06/11/2012 Spotlight


06/11/2012

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Good evening. David Black was buried today. His republican

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killers were described at the funeral as murderous thugs and

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bloodthirsty criminals. In tonight's programme, we reflect on

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the killing of a special hero who was looking forward to retirement

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after a life a service as a police officer.

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Somebody needs to tell me this strategy because I can't see it,

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and if I can't, how can other people? And we hear how the pain of

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losing and the of one to violence never goes away. You don't get used

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to it. You live with the constant loss and devastation of what that

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is all about, and loneliness. Black was a loving father and

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husband devoted to his elderly parents. He was a hard-working but

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easy-going man. Bruijn in Hollywood looks back on the life and the

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His friends all agree that David Black was a man with a great sense

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of humour, always smiling and ready with a joke. He liked to travel,

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enjoyed rugby and bowling, and was looking forward to spending more

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time with his family. There was the prospect of retirement next year

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after a lifetime in the prison At his funeral today in Cookstown,

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son Kyle paid tribute to the father All that he did was for money, my

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brother and myself. To give us the best start in life that he possibly

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could. What a role-model. He had all the characteristics of a

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perfect daddy. David Black had been a prison officer for three decades,

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his career stretching back to some of the worst times of the Troubles.

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In recent years, he had been based at Maghaberry Prison, just over ten

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miles away from here. At half seven last Thursday morning, as he was

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driving to work along this stretch of the M1 close to Lurgan, his

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killers struck. The shooting has caused deep upset

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in David Black's home town. community are behind the family and

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are very surprised and shocked at this time that we are going back to

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the Troubles. We thought it was over. It is not what we want.

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shocked to be fair. I do know the family. It was a shock because we

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thought those days was over and gone and that everything had moved

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on. A lot of people are disgusted. I know his wife. She was a district

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nurse for my mum and she was a lovely woman. Life is hard enough

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without your loved one and father and husband been wiped away on his

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way to work. David Black had grown up in the Cookstown area. According

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to the Prison Service, his work at Maghaberry would not have brought

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him into close, direct contact with dissident republicans. As such, he

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may not even have considered himself a potential target. Was he

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concerned about his security? never mentioned it. He went about

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talking to people, anybody that he met, both himself and his wife, who

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is very well thought of. The whole family are well thought of in the

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Cookstown area. David just went about talking to people as normal.

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Praise for David Black has come from some unlikely sources. This

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former INLA prisoner recalls the kindness Mr Black showed to him

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while he was inside. No, I don't believe he would ever suspect that

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he would be a target. I don't think he ever thought anybody would hate

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him that way. I don't think he would have thought that he had done

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anything on republicans to have hurt him, I have never heard about

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it from any republican that I know. But these men on not republican.

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What is the feeling among republicans that you know about his

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death? Anger, pure anger, anger, hatred. To claim to do this in our

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name. Stop. David Black's family has stated

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that there should be no retaliation for the murder of the man whose

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killing has shattered their lives. While his funeral was taking place

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in Cookstown, a vigil in his memory was being held at Belfast City Hall.

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Hundreds of people attended, including leading figures from

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loyalism. It is a tragedy. People are definitely trying to take us

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back to the dark old days and the unfortunate thing... We pray that

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the authorities deal with him. Don't get drawn into this what ever

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you do. His killers succeeded in murdering

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David Black, but they failed to extinguish the positive impact he

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had on other people's lives. He was a family man, he enjoyed a joke. He

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always had a smile on his face. I think that is the lasting memory

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that I will have of him. Kate Carroll has some idea of what the

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Blacks are suffering now. Her husband was murdered at as he

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answered a call in Craigavon in 2009. You said that this tragedy

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has brought your own immediate tragedy back in every detail.

