Browse content similar to 21/06/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Here at Parliament Buildings, MLAs | :00:28. | :00:33. | |
have never had it so good, but the bon homie among old enemies isn't | :00:33. | :00:36. | |
being felt on the ground just streets away. MLAs were dismayed | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
about the violence that erupted at the Short Strand interface. There | :00:40. | :00:44. | |
is one community with two sections down there this morning, which is | :00:44. | :00:49. | |
broken. In the frontline of that riot, in the buffer zone, were a | :00:49. | :00:53. | |
row of pensioners cottages. David Ford, the Justice Minister, is | :00:53. | :00:59. | |
fighting the lawyers, who will win this battle of wits? So, there's no | :00:59. | :01:03. | |
compromise in terms of changing the rates. There is no way David Ford | :01:03. | :01:06. | |
with the stroke of a pen could give solicitors an barrister what is | :01:06. | :01:15. | |
they want. This time last night we were discussing the glory of Rory | :01:15. | :01:19. | |
McIlroy's win at the US Open. That's now been overshadowed by the | :01:19. | :01:23. | |
shame of violence in East Belfast. Extra police were drafted into the | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
Short Strand area tonight and after the most serious rioting in years, | :01:27. | :01:32. | |
which included shots being fired last night. The UVF has been blamed | :01:32. | :01:35. | |
for orchestrating events. This morning, members were quick to | :01:35. | :01:41. | |
condemn the rioting. For me the sight of homes wrecked, on both | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
sides of the Newtownards Road in the Short Strand and people lying | :01:45. | :01:50. | |
injured in hospital this morning, for me it's a sad reminder of how | :01:51. | :01:54. | |
fragile the peace is in East Belfast. Could I say this morning | :01:54. | :01:59. | |
we want to convey our thoughts and prayers to those people liing in | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
hospital this morning. I was down there last night, after I had been | :02:02. | :02:07. | |
in the Assembly until 9.30pm. I was late there last night. I went to | :02:07. | :02:14. | |
some of those homes in Duke Street and Newtownards Road that had been | :02:14. | :02:19. | |
attacked. I was down there this morning, in Strand Walk houses were | :02:19. | :02:21. | |
attacked this morning. Both communities suffered. For me, I | :02:22. | :02:30. | |
suppose, it reminds me of a proverb which talk abouts hope defered | :02:30. | :02:35. | |
maketh the heart sick. I felt all our hopes for, let's get this peace | :02:35. | :02:38. | |
embedded into the local communities, that our our hopes had been placed | :02:38. | :02:43. | |
on hold in many ways. There is one community with two sections down | :02:43. | :02:49. | |
there this morning which is broken, hurt and damaged. There is | :02:49. | :02:54. | |
resentment. There is a silent cry for help. There is a belief that | :02:54. | :02:59. | |
no-one cares. Or that no-one can do anything to change or prevent a | :02:59. | :03:04. | |
course of events. It was a reminder of everything we have worked so | :03:04. | :03:10. | |
hard to try and put behind us. We must accept it, as a collective | :03:10. | :03:17. | |
failure. I do not think that it is good enough to try and reduce the | :03:17. | :03:22. | |
issues at the heart of what is still happening in some communities | :03:22. | :03:28. | |
to the responsibility of a few. It is the responsibility of us all. | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
use this platform this morning to ask those involved, with the | :03:32. | :03:40. | |
senseless violence we saw last night, to stop. It was organised | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
and orchestrated violence we saw is unjustifiably. It's | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
unrepresentative. It's destroying the cross community peace-building | :03:48. | :03:52. | |
and community development work that has happened in the area. And, it's | :03:52. | :03:56. | |
completely wrong that people in this area should be living in fear | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
and terror at the hands of a small minority at the moment. I also | :04:01. | :04:04. | |
caught up with Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey on the issue. He has been | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
meeting police in recent weeks about his own concerns. Well, I | :04:08. | :04:11. | |
think, it's been quite clear, throughout the day, that what | :04:11. | :04:15. | |
