Northern Ireland most dangerous place in UK for journalists
Kurtis Reid, Belfast News, June 3rd, 2025
Journalists in Northern Ireland are working in a “climate of fear” in the midst of death and rape threats along with threats of paramilitary reprisal, Amnesty International has claimed.
A new report features interviews with reporters, including Belfast Telegraph crime correspondent Allison Morris, who have been told they will be shot or stabbed, threatened with under-car bombs, and given 48-hour ultimatums to leave the country — all because of their journalism.
It names Northern Ireland as the most dangerous place in the UK to work as a journalist.
The report reveals how some journalists have been physically attacked. Equipment has also been damaged and reporters' cars have been battered with poles with nails attached.
Northern Ireland has seen two journalists killed over the years — Martin O'Hagan and Lyra McKee — in 2001 and 2019 respectively.
Ms Morris said: “I'm convinced someone's going to kill me at some point. I always think I'll never die of natural causes. Most of the time, I pretend that the threats don't annoy me, but clearly, they do. This is not a normal way to live.”
Ms Morris said the police visited her home nine times between December 2023 and October 2024 to deliver threats from paramilitary or criminal groups. On one occasion she received a warning and 24 hours later a pipe bomb was discovered near her house.
Bullet proof windows
Sunday Life news manager Ciaran Barnes also described the intense security precautions he has to live with.
“I've got bulletproof windows front and back,” he said.
“I've got a bulletproof door. I've got cameras all around the house. I've got sensor activated lights and panic alarms.”
These security measures are paid for by employers, as journalists are currently ineligible for the Government's Home Protection Scheme. Amnesty noted that with journalists excluded, many have been left feeling at risk.
National Union of Journalists assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said: “In what is supposed to be a normalised society, post the peace process, journalists are living in fear and behind high security measures. That really is not the sign of a normal functioning democracy.”
Amnesty's report - 'Occupational Hazard? Threats and violence against journalists in Northern Ireland' - uncovered more than 70 incidents of threats or attacks since the start of 2019.
Two successful prosecutions
Few threats lead to criminal charges, with only two successful prosecutions since June 2022 — and none involving paramilitary groups.
Amnesty's Patrick Corrigan said: “When journalists are under attack, press freedom is under attack. The state must create a safe environment where journalists can work freely and report without fear of reprisals.”
Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson said the force will take time to consider Amnesty's report, but had already developed a plan with the NUJ and local editors.
“We have appointed two Journalist Safety Officers, established an internal Journalist Safety Group, implemented screening arrangements within our contact management centre and ensured that reports of threats and crimes by journalists are investigated by detectives,” he said.
“Journalists do not have to tolerate threats and crimes as part of their role.”
Journalists tell of ‘chilling’ threats
Allan Preston, Irish News, June 3rd, 2025
JOURNALISTS in Northern Ireland have spoken about the “chilling effect” of facing regular death threats for their work. A new report from Amnesty International interviewed multiple journalists who described the disruptive impact on their lives, from rape and death threats to having to install bullet proof windows at home and fearing for the safety of their children.
It states that more than 70 incidents of threats or attacks against journalists in Northern Ireland have taken place since 2019.
While the majority of threats come from loyalist and republican paramilitary groups as well as heavily armed organised crime groups, most threats go unpunished.
Criticising “an official state failure” to provide protection, many journalists described feeling like the threats against them had become an “occupational hazard.”
Since June 2022, there have been only two successful prosecutions for threats against journalists – but none over threats from paramilitaries.
The murders of journalists Martin O’Hagan in 2001 and Lyra McKee in 2019 feature prominently in the report, with a number of those interviewed believing the same could happen to them at any point.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International UK’s Northern Ireland Director, said the “sustained campaign” of threats, intimidation and violence from armed groups had made Northern Ireland the most dangerous place in the UK to be a reporter.
“They are being threatened, attacked and even killed for shining a light on paramilitary groups and others who seek to exert control through violence,” he said.
“This creates a climate of fear that many assumed was consigned to history when the Good Friday Agreement was signed.
“Yet there has not been a single prosecution for threats against journalists from paramilitary groups. This sense of impunity only emboldens those behind the threats.”
Irish News picture editor Mal McCann described threats he received while covering an Orange Parade in recent years.
“They were objecting to me taking photographs of them outside St Patrick’s chapel. A man came at me from across the street with a sword in his hand, a sort of ceremonial sword,” he said.
Chilling effect
Former Irish News editor Noel Doran said: “There is no doubt that threats made to journalists have a chilling effect.
“They undermine the confidence of some journalists and make them feel there are areas where they may be reluctant to go and stories they may be reluctant to pursue.”
The Belfast Telegraph’s Crime Correspondent Allison Morris’s house was visited nine times by police between December 2023 and October 2024 to warn her of threats from paramilitary or criminal groups.