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remembered the day the police came to the door to tell me what

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happened. I had heard the news from a friend of mine, and I could see

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all the peoples at there, I was sat in disbelief wondering what had

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happened, how could it have happened, particularly in a time of

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peace. It is not fair at the end of the day that the man wore a uniform

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and because he wore a uniform, the dehumanised him, to shoot him. I

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know what that lady is going through and it is so hard. So it

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very, very hard. And the pain does not ever go away. No. You learn to

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live with it but it never goes away. When things like this happen, it

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stirs up all the feelings and they all come back. Because you know

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what is given to happen. You know how those people will feel, what it

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has done to the families, the devastation. You must have hoped

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that theirs will be the last death. I did with Steve. I thought that

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would be it, it was a one-off and it would never happen again, but

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unfortunately it has happened again and it is devastating news.

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your son, a grown man, has taken it particularly hard. He suffers from

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depression. He has never been the same. It has had a tragic effect on

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him and even on my granddaughters. She comes to my house and she wants

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to know where grand pas has gone and why he left. My some's life is

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in tatters. Two men were convicted for his murder. Is that good for

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you? It was but at the end of the day, there are more about there. It

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has not taken it away. It has less and the pain because I know they

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are in sight. -- inside. But there are more. What message would you

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give? It hasn't helped, what you have done to Steve, it hasn't

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helped what you have done in any way. The message I give to them is,

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for goodness sake, listen to your Peers, realise that men have gone

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to the moon, we can get messages around the world in five seconds

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where it used to be five days. Can we not take our message on board

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that people have lives to live, that people are doing a job? They

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are not targets and it is inhumane to shoot and kill people for no

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reason. We will be talking to the justice minister in a few minutes.

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What do you say? I would ask him to look at the Sanson -- sentencing

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tariffs and prisons. Try to make life a deterrent, do something that

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would be a deterrent to those people, that would stop them from

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hurting anybody else. I know you have left messages for the Black

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family. What message would you give them tonight? To be strong. Not let

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this turn you better. Take something positive act of the

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negativity and move your life on as well as you possibly can. And as

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you are doing with the Steve Carroll Foundation. Exactly. We are

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trying to raise awareness for young Peace builders, to give children a

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way forward, give them a more productive something to do in life

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other than drugs and drink and getting entrenched in all of this

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madness. Thank you very much indeed. The last murder of the prison

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officer was almost 20 years ago but prison staff and their families

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have continued to live closely guarded lives. This report on what

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it is like to live always looking over your shoulder.

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From behind these gates, paramilitaries continue to play

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power games with government. Prisons and politics have always

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been able to rock each other. Last Thursday, Northern Ireland was

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reminded of that in the most brutal way. Since the closure of the Maze,

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loyalist and republican terrorists have been housed in Maghaberry. The

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prison officers' job is to keep them under lock and key, and they

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know that for that, they know their lives are at risk. One prison

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officer who doesn't want to be identified says staff anticipated

:11:28.:11:38.
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This attack on David, I think there is obviously shock and surprise

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that it happened. Unfortunately David, has lost his life because of

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these cowards. Staff have been aware for a number of months, 12 or

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18 months, that an attack is likely. The killing follows the murders two

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years ago of soldiers at Massereene and a police officer in Craigavon.

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Another PSNI member was killed in a Omagh last year. Dissident

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republicans want copy the tactics of their predecessors. If you want

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to be the IRA, you do all the things they did, you shoot police

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officers, members of the security forces, police officers, they are

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trying to be the IRA. David Black's murder is a reminder of the

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sacrifice that prison officers have paid in the past, sacrifices that

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Finlay Spratt do not have not been recognised. There was a. It work

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about 10 prison officers were killed in my year. It that time,

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prison officers in my view would be cannon fodder. News of this latest

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murder has brought back acute and painful memories for her Beryl

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Quigley. Her first husband was murdered by the IRA in 1984. At the

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time, he was assistant governor of the Maze prison. It was a Tuesday

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morning. He was dressed in his best new suit. We said our goodbyes, we

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had hugs and kisses and myself and our little doctor, three and a half,

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we are escorted him out to the car and they were still chatting as he

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walked to the driver's door. They were on him in a matter of seconds

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and the first gunman, he probably ended all of his gun into him, shot

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him in their head and into his heart through his wallet. I had his