happened last night was the UVF inspired attack on the Short Strand | :04:15. | :04:18. | |
community. We have been given a variety of reasons for that. | :04:18. | :04:22. | |
Whether it's disenchantment within that organisation or that | :04:22. | :04:28. | |
particular bit of the community. Other attacks in the area in recent | :04:28. | :04:33. | |
times, what is clear, there is no justification for what was a UVF- | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
led attack in that community last night. I think people are very, | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
very sorely disappointed that, despite the great work that has | :04:41. | :04:46. | |
gone on there in the last couple of years, in the interface level, that | :04:46. | :04:50. | |
we had a return to the bad old days. There was violence from a | :04:50. | :04:55. | |
nationalist side. Who is behind that? We know clearly, the PSNI | :04:56. | :04:59. | |
will confirm this and other organisations, people do | :04:59. | :05:02. | |
acknowledge that the UVF inspired that attack last night. It was an | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
attack on the community in the Short Strand last night. That went | :05:05. | :05:11. | |
on for a number of hours. It resulted for the most part the | :05:11. | :05:19. | |
loyalisted -- loyalists and the PSNI. You need to be clear that | :05:19. | :05:23. | |
that violence was wrong and the defence of the area was a matter | :05:23. | :05:28. | |
for the police? Well, what I'm saying is that nobody left the | :05:28. | :05:31. | |
Short Strand last night to go out and attack a another district. That | :05:31. | :05:36. | |
is very clear. You are condemning the violence from both side? | :05:36. | :05:39. | |
condemning the violence that took place in that area last night. That | :05:39. | :05:43. | |
is not a question of one side is as bad as another. There has been | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
anti-social behaviour in that area. There has been sectarian | :05:48. | :05:51. | |
squirmishing in that side much I condemn people from the loyalist | :05:51. | :05:54. | |
and national and republican side who have been working together, it | :05:54. | :06:00. | |
canly over the past two years, who reduced a serious interface area | :06:00. | :06:06. | |
down to a periodic antisocial type rioting on a small scale. Albeit, | :06:06. | :06:09. | |
that those incidents do affect homes on both sides of that | :06:09. | :06:12. | |
community. All of which I condemn much my party, throughout the past | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
year, has been given names of individuals from the Short Strand | :06:15. | :06:21. | |
to the PSNI, people who have been attacking Protestant homes and who | :06:21. | :06:23. | |
have been involved in persistent anti-social behaviour. We have been | :06:24. | :06:27. | |
working with the PSNI with representatives of the loyalist | :06:27. | :06:30. | |
community to bring that interface to a greater sense of normality to | :06:30. | :06:34. | |
the residents on both sides. What happened last night was a UVF | :06:34. | :06:38. | |
attack on that community. There can be no rational nor justification | :06:38. | :06:42. | |
for that. What can be done about it? Is it a matter solely for the | :06:42. | :06:46. | |
police, is Sinn Fein willing to engage in dialogue to ensure it | :06:46. | :06:50. | |
doesn't happen again? We need to move from last night, obviously, | :06:50. | :06:54. | |
from today onwards to make sure there is no repeat of this. Clearly, | :06:54. | :06:57. | |
community relations in that area have been set back, I think, | :06:57. | :07:01. | |
considerably. All stops now have to be - make sure - we need to make | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
sure there is nothing left unturned there to make sure we don't have a | :07:05. | :07:11. | |
repeat of last night. I think the Lord Mayor, who is a Short Strand | :07:11. | :07:15. | |
representative, hosted a meeting in the city council today with all of | :07:15. | :07:18. | |
the o other parties, senior officers of the council, they | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
agreed on a certain course of action, which includes bringing | :07:21. | :07:26. | |
together the people who work at interface level to refocus their | :07:26. | :07:31. | |
minds and make sure community res can be repaired and make sure there | :07:31. | :07:36. | |
is no repeat of this. We had meetings with the PSNI today. We | :07:36. | :07:44. | |
met other parties within the last hour half. A lot of work has gone | :07:44. | :07:48. | |
on today to make sure communities can be settled. That communities | :07:48. | :07:51. | |