“I’m convinced someone’s going to kill me at some point. I always think I’ll never die of natural causes,” she said.
“Most of the time, I pretend that the threats don’t annoy me, but clearly, they do. This is not a normal way to live.”
Her colleague, photographer Kevin Scott, spoke of multiple attacks and violent threats against him.
“I go out every day to work knowing that it’s a real possibility that somebody will do something really stupid,” he said.
“I don’t think somebody will ever intentionally kill me. I think it will happen because people lose control of themselves, I think it will be in a situation where people are so hyper or so hyped, they’re in a riot and they’ve got a petrol bomb in their hand, not realising what they’re doing, and they’ll throw it, and they’ll hit the wrong person one day.”
Climate of Fear
“This creates a climate of fear that many assumed was consigned to history when the Good Friday Agreement was signed
Freelance journalist Leona O’Neill said she experienced a “tsunami of hate” on social media after witnessing Lyra McKee’s murder in Derry.
“It was relentless for several months. There were people in forums raising money to buy weapons to come and attack my house,” she said.
She said the crippling effect of post-traumatic stress disorder had also left her struggling to work at times and experiencing “terrible nightmares.”
Calling for greater state protections, Mr Corrigan added: “When journalists are under attack, press freedom is under attack. The state must create a safe environment where journalists can work freely and report without fear of reprisals. It is currently failing to do so.”
BBC hasn't removed Gerry Adams defamation article - and won't say if it plans to take it down
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, June 3rd, 2025
CONTINUED ACCESS TO ONLINE REPORT IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND REPUBLIC MAY HINT THAT AN APPEAL OVER RULING IS LIKELY
The BBC has refused to comment on why its report at the heart of Gerry Adams' libel victory last week remains online unamended days after a jury ruled it defamatory.
On Friday, the former Sinn Fein president comprehensively defeated the BBC in Dublin's High Court in relation to allegations broadcast by Spotlight in 2016 in which a former informer within the IRA alleged that Adams had a role in the murder of another informer, Denis Donaldson.
The programme, in common with most television programmes, dropped off the BBC iPlayer after a year, meaning that long ago it ceased to be accessible to the public.
However, an accompanying article which summarised the allegation about Mr Adams remains online.
Yesterday, the Belfast Telegraph was able to access the article — which has the headline “Gerry Adams 'sanctioned Denis Donaldson killing'” — in both Belfast and Dublin.
No reference to court case
There is no addition to the article to state that it has been the subject of a court ruling or a hyperlink to the BBC's extensive coverage of Mr Adams' victory.
We asked the BBC why that was the case and whether it plans to keep the article online indefinitely. A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster had nothing further to say about the situation “at this stage”.
Some current and former senior BBC journalists yesterday privately expressed surprise that the article remained online unamended, as did a libel lawyer.
One former BBC journalist said that “the BBC can get very bureaucratic” and it could be that there is a delay in adding a message to the article due to debate between the BBC and its lawyers as to how that should be worded.
Some sources speculated that the decision may indicate that the BBC plans to appeal the decision.
Such an appeal could only focus on points of law and the actions of the trial judge, Mr Justice Owens, in his decisions to prevent several witnesses giving evidence, and the way in which he directed the jury.
The Irish Independent's legal affairs editor, Shane Phelan, who covered the trial, told Good Morning Ulster he had “no doubt there will be an appeal”. Roger Mosely, a former head of news at the BBC, told the same programme that “it's worth saying that it is a court in Dublin which decided that; a court in the UK might have decided differently…it is not necessarily defamatory in the UK, or at least has not been proven yet in the UK to be defamatory”.
Mr Mosely said that in his time in the BBC they always examined their journalism to seek to ensure that it met UK law, but there was now an “extra jeopardy” if the corporation was being held liable by a court outside the UK, whether in Ireland, France or somewhere else.
He said the possibility of geoblocking some programmes to restrict them to a UK audience “may be an option”.
The case was raised briefly in the Assembly yesterday, with DUP MLA Brian Kingston telling the chamber: “The ruling has not, and will not, change Gerry Adams' past, and nor should it change the views of anyone in Northern Ireland about him. We all know the truth.”
He went on: “Nothing has changed about the vast number of reports detailing his role in the Provisional IRA up to and including his membership of the IRA army council. Gerry Adams has never challenged those claims in court.”
However, the North Belfast MLA said the BBC also had “significant questions to answer about how it found itself in a situation whereby allegations were insufficiently evidenced, leading to licence fee money needing to be spent on damages and legal costs”.
Sinn Fein Finance Minister John O'Dowd said he welcomed Mr Adams' victory, in which the jury awarded him €100,000 (£84,000)
Following the jury's decision, Mr Adams said his case had been about “putting manners” on the BBC, remarks which the National Union of Journalists described as “chilling”.