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wallet with the bullet mark on it. The price paid by prison officers

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reflects the fact that prisons have often been a key battleground in

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the Republicans so-called armed struggle. Behind these walls, I

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knew power-struggle has been ongoing between prisoners and the

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authorities. Over 30 dissident Republican inmates have been on a

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dirty protest and have been taking part on on of hunger strikes. They

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have been asking for an end to strip searching and demanding the

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introduction of new body scanning machines. They're asking for

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greater freedom of movement. Prison protests can get more sympathy than

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the armed campaign especially if you can present at the prisoners as

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it being badly treated. The protests of that sort only really

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stop when prisoners get control of the wings. That is exactly what

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paramilitary prisoners are appeared to have in the 1980s and 1990s.

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reality is that officers working in the houses in the Maze were message

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boys for the paramilitaries. These people want to get back to the same

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situation where prison officers are the message boys and they are in

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charge. To some officers at least, it seems as though the dissidents

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tactics are working today. They want more. I think because they are

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not getting more, they are slowly but surely turning the ante up and

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a member of staff are -- staff has paid the ultimate price. A another

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officer says the prisoners are wearing down morale. Be seen to be

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bending over for them. It is bending over and the staff have to

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take the consequences. They are expected to work with the walls

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smeared, pace under the doors... You get it in-your-face if you open

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the door. Tension between a prison staff and inmates is highly, with

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both serving and retiring officers worried about their security. Tommy

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is one of those leaving soon. The day after day the Black's murder he

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received a letter saying that he will have to hand back his gun when

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he goes. How will be left without a weapon and have to apply for a

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personal weapon and it will take between his 6 R eight weeks. Prison

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officer market lives with his gun at his side and an attempt on his

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life has left him feeling he needs it more than ever. The sad thing is

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it you're gonna becomes part of you, it is not normal, but we are not in

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a normal society as prison officers. For everyone connected with the

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Prison Service, the latest murder has intensified an enduring sense

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of suffering. You are left with all this grief, all this loss, you do

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not the used to it, you'd love with the constant loss and devastation

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and loneliness. That loss was inflicted by a previous generation

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that has left murder behind, Beryl wants dissident republicans to do

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the same. You need to sit down and top. Surely that is a better way

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forward than trying to start something all over again at that

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did not achieve an awful lot it been as much as killing does under-

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achiever. The question is will the dissident republicans who murdered

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David Black ever believe that? The Justice Minister David Ford

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joins me now. You were at the funeral today, do believe his

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murder was part of this campaign at Maghaberry? Let me say first of all,

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because I have just come from the funeral, that the first thing we

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should do is express our sympathy to the family and his colleagues.

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What we heard of him today amplified what I heard last week,

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of the fine prison officer he was, the care he had for those he had to

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look after, and what he was as a family man. He was spoken about in

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good terms by the prisoners as well. They were prisoners to be there

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when I was there last Friday morning. Let me ask you again, do

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you think his murder is part of the campaign at Maghaberry? I am not

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sure whether those who murdered him needed any excuse about what is

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happening in the prison. It seems that some of them are wedded to a

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struggle rather than any potential outcome. They know it will not make

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any difference other than to cause a grief and worry to families like

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the black family. We know that they have the capacity to carry out

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these random acts of great thoughtlessness, great

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heartlessness, but it will not make any difference. It will not make

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any difference to the political situation or to the peace process

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were to the running of prisons. do you respond to what the prison

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officer said in the films at, that concessions are being made and they

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feel they are bending over backwards for the prisoners and the

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staff have to take the strain of that? I do not except about

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concessions are being made. The staff who have to deal with the

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dissident Republican prisoners have an extraordinarily difficult job to

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do which is being done with extreme professionalism and they are up

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holding the higher standards and there is no doubt that that is

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wearing to them but I do not accept that concessions are being made.

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There was an agreement made in August, 2010 as to how it would be

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managed, that has been broken, broken by a Republican prisoners...

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They say that you Brocket. In it is on the Prison Service website. It

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has been broken up by those who have threatened and now murdered a

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prison officer. They believe it has been relied upon by her office.