can be protected from this type of behaviour again. Do you think the | :07:51. | :07:56. | |
absence of the PUP from Stormont, has that destabilised loyalism? | :07:56. | :08:01. | |
There is no question or doubt in my mind shall I said this repeatedly, | :08:01. | :08:05. | |
if you look at working-class unionist and Protestant areas, a | :08:05. | :08:08. | |
lot of those communities will complain of being abandoned by the | :08:08. | :08:12. | |
mainstream political parties in those communities. And, I mean, I | :08:12. | :08:16. | |
myself, have had a positive experience in areas where I've been | :08:16. | :08:20. | |
able to work with communities in there, whether it be on housing and | :08:20. | :08:23. | |
making representations on their behalf. I hear from those people | :08:23. | :08:26. | |
they have felt abandoned by the mainstream parties. All that being | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
said, it's not either a justification to go and attack the | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
Catholic district in the social services because you feel alienated | :08:35. | :08:37. | |
from the main traem stream political parties or government. I | :08:37. | :08:40. | |
recognise there are people in unionist working-class communities | :08:40. | :08:44. | |
who have been ill served by the political process for a long number | :08:44. | :08:49. | |
of years. That has to stop. That one of the calls today, both in the | :08:49. | :08:54. | |
Assembly here this morning and in our meetings with the OFM and DFM | :08:54. | :08:59. | |
this afternoon much I want to see political unionism engaging with | :08:59. | :09:06. | |
those people. To aidentify if they do have grievances, what they are | :09:06. | :09:09. | |
those grievances. They need to be given support. I want to make it | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
clear, Wyles all that has to be done, there is no justification for | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
attacking the community because you are aggrieved at something else. | :09:17. | :09:22. | |
David Ford was facing questions today and on a topic very close to | :09:22. | :09:26. | |
some members' hearts, the ongoing dispute with lawyers over legal aid. | :09:26. | :09:30. | |
During the session he made it clear the new fees were now in force and | :09:30. | :09:33. | |
he was not for turning. In a moment, I will get reaction from the Head | :09:33. | :09:40. | |
of the Bar Council, Adrian Colton. Here is Simon Hamilton on his feet. | :09:40. | :09:47. | |
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Can I thank the Minister for his spobs | :09:47. | :09:54. | |
response. -- response. In trying to seek an alternative way forward, | :09:55. | :09:59. | |
cot Minister tell us, has he considered the idea of maybe | :09:59. | :10:05. | |
instigating something like a US- style public defenders office? If | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
in examining that if he considered how easy that might be to do? | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
I think Mr Hamilton for that question. The answer is, yes, I am | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
at the moment considering all options to ensure defendants have | :10:20. | :10:25. | |
access to justice. It is my hope, it has been my effort, to date, to | :10:25. | :10:29. | |
ensure that defendants obtain solicitors and barristers under the | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
usual arrangements prepared to work at the new legally enforced rates | :10:33. | :10:37. | |
of remuneration. I could seek to invite solicitors and barristers | :10:37. | :10:40. | |
from outside Northern Ireland to make themselves available to take | :10:40. | :10:44. | |
on that crown court work on the same basis that applies. We have | :10:44. | :10:47. | |
had interested indicated without seeking it from some firms of | :10:47. | :10:52. | |
solicitors in England and Wales, who are keen to work here. Another | :10:52. | :10:56. | |
option would be for the legal services commission to arrange for | :10:56. | :11:01. | |
legal advice and representation to be provided directly to | :11:01. | :11:05. | |
unrepresented defendants. Mr Hamilton referred to a US-style | :11:05. | :11:08. | |
public defender system. That might create concerns about the quality | :11:08. | :11:11. | |
of justice. It is something which already operates successfully in | :11:12. | :11:17. | |
England and Wales, in part. The legislation is already in place, | :11:17. | :11:21. | |
under the As access to Justice Northern Ireland Order for the | :11:21. | :11:25. | |
legal services commission to directly engage, should they so | :11:25. | :11:30. | |
