:00:12. > :00:19.Good evening, this is BBC Newsline, with Donna Traynor and Sarah
:00:19. > :00:23.Travers. The headlines this Thursday evening.
:00:23. > :00:27.The Justice Minister asks the Law Society to investigate the
:00:27. > :00:30.behaviour of a leading Belfast solicitor.
:00:30. > :00:35.An independent report criticises the Police Ombudsman for weak
:00:35. > :00:40.leadership. Theo Walcott -- the inquiry into
:00:40. > :00:45.the Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan murders. The police are accused of
:00:45. > :00:49.interference. And the tax cuts have lest -- have
:00:49. > :00:52.left restaurants here feeling the pinch.
:00:52. > :00:55.And why sport and politics don't mix.
:00:55. > :00:58.Also on the programme, join me live on a treasure hunt in Enniskillen,
:00:58. > :01:01.to discover if the Antiques Roadshow has unearthed a fortune.
:01:01. > :01:09.And as the showers fade, could things be settling down at last?
:01:10. > :01:12.The Justice Minister has written to the Law Society urging them to
:01:12. > :01:17.investigate the behaviour of a leading Belfast solicitor, which
:01:17. > :01:19.has been described as an attempted smear of David Ford. Mr Ford
:01:19. > :01:22.disclosed the move to the Assembly's Justice Committee after
:01:22. > :01:27.details emerged of a leaked email said to have been written by
:01:27. > :01:35.solicitor Kevin Winters. Our political editor, Mark Devenport,
:01:35. > :01:40.has more. The Justice Department's attempt to
:01:40. > :01:49.cut the legal aid payments it made two syllabuses and barristers has
:01:49. > :01:53.caused widespread destruction in the courts. -- to solicitors. One
:01:53. > :01:58.solicitor was prepared to take on a case at the new low rate but had to
:01:58. > :02:02.withdraw after he could not secure the services of a barrister. In the
:02:02. > :02:09.Justice Committee today, a DUP politician read out a leaked email
:02:09. > :02:15.he claimed had been sent to a Law Society representative. This is the
:02:15. > :02:20.P r o for the association. He got out an email from Kevin Winters,
:02:20. > :02:30.saying, Well done on the radio this morning. The language was brilliant.
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:36.It says that all, win. There is a series of exchanges between the
:02:36. > :02:39.solicitor and a Mr Higgins, who I presume is a journalist.
:02:39. > :02:49.response, David Ford told committee members he had been contacted by
:02:49. > :02:51.
:02:51. > :02:56.two journalists asking about an alleged friendship between a
:02:56. > :03:02.solicitor and his wife. It was put to me the suggestion of an alleged
:03:02. > :03:04.friendship with Mr Bell's wife and that she was possibly a member of
:03:04. > :03:14.the alliance prepare and decide -- had signed my pay before the
:03:14. > :03:15.
:03:15. > :03:21.election. I said this was rubbish. -- signed by paper for the election.
:03:21. > :03:26.Jim Wells claimed that Kevin Winters's firm has received �16.5
:03:26. > :03:30.million in legal aid in the past few years. Another member described
:03:30. > :03:34.the matter as a disturbing development, which appeared to be
:03:34. > :03:39.an attempted smear against either the Justice Minister or the
:03:39. > :03:44.solicitor, Gary Bell. In response, Kevin Winters said the Garrigill
:03:44. > :03:48.issue is the subject of a complaint and a counter complaint, and as
:03:48. > :03:51.such it will be entirely inappropriate for him to comment.
:03:51. > :03:55.He added that all parties involved should recognise the need for
:03:55. > :04:00.extreme accuracy on these issues and any erroneous statements would
:04:00. > :04:02.be the subject of litigation. The Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson
:04:03. > :04:05.has been subjected to withering criticism by an independent report,
:04:05. > :04:12.which says his weak leadership has undermined the effectiveness of the
:04:12. > :04:14.office. The report was ordered by the Justice Minister after a senior
:04:14. > :04:19.aide to the Ombudsman, Sam Pollock, claimed government officials had
:04:19. > :04:24.interfered with the work of the office. The report found some
:04:24. > :04:27.interference but no systemic meddling. It also uncovered toxic
:04:27. > :04:36.office politics at the highest levels of the organisation. Our
:04:36. > :04:42.home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney, reports.