However, Mr O'Dowd said the BBC reaction to the case indicated it was “unwilling to learn lessons”. Speaking on the BBC, he said: “Gerry has been successful in his case and I think the BBC have lessons to learn, and they should instead of the knee-jerk reaction that we've heard thus far from them. I think they should take a time of reflection and reflect on that court judgment.”
Victims family hurt by their treatment
Meanwhile, the solicitor for Denis Donaldson's family said they had been hurt by how the case unfolded.
Enda McGarrity told RTE that the veteran republican's family had been initially “ambivalent” as to the outcome of the case.
He said: “The case was seen as a sideshow in that the family was aware it wasn't the type of case which would assist them in their long and tortuous search for answers and accountability.
“But of course as the trial played out it became difficult to ignore and retraumatising in many ways.”
Traders whose premises were sacked in race riots offered £4,000
Andrew Black, Belfast Telegraph, June 3rd, 2025
BELFAST SHOP OWNERS TELL OF THEIR SHOCK AT 'DEEPLY INSULTING' FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The owners of two businesses destroyed during racist rioting in Belfast last summer have hit out at a “deeply insulting” offer of £4,000 in financial support from the council.
Bash Café owner Mohammed Idris and business partners Mohammed Bashir and Abdelkader Al Alloush, who run Sham Supermarket, have been waiting for almost 10 months for Belfast City Council's promised “programme of financial assistance”.
Both firms, based in the Sandy Row, were targeted following an anti-immigration protest at City Hall on August 3 last year.
In a joint statement, the three traders expressed their shock at being offered such a small amount of money after a lengthy wait.
“[The council] promised a programme of financial assistance to help us restart our businesses and we were so thankful and hopeful about the future,” they said.
“But it has taken them nearly 10 months to decide anything and now we get this offer, which is grossly unfair and deeply insulting after everything we have been through.”
Only help was from ordinary people of Belfast
Mr Bashir added: “The people of Belfast came to our aid immediately after we were attacked. They took money from their own pockets to help all the businesses, not just us.
“It was a lifeline for us after we lost everything. We are only asking for the politicians and officers at Belfast City Council to live up to their promises and do the same.
“We have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds and all we want to do is start our businesses and contribute to our community once more.”
Sham Supermarket was completely burnt out following a third attack on the premises within a four-year period.
It sustained more than £250,000 worth of damage with insurance companies refusing to cover it.
It was the second time that a business owned by Mr Bashir was attacked after his previous shop, Bash Technology in Sandy Row, was destroyed in 2023.
Local residents helped to raise over £140,000 to support the businesses and the council agreed to establish a “programme of financial assistance for the business owners who were impacted by racist criminal attacks”.
On August 7 last year, distraught proprietors met with councillors, MLAs and even Secretary of State Hilary Benn who gave them assurances of financial support.
Mr Benn said he was “deeply shocked and angered” after hearing from the affected traders targeted by the “rampaging disorder”.
A series of meetings took place in the ensuing months.
But the business owners didn't hear anything until April this year when they were contacted by the council and offered just £4,000 each.
Scheme to help businesses affected by Railway station row offered up to £5,000
Elsewhere, a scheme was launched by the Department for Communities in February to support businesses impacted by the construction of Grand Central Station and subsequent reduction in footfall at its old location. The maximum funding available through that initiative was £5,000.
Mr Idris, Mr Bashir and Mr Al Alloush said they feel “so let down” by the council and are now being assisted by human rights organisation Participation and Practice of Rights.
Its director, Chloe Trew, said that while the council has “offered some signposting, advice and support, it's clear that they have been dragging their feet over providing the financial assistance which they promised in the wake of the violence”.
“We are now nearly a year on and the businesses have only just received this frankly derisory financial offer,” she added.
“I think most people will be appalled that those who have paid the highest price for the actions of some violent racists have been treated in this manner by council officers and elected representatives, especially after all their warm words, which appear to have amounted to little more than hot air.”
Councillors set £4,000 limit
A spokesperson for the council said: “In April 2025, elected members agreed to provide a small grant towards business recovery and promotion to those traders impacted by the disorder.
“In making this decision, the committee noted the wider schemes available to assist businesses and the support provided by council to impacted businesses in that regard since August 2024.
“This has included providing legal support to help the businesses to access compensation funds via the Department for Justice and the Criminal Compensation Scheme, through which a number of applications are understood to be progressing.
“Businesses have also been supported to access our Vacant to Vibrant funding, with one business using support from this scheme to open new premises in Belfast city centre earlier this year.
“The committee also noted the importance of ensuring any direct financial support from council does not prejudice any alternatives available to traders.
“The limit for the small grants agreed by elected members is £4,000.
“Work has been progressed to finalise details of these grants to enable them to be paid as quickly as possible to impacted businesses.”