wish to do it, and should that be necessary to ensure access for | :11:30. | :11:35. | |
justicies for defendants. It's unhelpful for the Minister to adopt | :11:35. | :11:39. | |
an uncompromising approach in relation to this problem. I think | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
it is better that the Minister reopens discussions with both the | :11:45. | :11:50. | |
Law Society, and, indeed, the Bar Council, to see if there is some | :11:50. | :11:57. | |
basis of reaching a compromise, as Mr McNarry pointed out, on the | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
basis of their proposals which were, in fact, verified - Question. | :12:02. | :12:09. | |
being within budget. The Deputy Speaker, I fear he hasn't | :12:09. | :12:14. | |
appreciated the point which I tried to make. The new regulations are in | :12:14. | :12:20. | |
force. This Assembly Assembly has accepted the new rates of | :12:20. | :12:23. | |
remuneration. To suggest I'm uncompromising is completely out | :12:23. | :12:27. | |
with the mark. The simple position is, proposals were put forward by | :12:28. | :12:31. | |
the Department, accepted by the Committee, not rejected by the | :12:31. | :12:36. | |
Assembly, therefore, have the force of law. There is no compromise that | :12:36. | :12:41. | |
can be made about those rates. The compromise is, that I have offered | :12:41. | :12:44. | |
an early review, when we see how the current arrangements work, when | :12:44. | :12:49. | |
we see if there are particular anomalies, I have engaged with the | :12:49. | :12:54. | |
Law Society and the Bar Council, I have offered them that. I asked my | :12:54. | :12:58. | |
officials to engage in detail with them. That is the compromise. The | :12:58. | :13:02. | |
compromise is not somehow to suggest that I should accept a | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
proposal which game from the two professional bodies which was | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
uncosted, could not be costed, and would have significantly exceeded | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
the budget available for legal aid, with the result there would have | :13:13. | :13:18. | |
been costs pressures being met by other aspects of the public | :13:18. | :13:21. | |
expenditure in Northern Ireland, which I believe deserve equal | :13:21. | :13:26. | |
priority. I suspect there are a few members of this House who would | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
wish to see us shifting funds from the budget from health and social | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
services into the funding of legal aid when Northern Ireland will | :13:33. | :13:37. | |
still have the most generous system in western Europe. Well, the | :13:37. | :13:40. | |
Justice Minister show nos sign of backing down over legal aid | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
payments to barristers and solicitors. While eight local firms | :13:44. | :13:50. | |
are willing to work the new fees, the majority in the professor are | :13:50. | :13:53. | |
refusing cases. Leaving more than 250 defendants without | :13:53. | :13:57. | |
representation. Adrian Colton, Chairman of the bar council is with | :13:57. | :14:01. | |
me to defend his stance. What is the problem here? You heard the | :14:01. | :14:03. | |
Minister say, the most generous system in western Europe? I don't | :14:03. | :14:07. | |
accept. That we asked him to produce the figures from which that | :14:07. | :14:12. | |
assertion is based. The answer is a references to per Capita depargs | :14:12. | :14:16. | |
with England and Wales. We asked for, what would be more relevant | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
comparison would be with the north- east of England or some of the | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
regions in England which would be comparable with Northern Ireland. | :14:22. | :14:26. | |
The real problem is this, we do not want to end up with a system in the | :14:26. | :14:29. | |
crown court that we have in England and Wales. That is what this | :14:29. | :14:31. | |
dispute is about. It's about whether we can create a system of | :14:31. | :14:35. | |
justice in which the public will have confidence? Does the Minister | :14:35. | :14:39. | |
know what is happening in England and Wales? First and second year | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
barristers are being sent out, on the morning of serious criminal | :14:42. | :14:51. | |
trials to represent people much we Your council's own comparisons show | :14:51. | :14:55. | |
that Northern Ireland are sometimes cheaper than England and Wales but | :14:55. | :14:57. | |
