistent with overall climate targets.
Ms Kimmins confirmed her intention to appeal the judgement last month.
More than 50 people have died since an upgrade of the 58-mile stretch of road between Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone and Newbuildings in Co Derry was first scheduled to begin. However, a series of successful court challenges have led the work to be delayed for almost 20 years.
In the assembly yesterday, Mr Muir stressed that climate action was important and that achieving net zero was “the defining challenge of our generation”.
More than 50 people have died on the A5 since an upgrade of the 58-mile stretch of road between Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone and Newbuildings in Co Derry was first scheduled to begin
Noting that the Climate Change Act was a “central feature” of the High Court ruling, he said he had decided it was appropriate that his department applies to the court “to formally intervene in the appeal”.
“The focus will be to clarify the interpretation of the legislation so that it can be fully implemented as intended,” the minister said.
“We have made much progress since I took up office and I am determined that this will continue. Achieving the targets requires collective leadership. All ministers and departments can and must play their role together.”
Mr Muir said “strong climate and environmental credentials” will be important in attracting future investment.
Chair of NI committee received over £3k in free tickets to events
GABRIELLE SWAN, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
An MP who chairs a Westminster scrutiny committee on Northern Ireland matters claimed more than £3,000 worth of free tickets for events including Oasis gigs and the Open.
Tonia Antoniazzi also received tickets and hospitality worth almost £700 to a rugby match at Twickenham.
DUP MP Gregory Campbell also received £750 worth of tickets and hospitality to the Open.
The declarations appear in the latest Register of Members' Financial Interests, published by Parliament in recent days.
It is updated every few weeks by Westminster and contains a list of disclosures MPs are required to make of financial interests or benefits they have received.
Ms Antoniazzi was appointed as chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee last September. She has been MP for Gower in Wales since 2017.
Betting and Gaming Council
The latest register, published on September 1, shows she received two tickets and hospitality to see Oasis, worth £2,400, at Wembley Stadium on July 30. The donor is listed as The Betting & Gaming Council.
Ms Antoniazzi also received two tickets for The Open in Portrush, including hospitality. They were valued at £900 for the penultimate day's play on July 19. The donor was The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), which organises the Open.
She also received two tickets, with hospitality, to a women's rugby match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham on September 14 last year. The package, valued at £638, was donated by the Rugby Football Union.
The MP was a prop forward for the Wales women's national rugby union team.
Also listed in the latest register is Mr Campbell, the MP for East Londonderry.
He received two tickets “for the Royal Portrush Golf Club area and guest at the Open Golf”, his listing states. The donor was the R&A.
A DUP spokesman said: “Mr Campbell attended on the invitation of R&A as the constituency Member of Parliament for Royal Portrush. The ticket was registered in full compliance with the rules set down by Parliament for the declaration of gifts and hospitality and its registration is publicly indicated on the Parliamentary website.”
Ms Antoniazzi was contacted for comment.
This newspaper previously reported that DUP leader Gavin Robinson, North Antrim MP Jim Allister and SNP MP Seamus Logan, who is also from Northern Ireland, also received free tickets to the Open.
There is no suggestion any of the politicians have done anything wrong.
MPs often receive donations or gifts, but these have to be officially registered in the interests of openness and transparency.
A number of other high-profile MPs appear on the latest register.
These include former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who received five tickets at the Pride Event, Brighton and Hove, valued at £1,100. The donor was BN1 Events Collective Ltd.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick also declared £4,200 received from Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited after writing a series of articles for The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Last October, Sir Keir Starmer paid back £6,000 of gifts and hospitality he had received since becoming Prime Minister, including Taylor Swift tickets.
Hope floats in Titanic Quarter, but much of Belfast has a sinking feeling
Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
Last week, an anniversary passed — one which had a huge impact on Northern Ireland, especially Belfast.
It wasn't, for once, Troubles-related, though it did cause some trouble and made headlines around the world at the time.
There wasn't that much of a fanfare to mark 40 years since September 1, 1985, the date the holy grail of shipwrecks was discovered 12,500 feet below the surface of the North Atlantic.