:04:42. > :04:46.Sam Pollock is seen here on the right, walking alongside the Police
:04:46. > :04:50.Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson. His decision to resign and allegations
:04:50. > :04:56.about how his office does its business led to two separate
:04:56. > :05:01.inquiries. The former senior civil servant was appointed by David Ford
:05:01. > :05:04.enabled to investigate some of those allegations. It was said that
:05:04. > :05:08.senior government officials have meddled in the affairs of governors
:05:09. > :05:13.of the office and had spread false and malicious allegations about Sam
:05:13. > :05:20.Pollock when he raised concerns about interference. Appearing
:05:20. > :05:27.before the Justice Committee at Stormont today, the issue without
:05:27. > :05:32.land. The outcome of the five-year review and the consequences of the
:05:32. > :05:37.evaluation will be investigated. However, the report is far from a
:05:37. > :05:41.clean bill of health. It paints the picture of an office in turmoil,
:05:41. > :05:46.with a complete breakdown between the relationship between the
:05:46. > :05:51.ombudsman and its two most senior members of staff, Sam Pollock and
:05:52. > :05:56.the senior investigations officer. People are either at loggerheads
:05:56. > :06:01.with each other or have no respect for each other and they expect a
:06:01. > :06:04.large group of staff of function and deliver a strong service.
:06:04. > :06:09.says a document was leaked which was damaging to the reputation of
:06:09. > :06:19.Sam Pollock. It was leaked to the director of investigations, a
:06:19. > :06:25.
:06:25. > :06:29.colleague Nenad -- a colleague Sam Pollock was in it problems with.
:06:30. > :06:33.You have stated very clearly that it was meddling and interference by
:06:33. > :06:38.officials in this office but I don't think you flag d'etat in the
:06:38. > :06:45.way you should have. The fear is damaged of relationships and morale.
:06:45. > :06:54.The report says it is a drift towards an ineffective office.
:06:54. > :07:03.Bennett said, this was damaging to decisive leadership. -- then it
:07:03. > :07:10.said. Does this not damage relationships with the ombudsman?
:07:10. > :07:17.disagree with that. This report and jaw evidence has completely and
:07:17. > :07:21.utterly and totally shredded the credibility of the office ombudsmen.
:07:22. > :07:28.It has completely destroyed 10 years of work. The Justice Minister,
:07:28. > :07:33.who ordered the inquiry, had Mr say. I think their bodies need to take
:07:33. > :07:37.action in a number of areas. Firstly, it shows a short-term
:07:37. > :07:43.response to government issues, which needs to be sorted out
:07:43. > :07:47.immediately. In a statement, Al Hutchinson said he welcomed the
:07:47. > :07:51.findings of the report and that there was no evidence of systemic
:07:51. > :07:56.interference in the work of his office. But Sam Pollock has said he
:07:56. > :08:01.does not accept there was no interference in operational issues.
:08:01. > :08:05.He also said he did not agree that interference was not systemic.
:08:05. > :08:09.Other potentially more damaging allegations by his Sam Pollock
:08:09. > :08:13.about a lack of independence between the office and the police
:08:13. > :08:16.are subject to a separate inquiry. Its findings are expected to be
:08:16. > :08:18.published in the near future. Next, more accusations of
:08:18. > :08:21.government interference, this time in the workings of the Smithwick
:08:21. > :08:24.Tribunal in Dublin, which is looking at the murders of two RUC
:08:24. > :08:26.officers. In letters to the Republic's Justice Minister, the
:08:26. > :08:28.tribunal's chairman Judge Peter Smithwick said the politician's
:08:28. > :08:36.public statements have led to witnesses reconsidering whether to
:08:36. > :08:39.give evidence. Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob
:08:39. > :08:44.Buchanan died in an IRA ambush as they returned from a meeting at
:08:45. > :08:52.Dundalk Garda station in 1989. The tribunal is investigating
:08:52. > :08:54.allegations that someone in the Gardai colluded in the murders.