sometimes your figures are disingenuous. A don't accept that. | :14:57. | :15:04. | |
The reason we picked her up -- but that Fagin in the public domain was | :15:04. | :15:09. | |
to show... Critics it say she wanted more for every case and your | :15:09. | :15:19. | |
:15:19. | :15:19. | ||
proposal for example theft under �30,000,... It is your own proposal. | :15:19. | :15:22. | |
While I am looking for more money? We want a system that will come | :15:22. | :15:26. | |
within budget and it must be remembered that we have never ever | :15:26. | :15:29. | |
challenged the Budget that is available. What we are asked to do | :15:29. | :15:32. | |
was to come up with proposals that would come within that budget. | :15:32. | :15:37. | |
Tweeted that. We demonstrated that we could do that but despite that, | :15:37. | :15:41. | |
the Minister is insisting on making further cuts and that is what... | :15:41. | :15:47. | |
That is the kernel of the dispute. The issue is whether the public has | :15:47. | :15:53. | |
confidence. Ferrar those working to work the system. One solicitor who | :15:53. | :15:58. | |
was willing to accept the fees has since decided not to. His pressure | :15:58. | :16:04. | |
being applied? His solicitor would not be a colleague of mine. But | :16:04. | :16:10. | |
this is interesting because what I feared would come to pass has come | :16:10. | :16:16. | |
to pass. The very first case that was dealt with under the new | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
proposals was... The lawyer in question had not even read the | :16:19. | :16:24. | |
quotas. There you have it. They you have the proof of what I want could | :16:24. | :16:34. | |
:16:34. | :16:34. | ||
happen if this system has left us they it its. The Minister is not | :16:34. | :16:39. | |
depriving anyone of a fair trial, he is simply depriving the legal | :16:39. | :16:44. | |
profession of faith of more money. The money is not there to enrich | :16:44. | :16:48. | |
lawyers. The money that has provided to legal aid is for the | :16:48. | :16:52. | |
benefit of members of the public and for victims. The greatest | :16:52. | :16:55. | |
service become paid to victims of crime is to ensure we have a | :16:55. | :16:59. | |
properly resourced Criminal Justice System, the prosecution a properly | :16:59. | :17:04. | |
resourced and the defences properly resourced. | :17:04. | :17:11. | |
Is there a budding Patrick Kavanagh as dormant? He is a member who was | :17:11. | :17:18. | |
more tours of than Churchill,... Maybe not quite so talented but | :17:19. | :17:23. | |
some members did enter the competition and I caught up with | :17:23. | :17:33. | |
:17:33. | :17:35. | ||
the winners in the long gallery. poem is entitled... It is a | :17:35. | :17:43. | |
reference to where I am from and I've made the journey from their | :17:43. | :17:47. | |
two here, in front of the Stormont parliament buildings. It was a | :17:47. | :17:55. | |
phrase that was used in a newspaper I'll -- article because it told a | :17:55. | :18:00. | |
bit about my journey. Are you are delighted because he won a prize? | :18:00. | :18:04. | |
I've not had that confirmed yet. There is a rumour going about but I | :18:04. | :18:13. | |
have not had it confirmed. I hope I have. I noticed you managed in your | :18:13. | :18:23. | |
:18:23. | :18:25. | ||
poem to include a certain word. poem includes certain phrases. | :18:25. | :18:35. | |
:18:35. | :18:44. | ||
There are many rural references. I love all of the rural places in | :18:44. | :18:47. | |
County Tyrone and I have given expression to them in a poem. | :18:47. | :18:53. | |
you consider giving up your assembly job and pursue poetry | :18:53. | :18:56. | |
full-time? Why couldn't I do the two things? They could be a | :18:56. | :19:00. | |
wonderful synchronisation of politics and poetry through my good | :19:00. | :19:07. | |
self. Thank you very much. Years ago, one of the first art | :19:07. | :19:14. | |
exhibitions I came to one-eyed come home was by Basil Blackshaw. He had | :19:14. | :19:19. | |
edged it out with a paint brush, broad colour. A thought I would | :19:20. | :19:26. | |
have a go myself. This was just an effort and my children said, I | :19:26. | :19:31. | |
could do better than that. People always say that about greyed out. | :19:31. | :19:41. | |
:19:41. | :19:43. | ||
wish. What were you do with a painting? I will hang it on my wall | :19:43. | :19:46. | |
upstairs. It was great fun trying to see if I could do it because | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
I've never painted. Most of my family are involved in the art | :19:49. | :19:53. | |