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Caral Ni Chuilin is wrong. It has been upheld by the Prison Service.

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Some of the work that we are doing a round of the technological

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alternative to for a body searching goes beyond the agreement. It is

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trying to make a better situation for both staff and prisoners. I do

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not accept that there is anything we have failed on but it it's

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absolutely clear that those who have threatened and now killed a

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prison officer have breached the agreement. It is about strip

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searching and freedom of movement, do you believe that if agreement

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was reached, there would be another issue brought up in the pursuit of

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this wider cost? You heard it suggested on that clip that there

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will be those who will be looking for more no matter what they get.

:20:16.:20:21.

Full-body searching is carried out the same on every prisoner in

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Maghaberry prison, whether they are separated or mainstream prisoners,

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and that is the same that applies in the Gilligan and hidebound word

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and every prison in England, Wales and Scotland as well. We are not

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treating Republican prisoners was, we are treating them enshrined

:20:38.:20:42.

implement a humane regime and better for our prison staff. What

:20:42.:20:46.

about this issue of prison officers having to surrender their personal

:20:46.:20:52.

protection weapons even before they have left the service? They feel it

:20:52.:20:56.

very much at risk. No one is asked to surrender their weapons before

:20:56.:21:00.

they leave the service. The particular issue is that normal

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processes have been taking between 60 eight weeks. In the context

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where individuals are leaving and having to hand back their weapon

:21:08.:21:12.

are applying for a personal weapon in retirement, that normally has

:21:12.:21:16.

been done within the normal timescale for retirement. Because

:21:16.:21:19.

the voluntary early retirement scheme is moving quicker, we have

:21:19.:21:22.

an agreement between the Department of Justice and the Prison Service

:21:23.:21:26.

and the police service that they will expedite this application so

:21:26.:21:29.

that they should be achieved within a approximately three weeks, in

:21:30.:21:35.

other words less than that time in retirement. A new offer them more

:21:35.:21:39.

protection? The security of prison officers and police officers is

:21:39.:21:43.

under constant review. I have had a number of discussions with the

:21:43.:21:47.

chief Constable as to what we can do to enhance the protection for

:21:47.:21:51.

prison officers, but we have to recognise that we are dealing with

:21:51.:21:55.

a small group of ruthless people who are determined to carry out

:21:55.:21:58.

operations like they carried out last week. They have had a degree

:21:58.:22:02.

of success because of their ruthlessness, but what we are doing

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is insuring the best possible protection for all those who work

:22:05.:22:10.

in the justice system. Thank you. In recent years, dissident ranks

:22:10.:22:14.

have been strengthened by the defection of more Provisional IRA

:22:14.:22:18.

members. The security services and thus did have thwarted many attacks

:22:18.:22:22.

but the experienced ex IRA figures were held responsible for the

:22:22.:22:26.

killing of two soldiers, two police officers and now a prison officer.

:22:26.:22:33.

Is there a strategy behind the violence. David Black's murder

:22:33.:22:38.

clearly took a degree of planning. It is believed he had been followed

:22:38.:22:42.

by the killers from his home near Cookstown. At the same time, there

:22:42.:22:46.

was a hoax alert at Sprissler us, possibly and aversion the tactic to

:22:46.:22:53.

take that police away from the M1 - - Sprucefield. There is little

:22:53.:22:56.

evidence that dissident republicans are putting as much thought into

:22:56.:23:05.

their final destination. They are flat earth fanatics, living in the

:23:05.:23:09.

dark Ages, spewing out hatred from every pore. The reality is that

:23:09.:23:15.

they have not been able to mount any credible sustainable campaign.

:23:15.:23:20.

The dissidents have shown they can kill people, but beyond that, what

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they actually trying to achieve? Where in short to do they think

:23:25.:23:33.

they are going? We know where they have come from? The Omagh bombing

:23:33.:23:37.

was supposed to be the death of dissident report the -- support.

:23:37.:23:42.

Since that atrocity, militant republicans opposed to the Good

:23:42.:23:48.

