08/02/2017 BBC Newsline

even at lower levels of light dusting to come as well. Winter not

over yet. A ground-breaking victory for a

Northern Ireland woman over the pension rights of unmarried couples.

I know Lenny will be looking down on me and saying well done Denise.

the renewable heat scandal - the Attorney-General says he may

challenge the entire legality of the scheme.

A woman abused as a child by her brother tells us

why she's finally decided to speak out:

I had my wee girl and I remember looking into her eyes and saying if

anything happened to you I will protect you with all my life.

The inquest into the death of James Fenton hears conflicting

medical evidence about his care at a mental health unit.

The woman scammed out of thousands of pounds

by a man using a fake Northern Ireland identity.

And another chilly one tonight though not as frosty.

A Northern Ireland woman has won a landmark legal case over

the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector.

Denise Brewster from Coleraine was denied payments from her late

partner's occupational pension after he died seven years ago.

Denise Brewster had lived with her partner

In the early hours of Boxing Day 2009, Lenny died suddenly, aged 43 -

just two days after the couple had become engaged.

Mr McMullan had paid into a pension scheme for 15 years

But Denise was denied a survivor's pension as the couple

were cohabiting and not married - but she didn't give up.

This is what Lenny did want. We planned for our future, we planned

for our death, we plan to grow old to gather and I think this case was

about fighting for us and fighting for what we were to each other.

The Local Government Pension scheme that Mr McMullan paid into allowed

a surviving partner to be paid a pension in certain circumstances.

One of those circumstances was that Mr McMullan would have filled in

a nomination form indicating that Denise was to receive

his pension if he died - but there was no trace of this form

Denise argued against this and today the Supreme Court in London

We decided that no justification for the interference was shown and

therefore refusing this pension was unlawful discrimination. She is

entitled to receive her pension and the nomination requirement should no

longer apply. I was fighting for our relationship. As it went on you

realise you are fighting for other families who have also been wrongly

treated through these flawed pension schemes and I think when you know in

your gut and your heart that you are making the right decision you have

to just go with it and I know Lenny will be looking down on me and

saying, well done, Denise. Denise Brewster will now

receive her partner's pension and her lawyers say today's judgment

will have significant implications for millions of cohabitees

in relation to pension benefits. The Attorney General has said he may

take a case which challenges the legality of the entire

Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. John Larkin QC made

the dramatic intervention Our agriculture and environment

correspondent Conor Macauley So this is the Executive's top legal

adviser potentially challenging the ministers he advises over this

flawed energy scheme. Yes, it seems a little strange on

the face of it. John Larkin's role is to advise on complex legal issues

before the Executive. He turned up at the court where RHI boiler owners

are challenging changes to their payments that were approved by the

Assembly last month. They say the policy didn't have executive

approval which they claim it should have had because of the controversy,

so if something is controversial and cuts across ministries it is meant

to have executive approval. At this point Mr Larkin said he was

considering taking a case himself against the Department for the

economy on the basis that the original 2012 scheme had not been

brought to the Executive for that kind of approval.

What might the implications of all this be?

If he takes the case and wins it, it could mean the entire scheme would

be deemed unlawful. The question is where that leaves us and nobody is

sure what the outworking of that might be, but we are some way of

that yet. He said today he was contemplating this, not that he was

formally taking it, but you think if you went to the trouble of getting

down to the Royal Courts of Justice to make this intervention, he is

giving it serious consideration. When might we know

what he has decided? It could be a matter of weeks. We

heard that the case today with the boiler owners is listed for two days

in March and if Mr Larkin takes a case, that will be heard at the same

time. A South Armagh woman who was abused

by her brother from the age of nine has waived her right to anonymity

to encourage other people who've Her abuser, Gavin Paul Ferguson

from Forkhill, was given a two-year Linda gets a hug from her

three-year-old daughter. Her own childhood

was initially happy. Linda was fostered and then adopted

when she was 14 months old. I remember being this wee half

Indian baby with big brown eyes and I was put into Little Miss

competitions and I won them all and then I suppose that childhood was

short lived and everybody from the outside thought I was the happiest

girl with this big beautiful smile and deep down it wasn't the case.

From the age of nine she was abused by her brother,

It happened for a few years. I never told anybody and that is my biggest

regret in life, never sharing that with anybody. The abuse continued

and then I met my partner and he asked me one day if something

happened and I told him. A life-changing event

was the key to her reporting I had my wee girl and something

changed, I remember looking into her eyes and thinking, if anyone ever

hurt you, I will protect you with all my life and I suppose that is

the reason I went forward because my daughter gave me the courage and

it's the best thing I ever did. I will thank some day when she reads

the paper for watches this back, it's because of her.

Linda has waived her right to anonymity to encourage others

who are being abused to come forward.