:08:54. > :09:02.Our reporter Jennifer O'Leary has more now on the claims of
:09:02. > :09:06.interference. Jennifer, what's the background to the correspondence?
:09:06. > :09:11.In later May, the Irish Justice Minister announced he was imposing
:09:11. > :09:15.a deadline on the work of the tribunal. An interim report has
:09:15. > :09:20.been published today and the final report, due for the end of November
:09:20. > :09:26.this year. That was used to a lot of people, including the chairman
:09:26. > :09:31.of the tribunal, Peter Smithwick. He wrote a letter, essentially
:09:31. > :09:35.saying, what are you doing imposing a deadline and giving a green light,
:09:35. > :09:39.frustrating my work, because they know we are to wrap up, and also it
:09:39. > :09:45.could have an impact on significant witnesses who may fear they do not
:09:45. > :09:50.want to come forward. Outside his jurisdiction, witnesses cannot be
:09:50. > :09:54.compelled to give evidence. He sent his letter to the minister and
:09:54. > :09:58.there ensued correspondence, where the minister denied he was
:09:58. > :10:01.interfering in the tribunal and he refused to revoke the government
:10:01. > :10:08.decision not to impose the deadline and we know the terms of reference
:10:08. > :10:12.were changed. It is particularly damaging, those accusations, that
:10:12. > :10:19.the minister has threatened public confidence in the tribunal?
:10:19. > :10:25.Absolutely. Fianna Fail, who were in power in 2005, they justice
:10:25. > :10:34.spokesman accused the minister, saying, the minister is undermining
:10:34. > :10:43.what he described as an expensive but crucial initiative. He said one
:10:43. > :10:48.of the essential purposes of the report was to expose the
:10:48. > :10:52.perpetrators. Where is the interim report, you might ask. We expected
:10:52. > :10:56.to be published later this afternoon. The attention has now
:10:56. > :10:59.focused on the political fall-out from the Minister Alan Shatter and
:10:59. > :11:02.the reactions from political parties in Northern Ireland.
:11:02. > :11:05.A 45-year-old man has been charged over comments posted on a social
:11:05. > :11:09.networking site about the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr. The 25-year-
:11:09. > :11:12.old was killed when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh almost three
:11:12. > :11:16.months ago. The man, who was arrested in Cookstown, is charged
:11:16. > :11:26.with distributing material that's threatening or offensive. A
:11:26. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:32.condition of his bail is that he's not allowed to use a computer.
:11:32. > :11:36.We're heading into the height of the tourist season, but the
:11:36. > :11:38.industry here says it's about to suffer another blow. From tomorrow,
:11:38. > :11:42.restaurants, hotels and tourist venues in the Republic can charge a
:11:42. > :11:46.lower rate of VAT. That'll make it less than half of what is charged
:11:46. > :11:50.to customers here. BBC Newsline's Will Leitch reports.
:11:50. > :12:00.Lunch in a Dublin restaurant. From tomorrow, the bill will be
:12:00. > :12:03.noticeably smaller. It is dropping to 9%. It will have a huge impact
:12:03. > :12:09.and give people in the domestic market a feel-good factor to see
:12:09. > :12:14.prices drop. For example, our three-course menu will go down. It
:12:14. > :12:19.is a visible impact. Anything that can bring tourists into Ireland is
:12:19. > :12:23.a good thing. The VAT rate in Northern Ireland's restaurants is
:12:23. > :12:27.20%. With a reason dipping tourist numbers it is no surprise that
:12:27. > :12:32.restaurant owners here are looking southwards and wishing for a
:12:32. > :12:36.reduction, too. It gives them a huge advantage and we are very
:12:36. > :12:43.jealous of what they're getting. We are paying 20%, and that is on a
:12:43. > :12:48.total turnover. So if I sell you a fish dish at �12, the VAT man gets
:12:48. > :12:57.to pounds of that straight away. Our profit on that dish will be
:12:57. > :13:06.about 30 pence. So we are struggling. We need an VAT rate
:13:07. > :13:10.similar to theirs. -- a VAT rate. Lowering the VAT rate could make
:13:10. > :13:14.room for lowering prices and bring people through the door, and that
:13:14. > :13:20.could be the difference between it keeping going and closing down
:13:20. > :13:24.altogether. The group representing a hotels is worried as well. With
:13:24. > :13:32.rates in France and Spain at five and 8%, these businesses cannot
:13:32. > :13:41.compete. Our nearest neighbour has much lower rates and a domestic
:13:41. > :13:44.competition is trading at 9%, so we are automatically at a disadvantage.