Ombudsman has 40 complaints of ‘police predatory behaviour’
Rebecca Black, Irish News, June 3rd, 2025
THE Police Ombudsman has received 40 reports alleging “police predatory behaviour”, Stormont has heard.
Justice Minister Naomi Long said Marie Anderson’s office receives around eight such complaints a year, and has not indicated that the number is increasing, but that there is a “steady flow”.
Mrs Long was speaking during questions for her department.
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker put to her that a recent Criminal Justice Inspection report noted that as of July 2024, the ombudsman had 19 active investigations of abuse of position for sexual purposes.
He asked whether the minister intended to introduce a “more comprehensive vetting process and a code of conduct”.
Police employmernt issues not a matter for Justice Department
Mrs Long said the employment of police officers and vetting is not a matter for her department.
She said: “However, when you look to this report, abuse of position, concerns and complaints, there are recommendations on how justice organisations should address matters and the timeframes within which they should do so.
“The PSNI, Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland and Public Prosecution Service all have responsibilities in addressing the abuse of position that referenced.
“Given that those organisations are operationally independent from me as justice minister and my department, I can’t comment on progress of the recommendations, however I do agree that it is important that robust and effective processes are in place to ensure accountability and safe guarding.
“Given the vulnerability of some of the people in contact with police, it is important that we have absolute confidence that those individuals involved in that unethical behaviour do not draw other ethical officers into disrepute.”
Asked by Ulster Unionist MLA Alan Chambers for the number of cases of abuse of position for sexual purposes that have been investigated in the last 12 months, compared to the previous 12 months, Mrs Long said she would not have access to that information directly.
“However, since 2021, the Police Ombudsman has advised me that they have received around 40 complaints of what they described as police predatory behaviour, and say that they continue to receive an average of eight cases per year,” she said.
“So they have not suggested that that has significantly increased but there has certainly been a steady flow.”
PSNI defends hiring practices
Conor Shiels, Irish News, June 3rd, 2025
THE PSNI has defended its recruitment record after The Irish News revealed that just one in five new officers come from a Catholic background.
Of 1,377 officers recruited between 2020 and the end of March this year, 76.3% came from a Protestant background and 21.6% from a Catholic background.
Senior PSNI officials are standing over their efforts. Assistant Chief Officer Clare Duffield, head of people and organisational development, said the service is “committed to being representative of the community we serve”.
“Policing is a career that makes a difference to our society and as such we seek to recruit talented, dedicated people from all backgrounds and walks of life,” she said.
The most recent campaign recruited just 93 officers in the period until the end of March.
“Throughout the recruitment campaign, in addition to advertising across traditional social and digital media, we also held a number of outreach and engagement events across Northern Ireland to meet and interact with people who wanted to know about a career in policing,” Ms Duffield said.
“We are particularly focused on our engagement with schools and further education colleges through facilitating district work experience programmes, interview workshop skills and attending a range of careers events supported by our minority support associations.”
The reasons for low Catholic recruitment appear to be varied with the Police Federation citing the dissident republican threat.
However, others suggest society has simply not truly healed since the Good Friday Agreement.
‘Truth is we never healed’
East Belfast councillor Brian Smyth told The Irish News: “Regardless of police numbers, the truth is we’ve never healed. We never had a proper truth and reconciliation process after 1998, and we should have.
“I would say it’s a political failure that we never had a peace process. We’ve had a political one but we’ve never invested in peace.
“Our past still lingers very heavily and many of those old ideas are still there. And it’s hard to get beyond that. We’re still dealing with our legacy every day. Victims feel like they haven’t had justice. And that’s whether its the victims of republican violence, or victims of the British state or loyalist violence.
“So I think if we’re serious here, it goes beyond police recruitment.
“We have never truly dealt with our past. And it’s still here.”
Why Northern Ireland’s ‘inclusive’ politics is still excluding too many
A RECENT piece on Slugger O’Toole[website] laid bare the deep flaws in how appointments to public bodies are handled in Northern Ireland. It rightly criticised the opaque, politicised structures that still dominate post-conflict governance. But while attention to that ‘ugly scaffolding’ is long overdue, it’s only part of a wider problem: power in Northern Ireland is no longer monopolised by one tradition – it’s being carved up by two.
In the early days of the peace process, the idea of ‘a seat at the table’ was a powerful symbol. For too long, governance here had been the preserve of a single identity. Power-sharing was meant to open that table to everyone. Yet more than 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, we find ourselves in a different kind of exclusion – one that speaks not of domination, but of duopoly.
“ Northern Ireland was meant to move beyond rule by one bloc. But a two-party system that excludes the rest is not much of an improvement
Today, it’s the DUP and Sinn Féin who decide who sits at the table. They now exercise disproportionate control over public boards, commissions and institutions. This isn’t the inclusive democracy that was promised. It’s just a new version of the old problem.
This isn’t representative government. It’s gate-keeping dressed up as power-sharing.
