13/05/2014 BBC Newsline

Good evening. A motorcyclist is in hospital after crashing at the North

West 200 earlier today. The French rider Franck Petricola crashed just

minutes before the first day's practice session was about to end.

Stephen Watson reports from the course.

Franck Petricola was making his debut here at the North West 200 and

after his high-speed crash he was treated at the scene by doctors,

before being transferred by helicopter to the Royal Victoria

Hospital. I'm joined by the race director, Mervyn Whyte. What is the

latest on Franck Petricola's condition? The latest information we

have is his condition is critical. He was airlifted to Royal Victoria

Hospital after the accident. That is the information we have at this

present point in time. Is it fair to say the safety measures you put in

place here saved his life today? Yes, I would say that. He came off

at high speed at Primrose Corner, over 800 miles an hour. He went into

the baleful the side of the track. They are there to prevent major

injuries. Yes, it probably saved his life. We carried out numerous risk

assessments of the corner and as a result with the barriers and fencing

and whatever else is in place there, the protectors, we probably reduced

his injuries. We will continue to bring you all the latest here from

the North West 200 on BBC Newsline. It has emerged that the gun used in

the first fatal shooting by the PSNI more than ten years ago has been

destroyed - ahead of an inquest into the death. The Police Ombudsman's

Office, which returned the gun, accept the handover was a mistake.

Julie McCullough reports. 21 you roll Neal McConville from

County Armagh was shot dead after police pursued the car he was

travelling in near Lisburn in 2003. They had suspected he was carrying a

gun and opened fire, because they were concerned he was about to drive

over an officer, who had already been knocked down. He was shot three

times and came the first person to be killed by the PSNI. And unloaded,

sawn off shotgun, was later recovered from the car. An

investigation by the then Police Ombudsman found the officer who

fired the fatal shots had been justified, but there was some

criticism of senior officers' management of the operation. The gun

used by police in the shooting had been taken away to be forensically

examined, but was returned to them by the Police Ombudsman's Office in

January 2010. The PSNI has confirmed it has since destroyed the weapon.

Lawyers for the dead man's partner are now pressing for further answers

why and how this happened. A spokesperson for the Police

Ombudsman's Office has said they have revised their processes to

ensure such mistakes don't happen again.

A 55-year-old Belfast man has appeared at the Special Criminal

Court in Dublin in relation to the discovery of a car bomb at the

weekend. Samuel Devlin's address was given as the Finnstown Hotel in

Lucan, where the bomb was found. He's charged with membership of an

unlawful organisation, and having explosives. He was remanded in

custody. The former First Minister and Ulster

Unionist leader David Trimble has said he was shocked and hurt that

Tony Blair kept him in the dark about a secret process to deal with

On the Runs. Lord Trimble has told Westminister's Northern Ireland

Affairs Committee that he felt deceived. Vincent Kearney reports.

Hundreds of Republican and loyalist paramilitaries were released early

as part of the Good Friday agreement, signed by David Trimble.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize and worldwide acclaim for his role in

the agreement. But he insists he knew nothing about a secret scheme

that resulted in letters being sent to almost 200 On the Runs, telling

them they were not wanted by questioning for police for offences

committed before the agreement was signed. David Trimble said the first

he knew was when a judge ruled that John Downey would not stand trial

for the murders of four soldiers because he was sent one of the

letters. At no time was any hint dropped to us about the existence of

this scheme. He was asked for his response to not being told. When you

see what has happened and when it was happening and overlay your

involvement in the significant political development of Northern

Ireland at that time, do you feel betrayed by Tony Blair and those

players at that time? I must confess I was quite hurt by the fact that

there we had so many meetings with secretaries of states, speaking to

the Prime Minister, and we approached those meetings in a

candid manner, to find out that they were deliberately keeping something

from us. The committee will travel to Stormont next month, for a

two-day evidence gathering session. They will question First Minister

Peter Robinson, who has described the letters as get out of jail free

cards, and also criticised the government for keeping his party in

the dark. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Justice

Minister David Forde will also give evidence. The committee will also

question the Director of Public Prosecutions, Barra McGrory QC,

about his involvement in the scheme. In his previous role as a

solicitor, Barra McGrory acted on behalf of Sinn Fein and met a senior

police officer in charge of a specialist PSNI team setup to deal

with the On the Runs. They discussed the legal mechanics the process and

his law firm later admitted a significant number of names to the

police during that legal status -- to get the legal status clarified.

The committee is trying to finalise arrangements to take evidence from

Tony Blair, whose government set up the scheme.

Three people have been arrested after police officers seized 4,500

suspected ecstasy tablets in Waringstown. Two men, aged 18 and

56, were detained along with a 39-year-old woman after searches in

Main Street this afternoon. The Princess Royal has helped launch

a plan for a new wood to commemorate the centenary of the start of the

First World War. As our north west reporter Keiron Tourish reports, 53

acres near Glenshane Pass will become one of four memorial woods

across the UK. This is the very picturesque setting

which Princess Anne visited this afternoon. In the next few years

this area will be completely transformed, when tens of thousands

of trees will be planted by the Woodland Trust. That is all part of

the centenary project to mark the First World War. Those trees will be

dedicated to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The Woodland

Trust will plant many of those trees, but the public are being

encouraged to get involved as well. The Woodland Trust very much wants

the public to embrace this whole idea. This can be an area for quiet

reflection and enjoyment. Princess and today met around 80 people,

including some of those volunteers from the trust, who will be taking

part in the project. This is a project that will be repeated on the

other countries across the UK. The significant difference here from

Northern Ireland is that our project in this beautiful valley is an all

Ireland project. It is here to commemorate the lives of all those

40,000 men who lost their lives in the First World War. After her visit

here this afternoon, the Princess Royal left for the day. It is

understood she has another busy round of engagements tomorrow.

Here's Cecilia Daly with a look at what the weather has in store for

the day ahead. Hello, most of the day's showers

have gone, so it should stay dry for the rest of the night. Clear skies

in the east. It could get chilly, especially in the countryside.

Cloudy weather is moving in from the west. The cloud will increase

tomorrow. Maybe some early brightness tomorrow across parts of

County Down, otherwise quite a cloudy morning. Damp weather moving

in from the West to affect many places for a time. Most of the rain

will be fairly light away from the hills and perhaps over Donegal and

into the West of Scotland there will be heavy bursts of rain. This is a

weather front, slowly coming eastwards but weakening. Many parts

of eastern Scotland, England and Wales will be dry and there will be

sunshine with pretty decent temperatures. Up to 90 degrees

across parts of south-east. We could squeeze 16 or 17 Celsius over parts

of Wicklow and Wexford. It will be damp for a while tomorrow afternoon

but the rain moves away. It dries up by the end of the day. A slightly

warmer feel to the day. That will be a theme that continues into

Thursday, with temperatures up to 16 or 17 Celsius. A dry day. Some

dampness tomorrow for the Balmoral show, as it kicks off, but fairly

dry over the next few days. That will be good news as the practice

sessions continue in the north-west. On Thursday, a decent

day everywhere. A risk of rain as we get on to us today, especially in

the Northwest. The next local news is that 6:25am.

That is it from me, good night and take care.