02/06/2016 BBC Newsline

growth. Join me now on and 11 in Scotland.

The Health Minister has lifted the ban on gay

and bisexual men giving blood, just eight days after

Her predecessors - all DUP ministers -

But Michelle O'Neill said her decision to remove

it was based on sound scientific evidence.

Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly reports.

With her feet barely under the ministerial table,

The speed of reversing the ban took many by surprise.

The evidence has been there for some time.

I looked at the evidence I had in front of me.

It is a positive story, I think it is the right decision we

My priority is obviously patient safety, and I have used the

scientific evidence available to me, which has allowed me to meet a

decision and the Executive have endorsed it.

The reaction from those at the centre of the story was

It feels like another barrier towards equality has been addressed,

and we now know the Assembly can deliver for LGBT people.

This is the first move by our Assembly to

address the inequalities, and this is something we very

The ban was put in place across the UK during the AIDS

But the ban was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in 2011.

In Northern Ireland, however, the health ministers

insisted it remain in place, on the grounds of patient

That prompted protests from the LGBT community, who said keeping

A gay man took further action by launching a

judicial review challenging the decision.

That led to a lengthy, and complicated and expensive court

battle, where at one point a judge ruled

that the decision not to change the policy was irrational and

A judge said the matter should be taken out of Northern

Ireland's hand and resolved by the Health Secretary.

The Appeal Court ruled that there should be time to review

They also said there was no basis to conclude

that the original decision was predetermined by Christian values.

The decision comes into effect from the 1st of September.

As in England, to donate blood, gay men will have to

have abstained from having sex for one year.

The only survivor of the Kingsmills massacre has been reunited -

for the first time in 40 years - with the man who found him,

Gerry McKeown said a prayer for Alan Black and his murdered

workmates, holding him until medical help arrived.

The last time these two men were side-by-side,

they were right at the centre of a story of almost

Alan Black on the right was badly injured when shot

Gerry McKeown was one of the first on the scene.

He held Alan and said a prayer for him.

Both men suffered chilling flashbacks, but the

overriding memory for Gerry is of Alan's selflessness, and for Alan,

We spoke about something this morning, about when I visited

him in hospital, I said, hello, Alan, and what did you say?

I couldn't see who had said it, but I

I recognised his voice, because he brought

such comfort to me on the side of that road.

Saying prayers over me, it brought me such comfort.

He described seeing a local farmer gathering up what he

believed to be spent bullet casings immediately

after the attack, yet in

40 years, no police officer has ever spoken to him about this,

something he finds difficult to understand.

Today Arlene Foster met some families who were concerned

that the recent reopening of the criminal investigation could have an

They were reassured this is something that would not be

The evidence that prompted that new investigation was

uncovered when a forensic officer on a tea break saw coverage of the

inquest and asked to re-run tests on a palm print,

The High Street retailer BHS has gone into liquidation threatening

200 jobs here and thousands across the UK.

Stores in Belfast, Holywood, Newtownabbey and Lisburn

The liquidation comes after the company went

into administration in April but efforts to find a buyer failed.

This is the biggest High Street collapse

The administrators blame seismic shifts in the retail

It's understood all 163 stores will remain open for closing-down

The actor and comedian Eddie Izzard was in Belfast tonight

he spoke on behalf of his 'Stand Up for Europe' campaign.

He's set to visit 31 cities in 31 days across the UK.

Tonight's debate also included the DUP MP Sammy Wilson who spoke

The pair clashed on a number of issues including borders,

Emigration is a factor and people do get worried about it but if we

change it, if we pull out we will go into recession and you worry about

jobs. You would have even less opportunities. Immigration is the

thing we need to control but I do not think Brexit is going to make

the big difference. One of the things angers me about this debate

is the scare stories pushed around that somehow or other, if we leave

the EU, we will not be able to cross the Channel to go to France,

Germany, Spain. Just as people can cross the Atlantic to America and we

do not have a union with them, we can still cross the Channel to go

And Eddie Izzard and Sammy Wilson are both guests on The View which is

The Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister has visited the site of the Battle

After laying a wreath to the dead of the 36th

Ulster Division Martin McGuinness admitted he was out

From France here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.

It was from these trenches that men of the 36th Ulster Division went

Martin McGuinness was brought to see the front line and paid his respects

at the tower that serves as their memorial close by.

Martin McGuinness will see this as another

symbolic step on the road to reconciliation,

but he will know that for some it is too much and for

I am out of my comfort zone here today, but that is

I think if you are a leader you have to lead from the

front and do what you think is right.

The memorial to the fallen the 16th Irish division much less

imposing, although the sacrifice was just the same.

Next month a major commemoration will mark the

centenary of the awful events which occurred here,

but Martin McGuinness feared his presence would stop some

A number of them said publicly that that was too much

for them, that was a journey to far for them.

They said if I was to be there, they could not go.

I am not going to be responsible for anybody

who wishes to go to the Somme to commemorate an event that is of

I am not going to be the person responsible

One of the organisers backs his decision

It is understandable why some people might feel aggrieved

by the Deputy First Minister coming on the first of July.

I think it is important he has come today.

He has realised the significance of what the 1st of July is to people.

More centenaries lie ahead, threatening comfort zones on all

Six off-duty police officers have been arrested after a fight outside

It happened in the early hours of yesterday morning -

Our north-east reporter Sara Girvin reports

A fight in this area of Portstewart is now

Following the brawl at around 1am on Wednesday, eight

Six of them were off-duty police officers.

The other two were foreign nationals.

Three people were taken to hospital and treated

for what are described as minor injuries.

All eight of those arrested have now been released on bail.

The PSNI are now investigating if there was a hate crime

They've asked anyone who may have witnessed it to come forward.

Police have also launched an internal investigation.

That will be led by the PSNI's discipline branch.

The PSNI say their officers must act professionally,

ethically and with the greatest integrity at all times.

They say anything that falls below that standard is not acceptable.

On BBC Newsline tomorrow we're continuing our EU referendum

coverage and our Agriculture and Environment correspondent

Conor Macauley has been taking the temperature of farmers

In Co Down he met a crop farmer who loves big machines and believes

passionately that we'd be better off outside the EU.

But his daughter who helps run the family business

remember that farming used to be something we were proud of. You

would be proud of your daughter marrying a farmer but now that is

the last person you would want her to marry. I remember visiting the

War graves in Europe for World War I and I really believe that we need

the six countries to stop War and we have not had a water since then.

That's coming up on BBC Newsline tomorrow at 6.30.

Now let's get the weather forecast with Cecilia

Good evening. It's been another fantastic day. Once again

temperatures have been in the low 20s. Fermanagh and to loan have been

the hot spots. Temperatures are currently dropping away tonight. It

can still get down to low values at night. If you're up early tomorrow

morning, there will be some mist and fall in river valleys. It will not

last long. The sun is up so early the mist will burn off quickly. We

have quite light winds tomorrow so it will feel warm quickly as well.

Another glorious day in the Republic of Ireland, temperatures in the low

20s, probably the lowest -- the warmest place. Also sentient --

sunshine in south-west Scotland. Much cloudier over central and

eastern regions of Britain. Temperatures likely to be at their

highest in the south-west tomorrow, up to 20 degrees. Probably warmer up

towards the north coast. Saturday, some cloud around and one or two

showers but it will brighten up as the day goes on and it is still

warm. Sunny skies returned on Sunday. It looks like they will

continue into the beginning of next week as well. Have a great evening.

Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25 in the morning

You can also keep updated with News Online.