I knew that my face and my name would be out there about being this

victim or survivor of sexual abuse but I felt it was so important

because to move on for me and for other women and men and two river

has been a victim of abuse to feel brave to come forward. Messages of

support are a comfort to Linda, whose adoptive family has sided with

the abuser. The last couple of years have been tough and I am so thankful

to my partner and my kids and my partner's family because they have

stuck by me and that's what they family is, and I have my wee family

now. Details of organisations offering

information and support with sexual abuse are available

at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free at any time

to hear recorded information The inquest into the death

of a 22-year-old man who was found in the grounds

of the Ulster Hospital has heard conflicting evidence

about the way he was cared for. James Fenton's body lay undiscovered

for ten weeks after he climbed over the fence of a mental

health unit in July 2010. How was 22-year-old James Fenton

cared for at the Ulster Hospital? And how was he able to leave

the smoking area The inquest heard that

Professor Seena Fazel of Oxford University wrote a report

suggesting the South Eastern Trust's He thought James should have been

diagnosed as clinically depressed, and put on a high state

of observation so he was always accompanied -

and probably could Professor Fazel gives

evidence tomorrow. But two other senior

psychiatrists giving evidence Dr Neta Chada from the nearby

Southern Trust agreed with the diagnosis made

by the junior doctor who spoke with James

at length, and with the level Another psychiatrist

had the same opinion. That was the South Eastern Trust's

own Director of Mental Health, But he went on to describe

Ward 27 at the Ulster, and the eight attempts by patients

to leave it via the smoking area in the year before

James' disappearance. Dr Quigley agreed that

Ward 27 is Dr Chada called the smoking

area "grim" and "not appropriate at all",

but added, "We're not building In fact, it's five years

since the Trust presented the Department of Health

with a business case for a much But then, it's almost seven years

since James went missing, and his family still knows neither

the cause nor Still to come on BBC

Newsline: Still tearing up the fairway

at the age of 86 - the City of Derry golfer

with plenty of drive. A woman from Germany has been

scammed out of more than ?100,000 after she was duped into paying

the money to a man from It's prompted a warning

from the head of a UK-wide trading standards scam team for people

here to be vigilant This woman has come to Belfast

from Munich on a mission. She's looking for a man

she met on the internet But there were more

than heartstrings attached He claimed he needed

a life-saving operation - I need my money back for my car,

my home, everything. Some people might think

you were very naive to send that amount of money to someone

you have never met. Pissama says she thought she'd get

the money back and was given a contract drawn up by a law firm

based here on Belfast's But the law company named

on the document doesn't exist. There is nothing here except a

restaurant and a cafe. I've also been to the house

in Newtownabbey where she was told the man lived but no-one there has

ever heard of a man calling She saw a photograph of man

on an internet dating site She then received scores

of photographs of this man The person then claimed

he was a widower and asks for a loan to finance a "life-saving

operation" in Dubai. She obliges, sends the money

to locations abroad, So who is this man

in the photographs? We managed to track him down

to a small town in Missouri His images were copied from Facebook

without his knowledge and then used by the scammers.

The photos were on Facebook but they were of my life.

I was probably a victim for two reasons.

One, I have children and that story probably helped supplement

And also my Facebook settings, as far as security was concerned,

Today the head of the UK's Trading Standards anti-scam team

warned romance scams are on the increase.

Lots of people fall victim to romance scams.

There was an increase in reporting this year of people reporting

romance scams, with more men reporting it but we find that is

only the tip of the iceberg because not many people report it, so this

is a very common scam. The PSNI confirmed that a woman

reported an international scam Sources say a report has been

made to German police, The Irish Ambassador to the UK has

admitted it will be impossible to monitor all the border

crossings after Brexit. Dan Mulhall was giving evidence

to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster,

which is investigating the future of the border

after the UK leaves the EU. So how many roads now cross

the border and how might they Our political correspondent Enda

McClafferty has been finding out. It may not look like much but this

line in the road is set to dominate Brexit negotiations in Brussels

for the next two years. That's because this will soon

be the new frontier And make no mistake about it -

the big challenge will be controlling the movement of people

across this line. Hundreds of border roads

which were blocked and bombed by the Army during the Troubles

and closed for decades They were all reopened

in the early '90s. If they think for one moment what it

will cost to try and police this quarter, its mission impossible. It

would cost billions. Donald Trump's wall will go up easier.

The border runs for 300 miles and during the Troubles

No wonder the Irish Ambasssador to the UK made this

It is simply not possible, even if someone wanted to, the effort

involved, I just don't think it is remotely possible to think in terms

of having a border that would really control every movement of goods and

people. This man spent 40 years

as a customs officer He's in no doubt of the task now

facing his former colleagues. I've been told that there were three

uniformed customs officers left in Donegal. That will not be

satisfactory in the future and people talk about putting cameras on

roads, how long do you think a camera would last around some of the

border roads? I reckon 15 minutes after dark there will be no more

camera. He lives on the border and believes

we are being fed propaganda. I think we're getting a bit ahead of

ourselves. We haven't actually told the European Unions were leaving

yet. We haven't a clue what we will be doing and there is all this

scaremongering which I don't think is helpful to anybody.