Representation in a divided society about more than political arithmetic
Of course, representation matters in a divided society. But true inclusion is about more than political arithmetic. It’s about building systems that reward ability. If we want to raise standards, improve services and restore public faith in our institutions, we need to open these roles to genuine competition – where community leaders, professionals and independent voices are given a fair chance to serve.
Northern Ireland has no shortage of talent. What we lack is access. The processes that govern public appointments are overdue for reform. The Executive’s commitment to ‘Reform and Transformation of Public Services’ must begin with breaking the grip of closed party control.
That means clear, published criteria for appointments. It means oversight by an independent commissioner for public appointments – whose office, shamefully, has been left vacant for years. And it means ending the practice of allowing party officers to fill public roles without scrutiny.
The Nolan principles of public life – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership – were not designed to be optional. But unless the structures that support them are rebuilt, they’ll remain just words on a page.
Northern Ireland was meant to move beyond rule by one bloc. But a two-party system that excludes the rest is not much of an improvement. Real democracy doesn’t stop at a shared table – it depends on who’s invited to sit there.
EUGENE REID Ballymena, Co Antrim
Letters Page Irish News
O’Dowd: Britain is in ‘solution-finding’ mode on Casement
David Young, Irish News, June 3rd, 2025
THE UK government is in “solution-finding mode” when it comes to achieving the redevelopment of Casement Park, Stormont’s finance minister has said.
John O’Dowd delivered the upbeat assessment on the future of the troubled Casement project after a meeting with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones in London to discuss next week’s Spending Review outcome.
The government has indicated that the review’s publication will be the juncture when it confirms whether or not it will make a financial contribution to help deliver the stalled plans to redevelop the derelict Gaelic games venue in west Belfast.
Plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium remain mired in uncertainty because of a major funding gap of around £150 million.
“I think I had a constructive meeting with the Treasury today and we covered the aspects of Casement Park and how important it is that Casement Park is delivered,” Mr O’Dowd told reporters in London.
Next move is London’s
“It’s now time for the British government to announce theirs.
“So, I think, in fairness to the Treasury, I am of the view that they’re now in solution-finding mode. If they continue in that mode, then I believe we can have a successful outcome to this.”
Earlier, Stormont’s sports minister said the GAA would need to make its plans for Casement Park more affordable if the UK government failed to cover the £150m gap for the proposed rebuild.
Stormont ministers committed £62.5m to Casement in 2011, as part of a strategy to revamp it along with football’s Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill.
While the two other Belfast -based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement was delayed for several years because of legal challenges by local residents. The estimated build cost spiralled in the interim.
With planning approval finally granted four years ago, the project, now estimated to cost around £270m, has latterly been held up over a dispute over funding.
In September last year, the UK government ended hopes that the west Belfast venue would host Euro 2028 soccer games when it said it would not bridge the funding gap to deliver the reconstruction in time.
In addition to the £62.5m committed by Stormont, the Irish government has offered roughly £42m while the GAA has pledged to contribute at least £15m.
While the UK government has said it will decide if it will make a contribution to the build costs following the UK-wide spending review, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has made clear that even if the Treasury does divert money to the project, the sum will not alone bridge the funding blackhole.
‘I want more money for sports infrastructure’ - Lyons
DUP minister Mr Lyons, who has oversight for the project at Stormont, has rejected claims he is not prioritising the rebuild.
He was asked about the prospect of a funding injection from the UK government as he spoke to reporters at Parliament Buildings in Belfast yesterday.
“I’ve made it very, very clear as sports minister, I want to see more money for sports infrastructure in Northern Ireland,” the minister said.
“But what we do need to make sure is that any additional public funding that comes forward for sport is done on a fair and equitable basis.
“I think we had a fair and equitable basis for the funding of sport back in 2011 when the funding for Windsor and for Ravenhill and Casement was set out.
“I welcome additional funding for sport, but it should be done on a fair and on an equitable basis.”
The minister was asked what would happen if the government did not make a significant contribution.
“Well, ultimately, that’s up for the GAA to lead on,” he said.
“It is their project. As far as I’m concerned, a commitment was made of £62.5m by the executive. As I’ve said from the start, that commitment still stands. But, as I’ve said before… if you don’t get the money that you’re always looking for, you have to look at how you can make things more affordable.
“I think it’s incumbent upon the GAA to look at the plans that are in place and say is this something that they are able to afford, and, if it is not, how do they change those plans to make it something that is more affordable.”
I bear Sinn Féin no ill will insists Gildernew
Gildernew: ‘How could I have any rancour towards the people who gave me such opportunities?’
First major interview by ex-MP since party let her go after three decades
John Manley. Political Correspondent, Irish News, June 2nd, 2025
MICHELLE Gildernew says she is embracing a new chapter in her life and bears no ill-will to Sinn Féin after being let go by the party she served for three decades.
