05/09/2014 BBC Newsline


05/09/2014

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Good evening, and welcome to BBC Newsline.

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Northern Ireland's most senior judge says comments made by

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Health Minister Edwin Poots about a court ruling on gay men

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giving blood were "detrimental to the rule of law and unacceptable".

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Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan outlined his concerns

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in a letter to the First and Deputy First Ministers eight months ago,

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Here's our home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney.

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A judge ruled last November that a decision by Edwin Poots to ban gay

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men from giving blood in Northern Ireland was irrational.

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The Health Minister strongly criticised the ruling

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and questioned the merits of lodging an appeal against it.

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Do I believe I would get fairness in the Court of Appeal forward there be

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a circling the wagons? I would be concerned that may not be the case.

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That prompted the Lord Chief Justice to write a strongly worded letter to

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the First and Deputy First Ministers asking for assurances that

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Sir Declan Morgan gave a copy of that letter to the BBC.

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Describing the comments as detrimental to the rule of law

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in Northern Ireland, he said it was entirely unacceptable for the

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minister to suggest that the Court of Appeal is biased or unfair.

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He goes on to say the statement by Edwin Poots was not only untrue but

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also damaging to public confidence in the administration of justice,

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The Lord Chief Justice referred to the letter in a speech today marking

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In January this year, I wrote to the First and Deputy First Ministers

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about ministerial comments which I consider to be damaging to the rule

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of law and requested an assurance that there would be no repetition.

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I received an acknowledgement on the 22nd of January indicating

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that my correspondence was under consideration, but as yet I have had

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This is an unfortunate and fairly isolated incident but it is not a

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He said Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness had reached

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He said Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness had breached

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an agreement that the judiciary would be independent

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of government and immune to any partisan or political interest.

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I have made a conscious effort to engage in a positive way with

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the Executive and I have no wish to become embroiled in an unhelpful

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debate but I would be failing in my duty if I had not written to the

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ministers to express concern over a lack of political regard

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for independent judicial decision-making.

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His audience included the chairman of the Justice Committee,

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a close colleague of Edwin Poots, and the Justice Minister.

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The judiciary should not get too precious about their status.

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They are fundamentally important to the rule of law in Northern Ireland,

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Politicians ultimately our lawmakers, which digitally fatback

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the judiciary then need to enforce to the courts, so politicians have a

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role to play in establishing the framework.

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In a statement, the Department of Health had publicly stated that

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this was a matter for the fairness and impartiality of the courts.

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Having expressed concerns over whether he would get a fair hearing,

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he is appealing against the decision.

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-- against the Dutch's November ruling. -- the judge's ruling.

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A third person from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of

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manslaughter over the death of man in a shipping container in Essex.

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The dead man was one of 35 people from Afghanistan,

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including 15 children, discovered locked inside a container

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The 47-year-old suspect, who is from Dungannon, was arrested

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by Merseyside Police earlier today at Liverpool Ferry Port.

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The Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers,

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has called on Sinn Fein and the SDLP to stop blocking welfare reform, and

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for the DUP to stop blocking talks on flags, parades and the past.

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In a speech tonight in Oxford, Ms Villiers said that deadlock

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and dysfunction in the Stormont Executive was now

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a real possibility if the parties did not act and grip the situation.

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She warned that some of the costs of blocking welfare reform were

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eye-watering, and there could be no extra money from central Government.

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The police have announced a zero-tolerance crackdown

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on a range of motoring offences following a rise in road deaths.

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Officers have been instructed to immediately issue tickets for

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speeding, seatbelt offences and for using a mobile phone while driving.

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No more second chances, no more softly-softly.

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The police say they have a zero tolerance policy on the roads.

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If you are caught speeding, using a mobile phone or not having a

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seatbelt on, you will get a ticket, a ?60 fine and three points.

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We don't want to catch you speeding but I would rather give you a ticket

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than knock on your family's dot to tell you that like to tell them you

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have been killed in an accident. Behind every incident

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on the roads is a human story. For legal reasons this man's

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identity cannot be revealed, but he wants his story to be heard

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about what happened to his teenage He was a front seat passenger in the

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car and had horrendous injuries. He was not recognisable

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as our son because his head had swollen probably three

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times the size of a normal head. What sticks in my mind is

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his young brother and sister. They were lying across his bed

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crying and crying and pleading to are not concentrating when they

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are driving and it has to stop. It is not the first campaign against

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motorists using mobile phones while The question is,

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will it make any difference? Some drivers say they have

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already got the message. When I was on the phone,

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my mind was not there. So I was very lucky, I could have

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crashed many times on the phone, so I never do it now. No mobile phone.

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You have learnt your lesson? Yes, and I live to

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The police are hoping that other drivers have got the message too.

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A 21-year-old man has been jailed for five years for having guns

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Nathan Hastings, from Stradowen Drive in Strathfoyle, seen here

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at a previous court appearance, was caught with the weapons during an

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A pipe bomb, firearms and ammunition were found inside a bag

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He pleaded guilty to all charges at Belfast Crown Court.

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A lawyer described Hastings as a "foot soldier"

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Hundreds of boxing fans turned up at the weigh-in in Belfast today

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ahead of Carl Frampton's world title fight tomorrow.

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Loud cheers greeted the challenger as he entered the Ulster Hall.

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Around 16,000 fans are expected at the specially-built arena at

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Both Frampton and the current IBF Super Bantamweight Champion,

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Kiko Martinez, made the weight comfortably,

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The Belfast fighter already thinks he's got the upper hand.

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He was trying to act calm. I've got him already. Tell us about the

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atmosphere here, in front of 1000 people turning up to see you. At

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least. Most fighters couldn't get this to their fight so very humble,

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everyone who came here today will be in for a treat tomorrow.

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Now, with the weekend weather, here's Barra Best.

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We had unsettled end of the week. The wet weather cleared away to

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relieve a dry but chilly night, especially where skies clear in the

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countryside, temperatures could dip into low single figures. Most other

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places should stay up to 8 degrees. A cold start to the weekend but

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overall not bad, dry weather and decent spells of sunshine. A cold

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start to Saturday, one or two shower were towards the north coast at most

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other places will stay dry with sunshine. Unsettled weather from

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Northern areas of England, Wales and Scotland, in between to and bright

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weather, still warm towards the south-east of England. Across

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Ireland, a dry day. Cloud will come and go, as will sunshine with

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temperatures reaching the high teens in places. For Northern Ireland

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tomorrow afternoon, cooler towards the north coast, 15 or 16 degrees

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further south and it will stay dry if you are heading to the boxing in

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Belfast tomorrow evening. It will be a dry day on Sunday, a little cloud,

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20 bright and sunny weather. Fresh towards the north coast. Higher

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temperatures dip further south you are. Looking ahead, nothing will

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change, 20 of dry weather in the forecast. Follow us on Twitter if

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you can. And that it for now. Thank you for watching.

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