It took a big effort to re-open the border but the next obstacle

post-Brexit may not be as easy to clear.

A High Court judge is considering a case brought against

the Northern Ireland Executive over its failure to adopt

Supporters of the language protested outside the court this morning

as the Judicial Review got under way.

A High Court action is being brought by the Irish-language group Conradh

na Gaeilge over what it claims is the Northern Ireland

Executive's failure to adopt an Irish-language strategy.

Supporters argue that this was agreed at St Andrews

in 2006 and included in the programme for government.

The court was told that more than ten years later there's

still no strategy in place for the Irish language

Only once during that time has the minister responsible

at the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure placed a strategy

before the Executive committee and that was rejected.

A lawyer for the Executive stressed that between 2012 and and 2016

there had been a detailed process of drafting and consultation

involving active engagement, although he agreed there had been

It will be helpful what happens today in court, we were very taken

that the judge looked at the main point that this has been dragging on

for nearly ten years with no strategy agreed by the Executive and

that is what they are legally obliged to do, so we are confident

that he took that on board. The government's lawyer denied there had

been any inertia or sham process by the Executive. The legal

representatives for the Irish language group countered that the

Executive had a duty to adopt and not just debate that strategy. The

judge, Mr Justice Maguire, reserved his judgment as he wanted to

consider all the points put before him.

A European arrest warrant has been obtained for a suspect in the murder

of David Black. Damian McLauchlan from Ardboe in County Tyrone was due

to stand trial this month but fled while on bail. He was facing charges

including aiding and abetting in the murder of the prison officer, who

was shot while on his way to work in 2012.

The Prime Minister says she's sure whatever is necessary will be done

to ensure the findings of the Historical Abuse Inquiry

Theresa May spoke out during Prime Minister's Questions

after she was asked by the Ulster Unionist MP

Tom Elliott if the inquiry would be implemented if

I encourage all parties to work very hard to ensure that.

I do not want the benefits of progress to be undone,

but I am sure, looking ahead, that whatever is necessary will be

done to ensure that the findings of the report are taken into account

But in the case of one popular Londonderry golfer

Keiron Tourish reports on a man leaving those half his age

86-year-old Bert Whoriskey took up golf 40 years ago

and it's one of the best decisions he's ever made.

He's still winning competitions with impressive results

and says it's all down to a positive attitude.

I never tire of the game. If you look at the game, I can hope

tomorrow to beat what I'd have done today, so it's a challenge all the

time, it's a challenge every day. There's great admiration

of Bert Whoriskey at his club. Bert is an inspiration to us all. At

his age to be out playing golf is amazing and to be able to play like

he plays, all of us could learn something. He's a great inspiration

and an example for us. As he strides the fairways, Bert

Whoriskey offered his take on life. Never worry because Rory doesn't

help anything, it doesn't cure anything, it's the same tomorrow as

it was before so don't worry. Bert says his advice to anyone would be

to get off the couch and get active. He says the golf course is his

little piece of paradise and he always wants to get out here.

Funnily enough, he says the wife agrees.

Wise words! What a man. Cecilia is here. Good weather for golfing? It

was today, the skies and sunshine, not much breeze and I saw that

gentleman didn't have a coat on and so isn't too worried about the cold.

A clear start to the night at clear skies last night led to frosty and

slippery weather. This playground looks completely white, my car was

like an ice box this morning and temperatures felt 2-5 at

Katesbridge last night, so tonight, although it will be dry and clear to

begin with it will not be as frosty, we have a little cloud edging in

from the west, it should stay dry and we also have a breeze picking up

from the east so it will not be as camp but there could be on pockets

of frost through the night and first thing tomorrow but it will not be as

frosty or slippery as this morning and it will feel cold tomorrow

because of the breeze from the South East. To begin with temperatures in

most places a little above freezing, old spots of frost here and there,

it will be dry, not as clear and sunny but sunshine here and there

and that sets us up for the day, largely dry but feeling cold in a

bitter breeze from the south-east, some sunshine but also areas of

cloud and temperatures slightly lower. With breaks arriving at times

they will continue on and off tomorrow night so it will be cold

with frost, maybe one or two wintry flurries which could lead to some

ice on Friday morning and that cold weather continues. Today we saw

temperatures up to seven or eight, by Friday we will have a breeze with

one or two flurries so-called but not a lot of rain, it looks like it

will stay mostly dry through the weekend, continue to be cold and

although mostly dry, hot flurries here and there. Saturday looks like

a bit of sunshine from time to time, most places dry, cold in the breeze

at a day for getting out and walking but be careful because there will be

some frost at night time and the morning which could mean slippery

conditions, but with the breeze picking up we will not have to worry

too much about fog. I'll be back with the late news at 10:30pm.

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