In the former Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP’s first media interview since it emerged that her contract of employment has not been renewed, she speaks fondly of her time in politics and of fresh challenges ahead.
The 55-year-old grandmother, who served as an abstentionist Westminster representative for more than 20 years and was among the first batch of MLAs elected to the assembly in 1998, has hinted at a role in the media but is also open to job offers from the agri-food sector where the farmer’s daughter believes she could apply the skills honed during her four-year tenure as agriculture minister.
Ms Gildernew also speaks about the challenges of caring for her husband Jimmy, who, having suffered a stroke two years ago at the age of 52, had to learn to walk again and still cannot communicate verbally.
“How could I have any rancour towards the people who gave me such great opportunities?” she says of the party which last month decided to remove her from its payroll after 30 years.
“One door has closed but another one is opening and I just want to see what else I can do.”
Ms Gildernew doesn’t believe the circumstances that last year saw her stand down from her Westminster role to run for election to the European Parliament were in any way contrived to pave the way for Pat Cullen’s surprise candidacy in the general election.
“I looked on it as the opportunity I needed to do something a little bit different, a new challenge,” she says of her unsuccessful bid to be an MEP. “I didn’t work out but that’s the risk you take in politics.”
Ms Gildernew recalls returning from the European election count in Castlebar with around four weeks to go in the Westminster campaign:
“I got stuck in straight away to the Fermanagh-South Tyrone canvas, and for Pat – I was really determined that she would win that seat.
“I’m completely committed to the people of Fermanagh-South Tyrone so it was important to me that we got somebody of her calibre and somebody with integrity to replace me. I wanted her to win, and win well.”
Mrs Cullen, the former chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, won the seat with a majority of more than 4,500, the largest winning margin in the constituency for 20 years.
In the aftermath of the election, Sinn Féin deployed the ex-union boss’s predecessor in the Republic, where she was helping prepare candidates for last November’s Dáil election.
Part of SF’s Internal Governance Review Team
In her last paid role for Sinn Féin, of which she remains a member, Ms Gildernew was part of the team conducting the internal governance review ordered in the aftermath of last year’s safeguarding scandals on either side of the border. While it was reported that the decision to end the former MP and MLA’s contract was linked to the outcome of the review, Sinn Féin insists it had “no remit in regard to employment contracts”.
“Sinn Féin has been good to me, and they’ve given me loads of opportunities,” she says.
“The more I think about it, the more I’m just very grateful for the opportunities I got, for the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met. I’ve made great friends, not just in Sinn Féin but across the island and around the world. I’ve been so lucky.”
One personal highlight, she says, was at age 27 being part of the Sinn Féin delegation that was invited to Downing Street in 1997. A decade later, she was doing her “dream job” as the executive’s agriculture and rural development minister.
Recalling times when she didn’t see eye-to-eye with the leadership, such as when she defended Sean Quinn, only for Mary Lou McDonald to say the businessman was engaged in illegal business practices, she says: “If you had a party that didn’t have differences of opinion, you wouldn’t have a party, you’d have a cult.
“So, yes, there were times when I might have had a point of view that wasn’t universally shared, but that’s a healthy political party.”
On the next chapter in her life, Ms Gildernew is guarded in terms of a new media role she’s been earmarked for but she’s clearly upbeat about the future.
“I have a few other opportunities, including in the media that I can’t talk about right now, so I’ve had offers and am ready for a new chapter,” she says.
“I’m 55, with tons of energy, and I’ve got a great family network around me.”
She also insists that despite her caring responsibilities for her husband, she still has enthusiasm for a career outside of politics.
“Jimmy’s stroke was life altering, not life ending and he knows that I need to be busy, so he’s very content at home,” she says.
“Remember, I was prepared to go to Europe a year ago with Jimmy in the condition that he’s in, so it won’t be holding me back.”
DUP councillors walk-out in Newry over transgender Irish language 'imposed' for toilet use
By Philip Bradfield, Belfast News Letter, June 3rd, 2025
DUP councillors have walked out from Newry Mourne and Down District Council - claiming that Irish language signs are being unilaterally enforced on some ratepayers against their wishes - and that they have been blocked from raising the issues of biological men using women's toilets.
The concerns were raised in a statement today issued by councillors Callum Bowsie, Glyn Hanna, Jonathan Jackson, Alan Lewis and Henry Reilly.
“The DUP took the regrettable decision to withdraw from the council meeting this evening (Monday) due to the continued disrespect towards the DUP and those we represent, namely forcing through Irish signage without the consent of unionists and refusing to allow the DUP to debate important issues in full council meetings," they said.
The News Letter has repeatedly reported concerns from local ratepayers and councillors about Irish language signs being erected in their areas against their wishes in the borough.
Walk Out
DUP councillors have walked out from a council meeting - claiming that Irish language signs are being unilaterally enforced on some ratepayers against their wishes - and that they have been blocked from raising the issues of biological men using women's toilets.
