28/06/2011 BBC Newsline

Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor and Noel

Thompson. The headlines this Tuesday

evening:- He took his life with prescription

drugs bought on the internet - now a BBC investigation shuts down the

website which sold them to him. A body is exhumed in the search for

one of the Disappeared. I am thankful I had the opportunity

I was able to be with my son when he died.

A man is jailed for shooting his baby son so hard his -- he was

brain-damaged. A thing ever describe what happened

to that child. A man's jailed for shaking his baby

son so hard that he's been left blind and brain damaged.

President Mary McAleese visits both sides of the east Belfast interface,

the scene of last week's riots. And there may be a rumble of

thunder somewhere this evening, however the outlook is looking much

quieter. It's reported that the removal of

body from a graveyard in County Monaghan may be linked to the

search for one of the Disappeared. The graveyard is next to a church

in the border village of Scotstown. Our District Journalist Julian

Fowler is there. Julian, what more can you tell us?

The authorities received information that there was a body

in a marked grave in this graveyard which contains another body, are

the remains were interred. The information came from a Fermanagh

priest who said when they came to prepare a plot from burial it was

discovered that there was already a set of remains in a shallow grave

in the ground. It is understood the burial went ahead and the coffin

for the burial was placed on top of the coffin that was already there.

Nobody knows whose body was in that shallow grave. The police today

came to the graveyard and exhumed that grave and the body was removed.

Obviously a delicate and sensitive task and the body was taken away in

a hearse. We do not you know yet whose body

that is but there is speculation that it may be the body of Columba

McVeigh, one of the Disappeared? That's right. Extensive searches

take place in bog land just eight miles from this graveyard. Ever

since 2003. Columba McVeigh was 17, from County Tyrone, and he was

abducted and murdered by the irate in October 1975. His mother

maintained a high profile campaign to try and get information as to

where her son's body was located. Despite years of searching, those

remains have yet to be found. She passed away in 2007. Columba

McVeigh was one of nine people who were abducted and murdered by the

IRA and whose bodies were secretly buried.

A BBC Newsline investigation into buying medical drugs online has led

to the closure of a site based in Egypt. The investigation was

prompted by the death of a 26-year- old County down man with Aspergers.

Mathew Davidson used the internet to buy drugs that he could only get

in this country with a prescription and took an overdose. The body

which controls the use of medicines says it's pursuing the Egyptian

doctor who sold the tablets. In this exclusive, Our Health

Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly has this report.

That is a lovely one of him in his school uniform. Parents reminiscing

over happier times. The family, originally from South Africa, came

here in 2004. It was only then, when Matthew was 19, but he was

diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism. He was everything to me.

I loved him more than anything else in the world. Matthew had been

receiving help -- help from a psychologist. When the treatment

stopped he became depressed and tried to take his life using

tablets prescribed to have this condition. When that failed, he

turned to the internet and got from a. From a website in Egypt. It is

an extremely strong medication which cannot be obtained in the UK

without a prescription. In Egypt, or you need is a credit card.

pupils were dilated and he was in a,. Eventually, we moved him...

Into a sitting position. I just think I'm really thankful that I

had the opportunity to be with him when he died. The family want to

highlight what they describe as a major failing in legislation.

Internet companies registered outside the UK can sell and deliver

medicine to addresses in the UK, medicine which normally requires a

prescription when used to. In correspondence seen by the BBC,

Matthew at no time was asked by the alleged doctorate to complete a

health questionnaire. Instead, he was asked for a credit card details

and advised that cash was accepted on delivery. Three days later at

the package was delivered to his door. I want to see real change. I

want to see open and transparent efforts in ending this kind of

practice and freedom, and some kind of protocol put in place where

responsibility is on the provider to ensure the medication is going

to be used in a responsible way. The BBC has to track down the

internet company in Egypt which sent the drugs. We have attempted

to contact the alleged doctor, but no one has returned our e-mails. We

brought this information to the regulator in London. They informed

us this website is already known to them. In a statement, the head of

Mid Davidsons have written to 10 Downing Street and his Secretary of

State for Help -- help. Mr Cameron talks about the big

society. They should be talking about the most vulnerable in

society. Magee Davidson's post-mortem

concluded he was a poisoned by tram a doll. His family say they will

continue their campaign. And Marie-Louise stays with us for

our next story. The Health Minister has apologised for serious

deficiencies in the care of dental patients who were recalled by the

Belfast Health Trust in February. In a statement to the Assembly this

afternoon, Edwin Poots said patients had been let down.