:13:44. > :13:47.This is BBC Newsline, and still to come on the programme.
:13:47. > :13:50.Hollywood glamour in Belfast, as this stunning collection goes on
:13:50. > :14:00.show. And what hidden treasures have been
:14:00. > :14:04.
:14:04. > :14:07.discovered at the Antiques One in every 91 children here lives
:14:07. > :14:11.with relatives other than their parents. It is known as kinship
:14:11. > :14:15.care. The situation often arises out of a traumatic or difficult
:14:16. > :14:18.situation like death, prison or illness. One grandmother has been
:14:19. > :14:21.telling me how she intervened when her daughter was mentally unwell to
:14:21. > :14:30.prevent her grandchildren being taken into care, but now she feels
:14:30. > :14:36.social services have left her with no support.
:14:36. > :14:46.There was nobody else to step in to take care of my grandchildren can
:14:46. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:52.stop as any grandmother would do, I went to take care of them, as any
:14:52. > :15:00.grandmother would do. I had no money whatsoever and every door I
:15:00. > :15:03.turn to was close to me when I went for help. I did approach social
:15:03. > :15:09.services at one stage and say if my grandchildren were undernourished
:15:09. > :15:16.could be out to visit me, and we're at that stage. It is so sad but I
:15:16. > :15:21.had to screen and shout to get that help. If I had fostered them, but
:15:21. > :15:24.support would have been there. So, if that lady had officially
:15:24. > :15:27.fostered her grandchildren she would have had more help. That's a
:15:27. > :15:30.big issue for a great number of people in a similar situation in
:15:30. > :15:32.Northern Ireland. With me now is Jacqui Williamson from an
:15:33. > :15:34.organisation called Kinship Care NI. This subject was raised at a
:15:35. > :15:37.conference in Belfast today organised by the Community
:15:37. > :15:47.Foundation for Northern Ireland, raising a topic, Jacqui, not widely
:15:47. > :15:48.
:15:48. > :15:54.discussed before? Today we spent talking about different issues and
:15:54. > :15:59.kinship care was one of them. One in 19 children here that within
:15:59. > :16:06.this kinship care arrangement. We had the opportunity to raise the
:16:06. > :16:15.issue today public paid. You have personal experience of kinship care.
:16:15. > :16:18.Tunnels your story. I am a kinship care myself. By that after my knees.
:16:18. > :16:27.I grew up in the care system in Northern Ireland, but before I went
:16:27. > :16:31.into care I live - - lived with my grandmother. Now affect care I can
:16:31. > :16:35.understand the importance of keeping children within their own
:16:35. > :16:38.families and communities. But you feel there should be more done to
:16:38. > :16:46.help. There is a Bill going through Parliament that should make things
:16:46. > :16:53.better? It should do. The the bill is going through the House of
:16:53. > :17:00.Commons at the moment. We want to see more than that for kinship
:17:00. > :17:08.carers in Northern Ireland. We want better support, respite support for
:17:09. > :17:13.people who do this. The thank you. The glamour of Hollywood USA has
:17:14. > :17:17.come to Belfast. Costumes worn in movies by Elizabeth Taylor and Al
:17:17. > :17:19.Pacino are on display in the Ulster Museum from tomorrow. And from the
:17:19. > :17:22.small screen exhibits included Colin Firth's suit worn in that
:17:22. > :17:24.famous scene in Pride And Prejudice. Our arts correspondent, Maggie
:17:25. > :17:29.Taggart, gives us a sneak preview. And the Ulster Museum has captured
:17:29. > :17:34.that movies there it here in this exhibition with a red carpet and
:17:34. > :17:38.the very first costume that you see is a Hollywood one, worn by
:17:38. > :17:44.Elizabeth Taylor in 1988. The first part of the exhibition is about
:17:44. > :17:51.wedding dresses. This one is from pride and prejudice. This was
:17:51. > :17:58.warned by Meryl Streep. But this one up here, tell me what this one
:17:58. > :18:06.is from, how Lennon Bonham-Carter or in a Frankenstein? That's right,
:18:06. > :18:09.it is true the at magnificent dress. Their exact attention to detail is
:18:09. > :18:19.just stunning. The pride and prejudice wedding dresses here just
:18:19. > :18:29.as it was warned on-screen. Fans of Lark Rise to candle for concede two
:18:29. > :18:29.
