08/02/2017 BBC Newsline

Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

A woman from Coleraine has won a landmark legal case over

the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector.

Denise Brewster was denied payments from her late partner's pension

After today's ruling, she will now receive that money.

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.

We planned for our future, we planned for our death,

we planned to grow old together 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

that therefore refusing this pension was unlawful discrimination.

We say she is entitled to receive her pension and

the nomination requirement should no longer apply.

As it went on, you realise you're 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're making the right decision, you have to just go with it

and I know Lenny will be looking down on me and saying,

The Attorney General has said he may take a case which challenges

the legality of the entire Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme.

John Larkin told a judge he is reflecting on whether to bring

the case against the Department for the Economy about a failure

to put the non-domestic scheme before the full Executive

His intervention came as boiler owners cleared the first stage

in their High Court challenge to ensure lucrative payments

A South Armagh woman who was abused by her brother has waived her right

to anonymity to encourage other people in the same

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, Little Miss Forkhill,

Little Miss Slieve Gullion, and I won them all and then

I suppose that childhood was short lived and everybody from the outside

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

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's the reason I went forward, because my daughter gave me

the courage to do it, and it's the best thing I ever did.

I will thank her some day when she reads the paper

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

to move on for me and for other women and men and whoever has been

a victim of abuse to feel brave to come forward.

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

for my partner and my kids and my partner's family because

they've stuck by me and that's what a family is,

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

But then, it's almost seven years since James went missing,

and his family still knows neither the cause nor

228 candidates will contest the Assembly election next month -

Only 90 will be returned to Stormont compared to

Voters with the largest number of candidates to choose from

are in West Tyrone, East Londonderry and East Antrim.

The constituency with the fewest is Newry and Armagh.

A European Arrest Warrant has been issued for a suspect charged

in connection with the murder of David Black.

The prison officer was killed on his way to work in

40-year-old Damien Joseph McLaughlin, from Kilmascally Road

near Ardboe in County Tyrone, was due to stand trial this month

Gorgeous day today, blue skies, sunshine and light winds. We will

still have clear skies for a while tonight but the breeze will pick up

where some cloud from the West so it will not be as cold but it will stay

mostly dry, tomorrow morning any frost will be more patchy so not as

sharp but it will feel cold due to this south-easterly breeze and there

will not be as much sunshine tomorrow with large areas of cloud

at times. And icy start across the East of Britain with some sleet and

snow flurries over eastern Scotland and North East England, perhaps as

far as East Anglia and London. Further west it's dry with some

brightness across Northern Ireland and the Republic, temperatures

tomorrow afternoon down onto Dave and it will feel cold in the breeze

but there will still be a bit brightness and it will be mostly

dry. The drive but cold weather continues into Friday, still that

cold breeze and temperatures not much higher than three or four so

it's getting colder, quite a lot of cloud on Friday will make it cold as

well. The dry cold weather continues into the weekend, one or two wintry

flurries but most places stayed dry and there will be a little sunshine

from time to time but also some frost.

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