Reminders of the background to the story. On February for last year,

after being contacted by the BBC, the Belfast Health and Social Care

Trust confirmed they were recalling a number of patients who had

attended the Royal's Dental Hospital. They said they were

concerned about their welfare. Over the next couple of weeks, we were

drip-fed information. It emerged that two years previously, the

trust had launched an inquiry into around 3,000 dental records. They

were concerned about 22 patients, four of which had died from cancer,

three from oral cancer. The recall followed a review of the work

carried out by one dentist. He denies any wrongdoing and is

employed by the trust. An inquiry was launched. This afternoon, the

Health Minister apologised for what he said had been serious

deficiencies in the quality of care. City is my first priority and the

findings of this report are sure that patients were let down. There

were serious deficiencies in the quality of care provided to

patients which may have had an adverse impact on health of some. I

like to apologise to those affected for the serious failings in the

care they received through the oral medicine services provided by the

Dental Hospital and Belfast Trust. The minister said this report made

sober reading with 45 recommendations? It is a lengthy

report. Among the recommendations, a call for greater openness,

transparency, also a better method of keeping records of patients. The

report also highlights an excessive workload of consultants involved in

the hospital and all of that, and a lot more which we do not have time

to get into, needs tackled. One and the next step? What has been

demonstrated by the Health Minister, greater openness and transparency,

something he has been doing. Also, a climate of when something goes

wrong, we are told about it and most importantly, patients are

informed as quickly as possible. A man has been sentenced to four

years in jail for shaking his baby son and causing him permanent brain

damage. The child has also been left blind and can only respond to

noise as a result of the abuse. In his summing up, the judge told 27-

year-old Robert John Anderson from County Derry that He had shown an

apparent lack of remorse for his crime, that he had caused

catastrophic injuries to a defenceless child. He told the

father, it was your duty to seek help, but you failed. Our North

West reporter Keiron Tourish has been talking to a relative of the

injured boy. A four-month-old needing care and

protection. Instead of that, the infant at the centre of the case

suffered horrendous injuries and at the hands of the very man who

should have been his defender. In December, 2008, the baby was shaken

so violently that he is now permanently blind, brain-damaged

and can only respond to noise. He has modelled on disability and

mobility problems. A relative of the child, whose identity we cannot

reveal, says his life remains in a daily struggle. He is blind. He

can't walk, he can't talk. He can't even start a bottle. He just sits

there all day listening to his music. He is such a happy wee chap,

a lovely wee boy. Heartbreaking isn't the word. Nothing will ever

describe what happened to that child. A leading children's charity

says the case has provoked great concern, especially given the

serious nature of the industries -- injuries. It is a tragic case. The

injuries are consistent with shaken baby syndrome. It comes down to the

damage which can Oakworth in the brain when a child is shaken

violently, from movement of rain in the skull. The child is permanently

blind, been damaged and will have problems with mobility. He will

need a long-term care package. relative says his life has changed

for ever. He will require constant care for as long as he lives.

just have to live with it and give him all my love and care that we

can. He is a very special boy, and he is beautiful. For a wee thing.

In another case in Derry, the parents of two toddlers have been

jailed for child cruelty after they were found locked in a filthy room.

The two girls were naked and dirty when police called at their home in

August 2009. Their parents pleaded guilty to child cruelty by neglect.

Jailing the father for nine months and the mother for six, the judge

said tat the two girls were clearly subjected to a period of profound

neglect and emotional abuse He also said the idea of locking children

in a room was cruel, damaging and emotionally dangerous. In

conclusion, he added there was medical evidence that the children

were now severely aggressive towards each other as a result of

You're watching BBC Newsline. Still to come on the programme: Back 40

years for more memories of the festival that was Ulster '71.

Still beating me to living - - the trade of the blacksmith.

President Mary McAleese was in East Belfast today and said last week's

rioting there broke a lot of hearts, but could not break the spirit of

the community. The President visited both sides of the peace

line. Our Political Editor, Mark Devenport, was there for us.

Last week they felt under siege, today people in the Short Strand

was celebrating, greeted by flag- waving children and a local lord

mayor, President Mary McAlees did that - - her best to put last

week's troubles into context. broke hearts for a little while,

but they did not bricks but because you know better than anybody the

effort that has to go into building up this piece. There have been days

of setbacks, and that was a time of setback, but what happens when you

face the setbacks? You do what you did here, you get stuck in again.