Friday Agreement have regrouped and reorganised. Earlier this year,

:23:48.:23:52.

Henry McDonald was taking over the border to be given a statement,

:23:52.:23:56.

announcing that three dissident groups had merged to form one

:23:56.:24:02.

organisation. He says that the men he met display to forensic

:24:02.:24:05.

awareness. My personal impression was that these people were quite

:24:05.:24:10.

well organised. They had fought out a plan, how they would deliver the

:24:10.:24:14.

statement with the least possible risk to them. I had to leave my

:24:14.:24:19.

mobile phone, my notebook, I took a page and a pencil, and searched --

:24:20.:24:23.

I was searched and I had to copy a statement it verbatim with my

:24:23.:24:30.

pencil and paper. The original statement was then burnt. It was

:24:30.:24:35.

all very professional, cold, co- ordinated and well organised and

:24:35.:24:39.

clearly indicating that they were fearing it surveillance the whole

:24:39.:24:43.

way. So more observers say that dissidents have tightened up

:24:43.:24:47.

internal security to reduce their biggest problem, the team

:24:47.:24:53.

infiltration by the intelligence agencies. Some believe that day the

:24:53.:24:57.

Black's murder showed they are able to give intelligence agencies the

:24:57.:25:03.

slip. The Garda Siochana seemed to me by more on top of human

:25:04.:25:09.

intelligence, the infiltration of these organisations by informers.

:25:09.:25:12.

The PSNI are suffering from an intelligence gap. The intelligence

:25:12.:25:15.

picture will never be complete. There is the opportunity of

:25:15.:25:18.

something like this happening and it has happened and probably will

:25:18.:25:24.

happen again. Do not underestimate how good the security services have

:25:25.:25:28.

been. They have been very up there in terms of the profile and they

:25:28.:25:35.

have actually, I am sure we do not know the half of what goes on.

:25:35.:25:40.

car used by David Black's killers was abandoned in Lurgan but

:25:40.:25:43.

security services have told Spotlight they believed the murder

:25:43.:25:47.

was carried out by dissidents from East Tyrone who are mainly former

:25:47.:25:52.

Provisional IRA members. According to experts, they used to support

:25:52.:25:58.

Sinn Fein. In the initial peace process phase, some members felt

:25:58.:26:03.

the initiative of which Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness should be given a

:26:03.:26:05.

chance who in recent years have felt that the project is not

:26:05.:26:09.

working in the way they were promised, that the progress towards

:26:09.:26:13.

Republican goals had not been as cast are substantial as they like.

:26:13.:26:17.

My big concern is the experience of the Provisional IRA coming back

:26:17.:26:21.

into it configures and that is borne out by the number of types of

:26:21.:26:25.

incidents that were happening. It is really another take on 15 or 20

:26:25.:26:30.

years ago. The government says there has been a 20% drop in the

:26:30.:26:35.

number of attacks this year, but there is evidence that the addition

:26:35.:26:40.

of former Provisionals has made the dissidents more deadly. Last month,

:26:40.:26:44.

by new and dangerous type of explosive device was found in the

:26:44.:26:50.

Ardoyne in north Belfast. This is the same kind of device. It is

:26:50.:26:54.

packed with Semtex and returns a compact Kohn of copper into a

:26:54.:27:03.

modern jet. One American peers armour-plating. It is a serious

:27:03.:27:09.

advance on anything the Provisional IRA used. While in their ability to

:27:09.:27:14.

kill it may have been enhanced, mainstream republicans argue that

:27:14.:27:21.

dissidence fall far short of being any kind of political force. Shone

:27:21.:27:26.

Mary was once an IRA leader, seen here in 1988 at the funeral of one

:27:26.:27:30.

of three IRA members who was killed in Gibraltar. Now a senior figure

:27:30.:27:37.

in Sinn Fein, he says at the level of dissident support is minimal.