The Newry offices of Newry Mourne and Down District Council. DUP councillors have walked out from a council meeting - claiming that Irish language signs are being unilaterally enforced on some ratepayers against their wishes - and that they have been blocked from raising the issues of biological men using women's toilets.
"Firstly, in relation to bilingual town gateway signage, we have expressed our concerns with the council installing Irish leading signage in towns where the vast majority of residents do not identify with or use the Irish language.
"In 2023, the council consulted District Electoral Area (DEA) Forums and yet despite not all DEAs in the council area voting for bilingual gateway signs, this has been completely ignored."
They said they have engaged in the debate on such signs in good faith through the council’s Equality and Good Relations Reference Group (EGRRG for six years).
EGRRG not a statutory Group
However, after 12 meetings on this topic they said that "majority rule" by Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance has resulted in them "systematically" imposing Irish signage in every town throughout the district without any regard for the wishes of those communities.
This, they said, goes against the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Given that EGRRG is a non-statutory meeting group, they now believe they are wasting their time with it and are withdrawing from it until further notice.
They also referred to the recent Supreme Court ruling that women are defined by biological sex and not chosen gender identity.
The councillor said it was "disappointing that such an important and current issue was not allowed to be discussed in an open council meeting because it was deemed to be ‘controversial’ and must instead be discussed at the Good Relations group".
"While our motion was denied a public debate, moments later a controversial motion from Sinn Fein which has nothing to do with this council regarding Irish presidential elections being extended to Northern Ireland was allowed to be fully debated during the same full council meeting.
"This is the disparity shown towards unionists on only one evening and doesn’t even scratch the surface of what our party has had to endure in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council for many years. The inequality towards unionists is a persistent problem and must end.”
The council, Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance have all been invited to comment.
Victims son urges Gerry Adams to donate his BBC damages to a IRA victims' charity
By Philip Bradfield, Belfast News Letter, June 3rd, 2025
A southern Irish man whose prison officer father was murdered by the IRA has urged Gerry Adams to give the €100,000 damages he won from the BBC to charity,
The former Sinn Fein leader sued the BBC over 2016 reports which he said defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson. Mr Adams denies any involvement in the murder.
On Friday, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in Mr Adams' favour and awarded him €100,000 (£84,000) in damages.
Austin Stack's father, Brian, was the chief prison officer at Portlaoise Prison when he was shot by the IRA in 1983, dying 18 months later.
Mr Stack, his brother and Mr Adams met a senior republican with knowledge of the murder in 2013.
In the aftermath, Mr Adams said he handed over names of four suspects provided by Mr Stack to gardai. However, Mr Stack firmly denied giving any names to Mr Adams.
Speaking in the wake of last week's trial, he urged Mr Adams to give his damages to charity.
“I would ask that he gives the money from the trial to a charity which looks after victims of the IRA in the Republic of Ireland,” he told the News Letter.
Still has questions to answer
He still has questions he would like Mr Adams to answer.
“Why did he say that I gave him names of those alleged to have questions to answer in relation to my Dad’s murder – when I didn't?” he asked.
“And why did he tell myself and my brother that we would be kept on the southern side of the border when we went to meet the IRA – but later claimed in the Dail that we went to south Armagh?”
Mr Stack also asked why Mr Adams would not take all the information he has in relation to his father's murder to the Garda.
“Mr Adams claimed that he asked his friend, who we met, to carry out an investigation in relation to the murder.
“The investigator had to report back to him and indicated to us that he had met with those responsible.
“So will Adams also give the name of this IRA man to the Garda?”
Civil service chief used chauffeur-driven car while ministers used public transport
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, June 3rd, 2025
The Head of the Civil Service was driven around in a private car at St Patrick’s Day events in Washington at taxpayers’ expense, while two Stormont ministers used taxis and public transport, the News Letter can reveal.
The move by Jayne Brady – whose job is to serve ministers – has again raised eyebrows at Stormont, amid concern about her judgement and the remit of her role leading the civil service (NICS).
It is unclear why Ms Brady did not travel with the deputy First Minister and officials from her own Executive Office department, who also had a private car for the trip, given that she is her chief policy adviser.
The civil service said transport arrangements on trips to the USA “are always organised” by the NI Bureau (part of the civil service) and are “in line with NICS policy”.
Jayne Brady's attendance at a Pride parade has led to concern within elements of the civil service about the organisation's impartiality.
Jayne Brady's attendance at a Pride parade has led to concern within elements of the civil service about the organisation's impartiality.
The story comes on the heels of other controversies involving Northern Ireland’s top civil servant – including increased staffing in her office and her decision to remove the Executive’s top communications chief without informing the first and deputy first ministers.
It is understood she had clashed with Chris McNabb on a number of issues, including the role of the Head of the Civil Service (HOCS) and civil service impartiality.