The President and her husband talked a woman whose homes were

damaged in the riots. It is a great uplifting to see someone of her

stature coming to see us just after all that had happened. The engine

crossed the peace line to to a 21 million pound regeneration project

being pioneered by the East Belfast mission. Afterwards there was no

doubting the warmth of her reception. Alongside the

politicians and community representatives, the President of

the leading figures - - figures within loyalism. It was unfortunate

will happen at the weekend. It has something that was waiting to

happen. For the President to come to date, just shows you then

nothing will deter her. President talked about the need to

endorse the culture of a pianist and replace it with the culture of

neighbourliness. A Gaelic footballer from Fermanagh

who was injured during a match in the United States is in a critical

condition in hospital. Mark McGovern, from the Belcoo

O'Rahilly's club, was involved in an off the ball incident during a

club game in San Francisco last weekend. He suffered a brain injury

when he clashed with a player from the opposing side and remains in a

coma. His immediate family are currently at his bedside.

Unacceptable and lacking in transparency - that's the view of

inspectors who examined the way criminal justice agencies buy legal

services from barristers and solicitors, at a cost of around

�100 million a year. The inspectors say the system has to change to

improve value for money. Here's our Home Affairs correspondent, Vincent

Kearney. In most walks of life, a customer

paying for a service will ask the person providing it to outline the

cost of the work before they agree to give them the job. Then at the

final bill is higher than expected the service provider will be asked

to justify it and one of us can have they asked for. When it comes

to the criminal justice system, those rules do not apply. That is

the verdict of inspectors who have examined the purchasing of legal

services by the Public Prosecution Service and other organisations

involved in the criminal justice system. A report published today

says many of the organisations are unaware of the cost of the work

they commission and it is completed and this often exceeds original

estimates. I can see no justification as to why the kinds

of disciplines they used to control public expenditure and other

aspects of the public sector do not apply to legal services. When we

look at procurement, you would want to see competitive tendering,

issues around the fees associated with its hands if there has been a

change to the estimate, a discussion. There have been 11

recommendations for changes. This report does not examine the highly

contentious issue of criminal legal aid payments to defence teams. That

is the focus of a report to be published by the Northern Ireland

Audit Office tomorrow. As BBC Newsline revealed in

February, hundreds of prison officers could lose their jobs in

the reform of the Prison Service. The Director General of the Prison

Service, Colin McConnell, has confirmed that up to 500 prison

officers could be made redundant. The news comes after several

reports, the latest last week from Prisoner Ombudsman, which have

called for the service to undergo a high level programme of change.

Details of a staff exit scheme are could be in place by September.

Now to the second of our special reports on Ulster '71, the festival

that took place in Botanic Gardens in Belfast 40 years ago to mark the

Northern Ireland's Golden Jubilee. About 700,000 people visited the

exhibition. Our reporter Julie McCullough looked up a few of them

The Ulster 1971 went on for an entire four months, and despite

what was going on outside it, thousands of people went along to

visit. Tom Carson took this footage when he brought his family and one

of his children love the funfair, it was something else that caught

his eye. The only part of the exhibition that hinted all was not

well and Northern Ireland. I do remember the irony of the tunnel of

he its, which had some very quaint and not very provocative bit of

graffiti on its. You pass through the tunnel of eight and went into a

I young Gloria Hunniford was one of the many acts to perform at the

Festival. Also there was Dixie MacKenzie with the singing group

canticle. In the middle of the site was will recall the bubble, like a

marquee a specially made as a little theatre. It had a very small

platform and held about a hundred people. They put on concerts,

recitals every night during the period of the festival. We sang

four times. For others at the Hallett had to be the jousting

competition, especially for a group of teenagers from the Ormeau Road

who were asked to be page boys and girls. G had to wear tunics and

feathers in your hair. I remember it so well because we get them as

souvenirs. I thought, as a 16-year- old, knights in shining armour or

absolutely brilliant. I also remember they did have a big

marquee were there was a disco. We went in there as teenagers and had

a great time. For most of the teenagers who once the disco and

funfair was what it was all about. For Brian, it was the perfect

opportunity to meet girls. It was great crack. It could have been

anywhere or for any events. At that age as opposed to were not that

interested in the politics of the thing. The fun element was plucking

up the courage to get on the big wheel and hope that you didn't get

stop, because it was a bit rickety. And also seeing if you could chat

up the girls on the dodgems. number of people visiting the

festival dwindled as the summer went on. Attendance peaked in May

at around 85,000. Towards the end and following the introduction of

internment, that figure hit a low of 10,000. In the original

programme the festival organisers said they hoped that Ulster 1971

could live long in the memories of Ulster people and visitors alike.