After several unsuccessful searches, the Titanic was located by a joint French-American expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Belfast, as we know it today, owes them a debt of gratitude.
Interest in the stricken liner had endured in the 73 years before, but was reignited with a renewed enthusiasm. The sinking of the unsinkable had, of course, always been a story in itself. But more stories flowed, took on a new life of their own and it became big business throughout the world.
Yes, it was a disaster. And there will be some who believe that plundering the Titanic for those stories, those relics and artefacts, is not something to be celebrated, no matter how much anything Titanic-related sells for these days at auction.
But the Titanic isn't celebrated. It's remembered. There's a difference.
One look at the Titanic Quarter today shows just how much Belfast has benefited since that discovery.
What was once Queen's Island, before that Dargan's Island, and home of the famous H&W shipyard since 1861, had sat derelict for decades but had undergone a massive transformation.
The land had been formed from soil deposits after deep shipping channels were excavated to allow Belfast to become a major port, the island initially taking its name of Dargan's Island after engineer William Dargan who was undertaking the work in the 1840s to form what became known as the Victoria Channel.
The land was later renamed Queen's Island, following Queen Victoria's visit to Belfast in 1849 to mark the creation of the port.
And as Belfast emerged from the shadow of 30 years of bombs and murders, the city needed something to latch on to.
In 2001, Queen's Island became the Titanic Quarter, and it was full steam ahead for regeneration, all built on the back of the revitalised Titanic folklore, thanks in no small part to 1997's Oscar-winning movie.
Central to all the regeneration was Titanic Belfast — the famed visitors' centre. Opened in 2012 to coincide with the maiden voyage of the liner, it was to be a symbol for the regeneration of a once-barren wasteland.
In just over a decade, the Titanic Quarter has gone from master plan to reality as a thriving and bustling destination. Over £650m has already been invested and some 20,000 people live, work, visit and stay in the Titanic Quarter on Belfast's Maritime Mile daily, which is now attracting over 3.6 million visitors every year.
It is home to major TV and film productions, the world's largest Titanic museum and one of Belfast's most desirable residential waterfront developments. It is also home to innovation, with over 100 national and international businesses.
Last weekend, it was home once again to Belfast's Maritime Festival.
And last month came another development, running appropriately enough between the Titanic Quarter's innovation centre at Catalyst with HMS Caroline sitting in its shadow and Titanic Halt railway station: the city's first self-driving bus had its pilot run — it does, though, have a safety operator on board.
Drowning in its own success?
Since its opening, Titanic Belfast has done its job well in leading from the seafront. Perhaps too well. The iconic ship's bow design has all but disappeared as the land around it spawned hotels, businesses and now housing developments.
While Titanic Quarter expands into NI's own mini-Manhattan, what of the rest of Belfast?
If only that investment in regeneration could have been spread wider, rather than concentrated in one small district where certain parts are now clogging the skyline, causing those famous cranes, that iconic Titanic centre, to vanish from view as you cross the Lagan bridges.
Any seafaring expert will tell you that if you load one side of the vessel too heavily, the chances are the ship will list and risk sinking.
The artificial intelligence that drives the driverless bus is not matched by human intelligence elsewhere in the city.
From the Europa Hotel, through Shaftsbury Square and towards Queen's University, there once was a 'golden mile'. It's not so golden any more. And it doesn't go unnoticed by those who visit.
That self-driving bus may one day take visitors over the bridges and into the Cathedral Quarter, where they may still find a resurgence in progress, driven by the arrival of the Belfast campus of Ulster University.
This weekend, three new bars, part of the Haymarket complex on Royal Avenue, will open to the tune of £5m, an investment, triggered by the regeneration of the district and the influx of students. It's wonderful what a little investment can do.
But take a short walk towards the Merchant Hotel, and the boarded-up buildings begin to dominate, where the continued failure of the Tribeca development broods in squalor as a never-beating heart of darkness.
Last week, Belfast City Council agreed a deal to purchase the historic Assembly Rooms, which have stood squarely at the corner of North Street and Waring Street since 1769.