Ms Brady’s use of a private car and driver – which appears to have only been for her use – stands in contrast to the arrangements in place for DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons and UUP health minister Mike Nesbitt.
Mr Lyons’s department said that during the Washington visit “the Minister walked, used public transport, taxis or shared transport.” The department of health said Mr Nesbitt and his officials used the Uber taxi service, public transport and where possible walked between locations. “They did not have nor use a private car or driver”, an official said.
The deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly had a private vehicle, in which her officials also travelled. Stormont sources say this is common practice for the first ministers when they are representing the province abroad. Michelle O’Neill did not attend the Washington events this year in protest at President Donald Trump’s stance on the Israel – Hamas conflict.
Made a number of trips to US
Ms Brady has made a number of trips to the United States. In March 2023, she travelled to promote the the NICS 'Our Giant Ambition' policy in the absence of an Executive. That policy caused tensions with unionists given it extolled the benefits of “dual market access” under the Irish Sea border – an arrangement which had caused the collapse of the institutions.
The News Letter asked HOCS if she disputed that she travelled between engagements in a private car – and that this car was used by herself, and not for any other civil service staff. We also asked how this was appropriate for a civil servant, who is there to serve the Executive and could have travelled with her minister, what was achieved by her visit that could not have been achieved by elected ministers.
A NICS spokesperson said: “Transport arrangements in the USA for the Head of the NI Civil Service are always organised by the NI Bureau. That was the case during the recent St Patrick’s Day events. All transport arrangements are in line with NICS policy.”
A spokesperson for TEO said: “The NI Bureau arranged a vehicle to transport the deputy First Minister, Special Adviser, PPS, press officer, photographer, and on occasion the Director of the Bureau to events in Washington.”
Prior to Ms Brady’s tenure, HOCS operated as the permanent secretary to the Executive Office (TEO). However, the department now has a permanent secretary of its own, currently David Malcolm, who is also the accounting officer.
After Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill failed to agree on the appointment of a new HOCS in 2020, the decision was taken to split the role of HOCS from that of the permanent secretary. Ms Brady’s role is to oversee strategy and Executive priorities – while Mr Malcolm will take the lead on reforming NICS and on Executive Office policy.
Kneecap confirmed for Glastonbury but allocated smaller stage
By Iain Gray, Belfast News Letter, June 3rd, 2025
Kneecap have been confirmed for a slot at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, despite calls for them to be axed amid a storm of controversy that’s engulfed the group.
The trio are set to play the West Holts Stage in a mid-afternoon slot on the second day of the festival, it was stated in a full release of Glastonbury’s line-up this morning (3rd) – sparking the possibility of the BBC giving national airtime to their performance.
The Belfast rap act have already been cut from high-profile appearances at festivals in the UK and Europe, and one of their number is currently facing terror charges after video emerged of him shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” on stage while wrapped in a Hezbollah flag.
Other video footage showing what appeared to be a member of the group shouting “the only good Tory is a dead Tory, kill your local MP” was roundly criticised by politicians, and led to calls from both Labour and Tory MPs for their Glastonbury set to be axed.
But the festival this morning confirmed they’re to take the West Holts Stage at 4pm on Saturday, June 28.
Specialising in hip-hop, soul, R&B and reggae, West Holts is the third-largest stage in the massive festival, holding around 30,000 people – roughly a quarter of the capacity of its main Pyramid Stage.
Although they’re far from headliners, Kneecap’s slot is a substantial promotion on their appearance at last year’s festival when they played the same stage first thing on Saturday morning.
It also opens the possibility of their set making TV coverage of this year’s Glastonbury.
But could make TV networks
Last year, Kneecap didn’t feature in the BBC’s broadcast or streaming coverage of the festival – to the consternation of their fuming fans in Northern Ireland, many of whom alleged a conspiracy to silence the republican rappers.
In fact, the band were simply in too early a slot; the BBC normally doesn’t show any of the groups that play in the morning or early afternoon, meaning they never stood a chance of making it to the nation’s screens.
But a 4pm appearance could be a different story, and the public service broadcaster does plan to cover the West Holts Stage.
A BBC spokeswoman said: “Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our broadcast output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”
Last week the group were axed from a planned slot at Glasgow’s prestigious TRNSMT Festival, which followed them losing appearances at two high-profile festivals in Germany as well as an event at Cornwall’s Eden Project. A headline slot at London’s Wide Awake Festival went ahead.
In May, Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh was charged under the name Liam O’Hanna by the Metropolitan Police with a terror offence over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig in November last year. The band are now selling T-shirts referencing the case calling for him to be “free”.
The group, also made up of Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, have apologised to the families of two murdered British politicians over the “kill your local MP” clip, but insisted the video has been “exploited and weaponised”. They also said they have “never supported” banned organisation Hezbollah.