The trip is this festival has become somewhat forgotten in our

history. Here in Botanic Gardens, what happened, there is not a

single thing to remind people of what took place here 40 years ago.

And that is something that is not surprising to some. I don't have

any memory of its as being special. Not really. It wasn't classy enough

or profound enough. It was cheesy. 40 years on the only physical

reminders of this huge festival are a book on the arts and an anthology

of Bawtry, both edited by Michael Longley, plus these three postage

stamps commissioned by the Government at the time, which makes

you wonder, would there be more of a lasting legacy if there was

another exhibition, perhaps in 10 years' time to mark 100 years of

Northern Ireland? Memories, memories!

There used to be one in every village, they had fearsome

reputations and you could be forgiven for thinking they had all

but disappeared. What are we talking about? Blacksmiths, of

course! If you wanted proof that they have not actually disappeared,

then Monaghan was the place to be this weekend as the Irish

Blacksmith Artists Association played host to craftsmen from

across the globe. Here's our district journalist Gordon Adair.

58 he is indescribable, then there is the noise, the smoke and the

efforts! On paper this does not sound like the most attractive

place to be, but as anyone who visited Monaghan at the weekends,

when you're up close to it there was something deeply seductive and

exciting about being a blacksmith. The smoke and the heat is all part

of it. You can do anything about it, and you have to love it. While at a

glance this lot may seem all muck and muscle, they are some of the

world's greatest blacksmith artists. We have a couple of hundred

blacksmiths working here, so it is mind-blowing. Every country in the

world is represented. You'll never see this again in this country.

This is a one-off events. You might see the light of this again. While

the tourist draw and the artistic value of the Fed was easy to see,

its main purpose was to showcase and local as well as worldwide

talent and to send out the message that being a blacksmith is alive

and well and has a place in modern design. Their inspiration was to

bring awareness do people, architects, interior designers of

this work this will be done in Ireland and you don't have to go to

some outside the country. There are people in the country well capable

of doing this type of work. This is some of the stunning work he was

talking about, bringing an exciting new twist to a very old art.

I like it, I like it! There was good news for Ireland's

Cricket team today. The International Cricket Council

Executive Board have reversed their decision to limit the number of

teams at the next World Cup. They will now keep the 14 team format

for the next competition in 2015. Ireland are currently ranked 10th

in the world and so would hope to be competing in Australia.

Northern Ireland has won two medals today at the Special Olympics World

Summer Games. Joyce Haughian, from Newry, has won silver in the bowls

competition. Steven Yetman, from Donaghadee, who was featured on BBC

Newsline just two weeks ago, has won a bronze medal in the

equestrian dressage competition. It is a remarkable achievement for

Steven as he only started riding Here's the weather with Cecilia

Daly. There was mixed fortunes in a wet

burst today. - - in our weather today. The shower was initially

were in the West, but as you move east later this afternoon and there

has been a flash of lightning to the east of Londonderry and one or

two in the south of Fermanagh. Eventually these it shower will

ease away. It will not be as cold as last night because they will be

some cloud and bits of pieces of rain moving in before morning.

First thing there will be some cloud and dampness, but the day

will be largely bright with the mix of sunshine and showers. The Sun

should be squeezing through the clouds but the time most of us are

up. The shower was will be frequent again in the West's hands along the

north coast. There will be one or two showers are making their way to

the east as well, but some places will enjoy - - will avoid them and

enjoy good sunshine. Overall there was more chance of seeing a sharp

tomorrow before they fade away again to the evening. Things are

looking quieter for the rest of the week. Thursday should see pressure

building, but for most places it will be try through Thursday,

Friday and Saturday. Temperatures will rise as the week goes on.

Finally a reminder of the stories making the headlines. Add body has

been assumed from a graveyard in County Monaghan in a search for one

of the disappeared. After the suicide of this man, an

Newsline investigation has shut down the website that sold the