world. It is good to do. It's a very cheerful painting. But I love | :19:53. | :19:59. | |
colour, I'll have fun. By run an art gallery as well. I've always | :19:59. | :20:09. | |
:20:09. | :20:12. | ||
looked for, in that as well. A of course I should say the poet one... | :20:12. | :20:17. | |
Adrian, any opinion on this? Should they stick to their day-job? I am | :20:17. | :20:22. | |
not surprised that there were no one, it was a beautiful painting. | :20:22. | :20:27. | |
As for Barry's poetry, I don't think other poets have anything to | :20:27. | :20:33. | |
fear. I am told that there has been a bid for the poor trade. Danny | :20:33. | :20:40. | |
Kennedy was also fielding questions. He was asked by Sinn Fein about | :20:40. | :20:44. | |
though rail link between Belfast and Londonderry. The original plan | :20:44. | :20:47. | |
for the Colraine it to Londonderry track relay project would have | :20:47. | :20:51. | |
resulted in the completion of their budget by 2013. This was to | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
coincide with the introduction to service of all 20 new trains. The | :20:56. | :21:00. | |
budget, however, approved by the assembly and executive makes | :21:00. | :21:05. | |
provision for the commencement of the track relay in 2014. This | :21:05. | :21:09. | |
reflects the capital budget available. That is, �20 million in | :21:09. | :21:14. | |
year for the budget period. It is not possible to start work earlier | :21:14. | :21:20. | |
than 2014 on the main relay for this reason. The project was | :21:20. | :21:23. | |
originally envisaged to take a couple of years, two years to | :21:23. | :21:27. | |
complete. On this basis, I had the project will be completed in the | :21:28. | :21:35. | |
financial year twenties 17. Given that Derry City is to be City of | :21:35. | :21:40. | |
Culture in 2013, would the minister seriously make a case to the | :21:40. | :21:44. | |
executive and find the funding because personally, I find it an | :21:44. | :21:48. | |
absolute disgrace at an InterCity service is now going to have speed | :21:48. | :21:53. | |
limits on it, when the public have doubled the numbers. I would appeal | :21:53. | :21:58. | |
to the minister and are attached no blame to him for the neglect of the | :21:58. | :22:04. | |
past. I am grateful and gratified to the member for the no blame | :22:04. | :22:12. | |
attachment there. I do have ongoing concern but in the current | :22:12. | :22:16. | |
financial climate that we find ourselves in, particularly within | :22:16. | :22:22. | |
my departmental budget, I have to be honest to the house and say the | :22:22. | :22:29. | |
earliest I am able to indicate his, as I have said, 2014. I welcome the | :22:29. | :22:38. | |
fact that the minister... It is the only place in Northern Ireland | :22:39. | :22:46. | |
where Orange feet walk without the requirement of... Will the Minister | :22:46. | :22:53. | |
end of the visiting the island ensure that there is progress made? | :22:53. | :22:57. | |
I have been concerned for some considerable period of time were | :22:57. | :23:06. | |
the model... His department needs to show a greater commitment to | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
delivering on specific issues which have been raised through the | :23:09. | :23:14. | |
process to date. Well, I am grateful for the supplementary and | :23:14. | :23:20. | |
have no intention of off -- forming a concerned residents' groups for | :23:20. | :23:30. | |
:23:30. | :23:30. | ||
the puffins, who understand pretty much fly off. That might be | :23:30. | :23:34. | |
something that all of us can to consider. On a more serious note, | :23:34. | :23:38. | |
the final debate here today featured a campaign for Colin | :23:38. | :23:42. | |
Wharton, he is the former UDR soldier was then 30 months in jail | :23:42. | :23:47. | |
in the 1980s, charged with involvement in the murder of Adrian | :23:47. | :23:52. | |
Carroll. The case against him was thrown out when the trial judge | :23:52. | :23:55. | |
deemed that admits isn't -- and admitted he made to please was | :23:55. | :24:02. | |
inadmissible. Complex and traumatic story for the family in the 1970s. | :24:02. | :24:07. | |
Colin's brother Kenneth was one of the limit -- victims of the Kings | :24:07. | :24:11. | |
Mills massacre and the report was officially released today blaming | :24:11. | :24:16. | |
the IRA for the massacre. In the 80s, Colin went on to join the | :24:16. | :24:19. | |
Ulster Defence Regiment and he was arrested for his alleged | :24:19. | :24:23. | |
involvement in the murder of Adrian Carroll in Armagh. He spent about | :24:23. | :24:28. | |
13 months in custody on remand but the case against him was thrown out | :24:28. | :24:33. | |