:18:29. > :18:35.outfits worn in the popular series. So now we have a complete contrast
:18:35. > :18:45.in the colour. What is this one? This is the dress that Minnie
:18:45. > :18:49.
:18:49. > :18:54.Driver wore in Phantom of the opera. It has a beautiful colour. You also
:18:54. > :18:58.have something from the King's speech. Yes, we are amazed and
:18:58. > :19:04.delighted that we were able to get these costumes. They have not been
:19:04. > :19:10.seen that the public before so we are lucky to have them. The Queen's
:19:10. > :19:14.Film Theatre has joined in, too. There are some great films shown
:19:14. > :19:20.throughout the case - - course of the exhibition. For us it was a
:19:20. > :19:25.chance to highlight its the popularity of costume drama as a
:19:25. > :19:35.genre. This outfit is a show- stopper. It is the one worn by
:19:35. > :19:37.
:19:37. > :19:40.We are off to Enniskillen now where people have been clearing out their
:19:40. > :19:43.attics in the hope of finding some hidden treasure. That's because the
:19:43. > :19:46.BBC's Antiques Roadshow is in town at the Castle Coole National Trust
:19:46. > :19:56.property. Our district journalist Julian Fowler is there for us.
:19:56. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:02.Julian, did you uncover any bits of treasure in your house?
:20:02. > :20:04.I'll be asking an expert in a moment. The 18th century mansion
:20:04. > :20:10.here is a magnificent background for the Antiques Roadshow, now in
:20:10. > :20:15.its 34th series. More than 2,000 people were here today hoping for a
:20:15. > :20:18.big valuation. The last time the programme was in Enniskillen was 20
:20:18. > :20:28.years ago when there was one of those classic moments which the
:20:28. > :20:34.programme has become famous for. The Antiques Roadshow used to visit
:20:34. > :20:38.sports halls rather than stately homes. In 1990 Frank Mick Fealty
:20:38. > :20:44.turned up at this painting bought for �2. It had been used as a
:20:44. > :20:50.dartboard, but it was revealed to be rare and valuable. He is
:20:50. > :21:00.collected and this is a very good one. I would say it is probably
:21:00. > :21:02.
:21:02. > :21:08.worth between �10,000 and �15,000. Who through the dark?! Today the
:21:08. > :21:13.show return to for Mamma looking for more exciting discoveries.