:27:37.:27:42.

am a community acted that the -- activists and I do not to take --

:27:42.:27:49.

detect any support. If you look at their operational profile, of the

:27:49.:27:53.

not indicate to me that they have mass support either. Looking at all

:27:53.:27:57.

those sort of parameters, I do not see detect any support for their

:27:57.:28:07.
:28:07.:28:09.

campaign. In nationalist areas, the graffiti on the wall is reminiscent

:28:09.:28:13.

of the 1980s, Against the dissidents a visible presence, but

:28:13.:28:17.

one we asked their political representatives in the Newry,

:28:17.:28:20.

Lurgan and here in Belfast to top on camera, they all decline the

:28:20.:28:28.

offer. Before the murder of David Black, Spotlight did put the

:28:28.:28:32.

question of political strategy to a leading member of the dissident 32

:28:32.:28:35.

County Sovreignty Movement. Do dissident republicans have a

:28:35.:28:45.
:28:45.:28:46.

political strategy? Dissident republicans, they believe in truth,

:28:46.:28:53.

justice, sovereignty, it is a noble aspiration. High that is achieved,

:28:53.:28:58.

unfortunately, is in hands of those who occupy part of Ireland. It will

:28:58.:29:02.

be a long and hard road for Republicans, it has been going on

:29:02.:29:08.

for 800 years and I do not think anyone is under any illusion that

:29:08.:29:12.

it will be a short haul. dissidents are trying to use the

:29:12.:29:18.

prisons issue as a way of building support, but he argues they will

:29:18.:29:22.

fail because they do not have the same kind of political strategy

:29:22.:29:27.

that underpinned the Provisional IRA's campaign. What do you think

:29:27.:29:31.

their strategy is? A I cannot to attack any. Some of them would have

:29:31.:29:35.

been former friends of mine, but there have been fall-outs over

:29:35.:29:38.

policy and the direction that the Republican movement is moving in.

:29:38.:29:43.

That is their choice. I would like them to tell me, some of his been

:29:43.:29:46.

active in Republican politics for 40 years, what is there a strategy

:29:46.:29:50.

of how they're going to achieve it, Republican objectives, because I

:29:50.:29:56.

cannot see it and I cannot see it, how can other people see it? Visit

:29:56.:30:01.

their Ian to keep a terrorist campaign it ticking over, hoping it

:30:01.:30:06.

will Sunday reignite and bring it to a united Ireland? What they do

:30:06.:30:09.

have is a way of keeping the flame burning, I would suggest that they

:30:09.:30:13.

will be able to carry on some form of low-level campaign into the

:30:13.:30:17.

future, but I do not think the conditions by their politically and

:30:17.:30:26.

in terms of attitudes in the nationalist community. We should

:30:26.:30:29.

probably get used to trying to manage it rather than see that will

:30:29.:30:35.

go away. Deadly and death to any persuasion, the dissidents

:30:35.:30:40.

campaigner look set to carry on as a constant legal danger. With no

:30:40.:30:50.
:30:50.:31:17.

exit in sight. Are we are joined by Both of those children spoke over

:31:18.:31:23.

the coffin of their father this afternoon. He was a public servant,

:31:23.:31:28.

like a primary school teacher and a nurse is, and he was doing a job

:31:28.:31:33.

for all of us in the public arena, so the answer lies in the community.

:31:33.:31:38.

The community will respond. Somebody knows he provided the safe

:31:38.:31:43.

house. Somebody knows who provided the gun. Somebody knows whether

:31:43.:31:48.

people went after they burnt out the car. As community we have to

:31:48.:31:55.

choose, do we stand on the side of the David Blacks? His murder was

:31:55.:32:00.

unjustified and unjustifiable. The 29 other murders of prison officers

:32:00.:32:05.

were equally unjustified and unjustifiable. This community will

:32:05.:32:10.

choose life over death. Everybody I spoke to, from all different

:32:10.:32:20.
:32:20.:32:20.

sections of the community... They will support public servants to a

:32:21.:32:30.
:32:31.:32:31.

brave and courageous and do an important job. Shaun Murray it was

:32:31.:32:37.

saying he has former friends who are now members and that must be

:32:37.:32:46.