Belfast councillor Carl Whyte said the deal offers at least some hope of another regeneration surge.
Alliance accuses DUP of playing politics with trans guidance storm
MARK BAIN, Belfast Telegraph, September 10th, 2025
PARTY SAYS IT WON'T BE APOLOGISING AFTER LEADER LINKED FURORE TO BULLYING
The Alliance Party has confirmed it will not be apologising after leader Naomi Long criticised the Education Minister's withdrawal of gender guidance in schools.
Justice Minister Ms Long said Paul Givan's decision would “lead to open season for bullying”.
Paul Frew, Mr Givan's DUP colleague, called for an “immediate and unequivocal apology”.
But the Alliance Party said it would not be apologising.
It added: “Many young people, including those who are LGBTQIA+, and their parents will, unfortunately, be all too familiar with the behaviours, from both adults and children, to which Ms Long referred.
“Alliance is not in denial that, regrettably, some adults abuse their positions of trust or fail to act decisively to protect young people from such bullying at school.
“Neither Naomi, nor the party, have suggested this represents all teachers. Those implying otherwise are doing so purely for their own purposes.”
Speaking after the Education Minister's announcement, Ms Long said: “I believe this is abandoning young people who are vulnerable.
“It's potentially going to [be] an open season on bullying of young people, not just by other peers in their class and other members of the same age, but actually by people within their classrooms — their teachers and others — who may actually now be in a situation where they feel enabled to take their own ideological position and work that through the classroom.
“Teachers need support and guidance in order that they can properly navigate what is a complex issue.
“Parents need to know that when they hand over their children at the school gates, they are going to be safe, respected and treated with dignity.
“More than that, the children need to know that the same is true when they go to school, so they are freed up to thrive and to learn and flourish in school.
“I don't believe this has been a helpful intervention from the minister.
“We need to have a trans-inclusive policy that allows those children to thrive and flourish just like everyone else.
“The Minister is quite incorrect in suggesting that common sense dictates you exclude any child in a school environment.”
Mr Frew said he had “been contacted by numerous teachers outraged by the Justice Minister's remarks”.
He continued: “To suggest that teachers, the very people who dedicate their lives to educating and protecting children, would be enabled to bully pupils is an insult of the highest order.
“It is a disgraceful slur on their professionalism, their integrity, and their commitment to our young people.
“This is yet another example of the Alliance Party's radical ideology trampling over basic respect for those on the front line of our education system.
“Our teachers deserve better than to be used as pawns in Alliance's culture war.
“They deserve respect, support and gratitude, not wild accusations from a minister who should know better but whose approach appears to be driven by a radical ideological agenda.
“Naomi Long must withdraw these remarks and issue an immediate apology. Anything less is unacceptable.”
Givan defends withdrawal of 2019 guidelines
Ms Long's comments came after the Education Minister defended the decision to withdraw the 2019 guidance in the Assembly on Monday.
It covered uniforms, naming, use of toilets and changing rooms, access to sports and admissions to single-sex schools.
The guidance advised that transgender people “have a gender identity which differs from that of their (assigned) birth sex”.
It has already been removed from the Education Authority website.
Alexa Moore, policy and campaigns officer at the Rainbow Project, said the move was a “distraction from the wider SEN issues in education”.
“For many young people, this will be their first full week back in school, and they have been met by the news that their minister doesn't believe in supporting them,” said Ms Moore.
“Over half of LGBTQ+ pupils don't feel safe in schools. The answer from the minister is to remove guidelines to protect them, rather than putting in place actual measures to make schools a better place for LGBTQ+ young people.”
Mr Givan said: “I do not believe that a boy who identifies as a girl should be participating in girls' competitive sports, or that they should be using girls' changing and toilet facilities.
“When we look at the 1973 regulations, when it comes to school premises, it says that schools have to provide toilet facilities for those above the age of six based upon being a boy and a girl.
“The ordinary and natural meaning of that is around their biological reality, so the position is one that I believe is common sense.”