:21:13. > :21:19.always have there is going to be some amazing what it for up pounds
:21:19. > :21:23.and it is worth �10,000 moment! There is always something pretty
:21:23. > :21:29.spectacular that comes along. queues formed early this morning
:21:29. > :21:37.with people of thing but an old family heirloom could be worth a
:21:37. > :21:45.fortune. We have brought to pictures and we were thinking they
:21:45. > :21:51.might be worth quite a lot. Are you hoping it is? Yes. Just curious,
:21:51. > :21:55.really. I like to know what things are worth. For some it is finding
:21:55. > :21:59.out the history of an object in a little about, but for the millions
:21:59. > :22:03.of viewers to tune in each Sunday night it is the agony and ecstasy
:22:04. > :22:09.of the moment when the expert reveals what it is worth. He'd just
:22:09. > :22:15.said it was made of alabaster. If it had been made of marble it would
:22:15. > :22:23.be worth an awful lot more. Did you find your fortune? I will be going
:22:23. > :22:32.back to work and so temper! course, there is always the
:22:32. > :22:37.sentimental value if there is no monetary value. Eric, any big
:22:37. > :22:45.discoveries? We have had a good time today. I have no idea what my
:22:45. > :22:48.colleagues are doing. I think I saw most of the 2000 people. A lady
:22:48. > :22:54.came in with the collection of compacts and I'm told by my
:22:54. > :23:01.colleague that those 500 compacts were worth the best part of a
:23:01. > :23:09.hundred �1,000! Jewellery, they have done well today. We had a
:23:09. > :23:16.diamond brooch that was valued at around �12,000. Silver, not so via
:23:16. > :23:23.a silver. Ian Pickford has had a great day. We had some church
:23:23. > :23:30.silver from James the second, �70,000 to �80,000. Very briefly,
:23:31. > :23:36.is that worth anything? It is a lovely piece of jewellery which
:23:36. > :23:41.dates from 1900. 9 carat gold. Not a huge amount of money come about
:23:41. > :23:46.�100. It does go to show that antique jewellery can be affordable.
:23:46. > :23:49.Thank you very much for joining us. Looks like it will be spending my
:23:49. > :23:52.fortune on my summer holiday just yet.
:23:52. > :23:56.The US Open champion Rory McIlroy has been giving some golfing tips
:23:56. > :23:59.to two formidable players - in the political arena! He was a guest
:23:59. > :24:02.this morning of the First and Deputy First Ministers and, as Dan
:24:02. > :24:10.Stanton reports, they have a lot to learn - when it comes to golf, of
:24:10. > :24:16.course! It has been a whirlwind of
:24:16. > :24:23.engagements for golf's man of the moment. Today it was meeting that
:24:23. > :24:33.ministers and the PhotoShop - - photo-shoot at Stormont. Then it
:24:33. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:46.was time for some practice for our top politicians. Let's see your
:24:46. > :24:50.
:24:50. > :24:54.grip. That snot grape! What Is Your Handicap Mr Robinson? The golf club.
:24:54. > :25:04.It all went quiet when people prepare for the all-important shot
:25:04. > :25:08.
:25:08. > :25:16.from Martin McGuinness. The staff enjoyed the moment. How
:25:16. > :25:26.does it feel to be at Stormont, Rory? Great. It is no first-time
:25:26. > :25:28.
:25:28. > :25:38.here. So, another highlight for Rory McIlroy, who is still enjoying
:25:38. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:46.his time off before the next big competition.
:25:46. > :25:52.Fergal Gregory, 12-year-old swimmer from Crossmaglen, has won and gold
:25:52. > :25:58.medal at the Special Olympics. Earlier Martin who'd won silver in
:25:58. > :26:07.the shot put competition. That brings the total metal - - medal
:26:07. > :26:17.tally for Northern Ireland up to 36! Well done to Angie Phillips. I
:26:17. > :26:22.
:26:22. > :26:27.won't tell me what age she is today, It looks like the weather is going
:26:27. > :26:35.to settle down a little bit. Not huge amount of sunshine, but not a
:26:35. > :26:39.lot of rain, I do. There were a few showers this morning, drifting
:26:39. > :26:45.their way eastwards. For many a bus the evening will be the best part
:26:46. > :26:50.of the day. Through the night the cloud will start to close him once
:26:50. > :27:00.again and we could see some mist and hill fog, particularly in the
:27:00. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:10.north-west. For most of us it will Into tomorrow, it does look like we
:27:10. > :27:15.will hold on to a lot of cloud, probably more so than today. They
:27:15. > :27:25.could be a few spots of drizzle, but that will fade away and leaving
:27:25. > :27:26.
:27:26. > :27:31.us with dry weather. It will not be a bad day on the north coast. The
:27:31. > :27:41.best chance of a few Brits in the cloud will be in the north coast
:27:41. > :27:44.
:27:44. > :27:49.and parts of County Antrim in County Down. The winds are light.
:27:49. > :27:52.If you suffer from hay fever, the pollen levels are rising. Heading