true for many republicans. As you said, Mark McGuinness, myself and

:32:46.:32:52.

many of my colleagues have said over the years that we are very

:32:52.:32:57.

keen to support the police. We have given our full support to policing

:32:57.:33:03.

and that remains our decision. We have also said, and we are

:33:03.:33:08.

repeating it, that policing needs to win in the community. Other

:33:08.:33:12.

senior police officers will tell you they are getting unprecedented

:33:12.:33:17.

levels of support from republicans in the community and that is a good

:33:17.:33:24.

thing. The police need to continue building the confidence of the

:33:24.:33:28.

republican community. Your community knows more about these

:33:28.:33:33.

people than the PSNI das? That remains to be seen. I could tell

:33:33.:33:38.

you people who have walked away from me as a friend because of what

:33:38.:33:45.

could be a policy issue. Most of it seems quite personal. I have to say.

:33:45.:33:50.

A lot of it is quite petty but some of it is policy based and that is

:33:50.:33:56.

fair enough. People are entitled to not support Sinn Fein's political

:33:56.:34:00.

analysis of the situation. If people are engaged in activities

:34:00.:34:04.

like this, they shouldn't be and if anybody knows anything, they should

:34:04.:34:10.

report it to the relevant authority. I say this publicly, the police

:34:10.:34:13.

tell us they are getting unprecedented levels of co-

:34:13.:34:22.

operation felt I do not accept that the PSNI and other organisations...

:34:22.:34:30.

I have no doubt that organisations are well penetrated by the PSNI and

:34:30.:34:34.

other security organisations, so I suggest the police and other people

:34:34.:34:39.

know a lot more about what is going on in these organisations than the

:34:39.:34:44.

people on the street. Kate Campbell said tougher sentencing and a

:34:44.:34:54.
:34:54.:35:00.

tougher regime in prison could prevent this? -- Kate Carroll.

:35:00.:35:03.

people are determined on doing these reckless murders, nothing

:35:03.:35:09.

will prevent them and deter them. do not accept that. These issues

:35:09.:35:14.

went around when they murdered 29 people and two unborn children in

:35:14.:35:19.

Omagh, and Massereene. This is not about whether a prisoner has access

:35:19.:35:24.

to Sky TV. I have comes from people in my own constituency this morning

:35:24.:35:28.

who cannot afford their telephone bill, pensioners who are making a

:35:28.:35:35.

choice tonight... If so would a stricter regime worked or not?

:35:35.:35:43.

is not an issue of prisoner who has access to Sky TV and heating when

:35:43.:35:48.

people on the outside did not have any of those luxuries. What needs

:35:48.:35:51.

to happen is prison officers need to have the full support of the

:35:51.:35:58.

community. I think they do have that. Secondly, where prison

:35:58.:36:03.

officers are under threat, their cameras and security equipment must

:36:03.:36:13.

be at the highest level possible. They need a regime to ensure the

:36:13.:36:17.

utmost security. I am not sure this is anything to do with whether you

:36:17.:36:22.

have access to Sky TV in prison. This is about people who have

:36:22.:36:27.

murdered an innocent public servant and the community will respond.

:36:27.:36:31.

What can the republican community do to make these people go away and

:36:31.:36:38.

stop what they are doing? It has given a very clear message.

:36:38.:36:40.

Whenever any individuals who appeared to be associated with some

:36:41.:36:45.

of this business have put themselves forward to be elected,

:36:45.:36:49.

they have been rejected. I welcome people putting themselves forward

:36:49.:36:53.

but they should take the message to the people giving them. We all work

:36:53.:36:57.

on the ground and in communities. I know there is very little support

:36:57.:37:02.

for this kind of activity. People have already made their choices.

:37:02.:37:06.