by the trial judge to deemed an admission that he made to the | :24:33. | :24:35. | |
police was inadmissible. He might have thought that he would have | :24:35. | :24:40. | |
been happy with that but in fact, what he has seen as some double | :24:40. | :24:43. | |
convicted of that which was subsequently released on appeal has | :24:43. | :24:47. | |
gone composition. He's not been able to get compensation. He | :24:47. | :24:52. | |
believes there is a slur against him. He was quite happy though that | :24:52. | :24:57. | |
in this debate, at Stormont today, he did receive support that he felt | :24:57. | :25:02. | |
has moved his campaign for it on. We have the minister for justice | :25:02. | :25:12. | |
:25:12. | :25:16. | ||
coming out and saying that I was innocent. I question is why do I | :25:16. | :25:19. | |
have to make a statement? We have backing for him from the Unionists, | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
we had backing from the SDLP and the alliance. David Ford spoke | :25:24. | :25:28. | |
sympathetically about his case. Sinn Fein were notable by their | :25:28. | :25:31. | |
absence during the course of the debates and afterwards Mr Wharton | :25:31. | :25:35. | |
was pretty scathing about Sinn Fein. Police said he met them and lobbied | :25:35. | :25:38. | |
them in person but never heard back from them. This case is a sharp | :25:39. | :25:42. | |
reminder that the past is never far from the present at Stormont. | :25:42. | :25:46. | |
Absolutely. We have of course the King's Mills report of the end of | :25:46. | :25:52. | |
the week. There will be no doubt more controversy into the UDF | :25:52. | :25:57. | |
massacre at a pub in the 1990s. Some might also say that the home | :25:57. | :26:00. | |
activities of the historical inquiries team in relation to the | :26:00. | :26:04. | |
UVF might have been one of the pressure points which contributed | :26:04. | :26:08. | |
to solve that east Belfast trouble that we have seen. This is | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
certainly a case that the past still retains the potential to come | :26:11. | :26:18. | |
back and haunt us in the present. As for Peter Robinson, he once | :26:18. | :26:21. | |
joked that if negotiating was an Olympic event, Northern Ireland | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
could win gold. Sadly, there are no medals to be one in this category | :26:24. | :26:27. | |
but there was an some excitement today when the Sports Minister | :26:27. | :26:31. | |
welcomed the torch from the Games. The torch came to the north. Thus | :26:31. | :26:35. | |
the first time that it came from London. We are trying to use this | :26:35. | :26:39. | |
event and other events happening today to bring some awareness to | :26:39. | :26:43. | |
the fact that there is a deadline for 29th June for people to become | :26:43. | :26:48. | |
Torch bearers. We need at least 600 people, north. Ordinary people who | :26:48. | :26:54. | |
do extraordinary things, nominate someone, 150 words about bearing | :26:54. | :27:03. | |
the church for the UN pigs. Is this is the actual tort? It is the | :27:03. | :27:13. | |
:27:13. | :27:14. | ||
actual tort. The it has come here... I saw the SDLP posing with it, I | :27:14. | :27:20. | |
posed -- I saw you posing with it. This is going to be the start of a | :27:20. | :27:27. | |
series of events. Political parties, communities, people representing | :27:27. | :27:31. | |
communities are going to come together to raise the profile of | :27:31. | :27:37. | |
the northern part of the island. Hopefully they will use whatever | :27:37. | :27:40. | |
influence and connections they have to nominate could become torch- | :27:40. | :27:50. | |
:27:50. | :27:51. | ||
bearer us. what about yourself, Adrian? | :27:51. | :27:56. | |
Peter Robinson says politicians here occurred enter an Olympic | :27:56. | :28:01. | |
event for negotiations. What about this issue of legal aid? When I | :28:01. | :28:04. | |
heard and was reminded about Peter Robinson's remarks, it struck me | :28:04. | :28:09. | |
that perhaps during the discussions we had, some and LA's could have | :28:09. | :28:12. | |
been beneficial in that process and we wouldn't have ended up in the | :28:12. | :28:15. | |
crisis we have. Seriously, there has to be compromise. We have a | :28:15. | :28:19. | |
crisis, it has to be resolved. minister says he has compromised. | :28:19. | :28:25. | |
The money is not there, ministers are agreed that it is the lawyers. | :28:25. | :28:31. | |
The money is there and what we need a proper robust scrutiny of the men | :28:31. | :28:34. | |
-- of the issue. That is all from Stormont. We are | :28:34. | :28:38. |