They are still killing. A small number of people continued that

:37:06.:37:10.

because over the last number of years we have had the formations

:37:10.:37:15.

and amalgamations and more factions coming together and nuclides. It

:37:15.:37:20.

has not made a bit of difference to their effectiveness. I would urge

:37:20.:37:24.

people who have integrity and to may be associated with them to

:37:24.:37:28.

think again because they are not going to support -- win the support

:37:28.:37:33.

of the republican community. They will never reclaim the IRA. People

:37:33.:37:38.

may not like me saying this but some people respected what the IRA

:37:38.:37:43.

did over many years, and that is not applicable today. There is no

:37:43.:37:47.

support nor respect for what they are doing at this moment in time. I

:37:47.:37:51.

would urge them to desist with bat and join the rest of us republicans

:37:51.:38:01.
:38:01.:38:02.

trying to deliver. Do you agree that it will be a long haul? I am

:38:02.:38:06.

not sure but it is clear that a small group of people can carry on

:38:06.:38:10.

criminal activity for some time. What we have is an exceptionally

:38:10.:38:15.

good police effort against them. We have strong cross-border

:38:15.:38:19.

corporations, full and increasing public support in every part of

:38:19.:38:23.

Northern Ireland, so the ingredients are there to

:38:23.:38:26.

demonstrate what this community wants and to stand up against them

:38:26.:38:31.

but nonetheless, this kind of criminal activity can continue.

:38:31.:38:37.

party has been very strong about sectarianism, do you think that

:38:37.:38:41.

contributes to an atmosphere to allow dissident activity? The best

:38:41.:38:45.

thing we can do is to ensure the good work we do to get that is

:38:45.:38:49.

carried on to great effect. We have good Corporation on the economy. It

:38:49.:38:56.

has been less good in other areas. This is a message to us. It is sad

:38:56.:38:58.

when we are coming together in condemnation rather than in working

:38:58.:39:03.

even better together than we are already doing. Do you believe that

:39:03.:39:07.

the example set instalment can be seen to be an encouragement to

:39:07.:39:11.

people who say it there is no settlement here? We are working

:39:11.:39:17.

hard. Next week I will be the First Minister and Deputy First Minister

:39:17.:39:23.

in China trying to attract jobs in Northern Ireland. Tourism is always

:39:23.:39:29.

wrong. -- terrorism is always wrong. It is our job in government to show

:39:29.:39:34.

a way forward. The that means genuine trust and genuine respect.

:39:34.:39:38.

Do you feel that is there between the two beat power blogs

:39:38.:39:46.

instalment? Many think it is not. - - but two biggest power blocks him

:39:46.:39:51.

at Stormont? Many innocent people lost their lives. 29 prison

:39:51.:39:55.

officers, those murders were equally wrong. Northern Ireland has

:39:55.:40:00.

chosen a new way forward. It has elected politicians to take them

:40:00.:40:05.

forward. We will work hard on the economy and to deliver a genuine

:40:05.:40:11.

link. The First Minister is working very hard on a genuinely a should

:40:11.:40:16.

future together. That is the only way forward. We can still have the

:40:16.:40:19.

Sinn Fein chairman telling Peter Robinson it is time he got with the

:40:19.:40:25.

programme. We are doing a lot of good work, clearly. But we are not

:40:25.:40:29.

doing enough clearly. The parties are working together, yes, and

:40:30.:40:35.

doing as best we can but we need to do an awful lot more. My party and

:40:35.:40:39.

other parties, we need to tackle disadvantage and alienated young

:40:39.:40:44.

people and working-class people, with their in at the village every

:40:44.:40:50.

yet... Let me finish my point. We need to deliver better on the

:40:50.:40:55.

economy to the best of our beliefs. David needs to provide a humane

:40:55.:40:59.

Prison Service which keeps people in custody, works with young people

:40:59.:41:04.

to get them out of custody a better person and that will not reoffend

:41:04.:41:08.

and burgle again and attacked a senior citizen again, and people

:41:08.:41:15.

politically, in a political Oriented activism needs to be

:41:15.:41:19.

treated in a humane way and properly. Anybody in custody for an

:41:19.:41:25.

offence need to be treated in a humane way, it is simple. I agree.

:41:25.:41:30.

The legacy of David Black, what we heard today is testimony to his

:41:30.:41:34.

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