05/07/2011 BBC Newsline


05/07/2011

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Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor and Noel

:00:13.:00:23.
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Thompson. The headlines this Tuesday evening: the multi-million-

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pound contract row. On the trail of the prostitution

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trade operating in broad daylight in Belfast city centre. Racist

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bullying in the classroom - schools are accused of not doing enough to

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stop it. Our series of rare archive films continues. And it may have

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brightened after the wet start, but don't be putting the umbrellas away

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The row between the Housing Executive and the Housing Minister

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over the cancellation of a muti- million pound maintenance contact

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deepened today and is threatening to spill over into a meeting of

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Stormont Executive later in the week. The Housing Executive has

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described the minister Nelson McCausland's actions as

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"incomprehernsible". The Minister has alleged there is a pattern of

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overcharging in the public housing body which he wants investigated.

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We will be hearing shortly from the former DSD Minster Alex Attwood,

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who was in office when a contract was ended. But first this from our

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business correspondent Kevin Magee. Then get this how the staff of this

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company greeted the news that the multi-million pound contract had

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been pulled. The Housing Executive said it had made the decision after

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uncovering clear evidence of significant overcharging, something

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:01:59.:01:59.

the company no-one denies. The -- something the company denies. Red

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sky then went into administration. The Housing Minister says there is

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clear evidence around issues of double charging for work involving

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more than one contractor, and he has ordered an investigation.

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seems that when you turn over stones, you never know what you

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will find. An internal Menno -- memo described the contract as

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incomprehensible. Could also talked-about conversations taking

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place with the former senior management of the company. The memo

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The Housing Executive paper also said it believes former senior

:03:03.:03:13.
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management at the Red Sky could get Jim Alastair said that there was

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It is thought the entire issue could be raised for discussion at

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this week's meeting of the Stormont Executive.

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We did ask the minister Nelson McCausland to come on the programme,

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but he was not available. Alex Attwood of the SDLP was the

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Minister in charge of social development when the Housing

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Executive cancelled its contact with Red Sky in April. He says he's

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taken aback by Nelson McCausland's decisions. Why? I believe the

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housing Executive had an extensive, exhaustive inquiry into the affairs

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of red sky, and as minister, I was entirely satisfied with the cause

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of action that terminating the contract was the right thing to do.

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But it wasn't the only contractor or where questions were raised.

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This is why the minister wants a new independent forensic

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investigation. It is for Nelson McCausland to explain why two years

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of investigation led to termination, and turned on its head after two

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months. What is his evidence for so doing? If he does have concerns

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about other contractors, and I did, there was never any occasion when

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the scale and the magnitude of the claims and allegations against A

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:05:12.:05:13.

red Sky work made against others. After alleged meetings involving

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DUP officials and ministers and members, the contract that red sky

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have not challenge the termination of was reinstated. What are you

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referring? I am asking Nelson McCausland where is the evidence

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that leads to his conclusion that a Contractor around whom there are

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serious allegations of overcharging and lack of performance should be

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reinstated. How does that serve the tenant's interest? Is it not a

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responsible act by the Minister to not create a vacuum, and as you

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said, continued to repair houses, to have his independent forensic

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examination? He clearly thinks that there are still queries over some

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of the contractors. There was another independent investigation

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that led to termination. The Housing Executive should consider

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his viewpoint, but that did not contradict the fact that there is a

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pool of evidence of overcharging and lack of performance at A red

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sky, and that doesn't mean that they should now be reinstated. I

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think that Nelson McCausland and other ministers need to consider

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very quickly and more appropriate response to the situation. So you

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will raise this at the next Executive meeting? I have kept my

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counsel, and have tried and a number of occasions to meet of

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Nelson McCausland. This has come to nothing. Consequently, I advised

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the First Minister this afternoon that I want this raised at annual

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business on Thursday's Executive meeting. -- any other business. A

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lot of other issues could be raised that I have not raised to date. The

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DUP need to save what is going on and do just as change their course.

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The minister has made his decision. He was a new investigation. You are

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looking for under a rule that and disregarded? I was a very robust

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Minister. I initiated a number and encouraged a number of inquiries in

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the housing Executive in order to ensure that the tenons were served,

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the public was protected. I agree with any minister who says to any

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party, you must perform better. I agree with Nelson McCausland in

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that regard. What I do not agree is that you can turn on your head two

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years of a rented -- forensic investigation that led sq to

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conclusions that even Red Sky have not challenged. This course is

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folly at its mildest. Radio Ulster's Talkback programme

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has decided to try to find out how much it would take to set up an

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appointment with a prosecutor, following our article last night on

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this subject. It didn't take long, did it? What I euphemistically

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known as escort websites, we found one called Belfast escorts, and we

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saw a list of names, numbers and photographs of girls advertising

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their services. We tried a couple of numbers, but eventually I got

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through to a girl who called herself Natasha. I asked if I could

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make an appointment at lunchtime, and she told me where she was, said

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if I went to Queen's Bridge, that she would then tell me, if I called

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her, of where to go next. So we set off, and I rang her and she gave me

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further directions, about five minutes' walk from Queen's Bridge.

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We won't identify exactly where the apartment was, but I walked towards

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there. When I got there, she gave me achy coach for the gate to her

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apartment block, which are punched in. It was reasonably modern,

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reasonably close to the centre of the city. When I got to the front

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door of the communal building, I opened the door, they did here a

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baby crying, which suggests there are perhaps families living in that

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block. I rang her again and asked to which number apartment she lived

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in, and she said No. 36. I went to the door, and indeed there was

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Natasha, not the same girl on the website, but from the greeting that

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she gave to me, without doubt, the girl who I had been speaking to on

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the phone. At that point, I intimated that I had just received

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a phone call, and I made my excuses and left. When I left the apartment

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block, I left Mark -- looked at my phone. The time was 1237, 37

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minutes after we had set ourselves this challenge to find a prostitute

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:10:41.:10:44.

in Belfast, I had met with one face-to-face.

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A 21-year-old man has been jailed for four years for throwing a

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petrol bomb at police during a riot in north Belfast on July 12th last

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year. Hugh Martin from Jamaica Road in the city pleaded guilty to the

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charge. His defence lawyer Declan Quinn asked for him not to be

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jailed, claiming that Martin had been "sucked in" to the violence.

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Judge Tom Burgess said he had to jail Mr Martin because of the

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serious nature of the offence and the fact that he'd launched a

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potentially lethal weapon at police. Ten other people were also

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sentenced today for their part in the riots.

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The DUP MP Ian Paisley says he's written to the Attorney General to

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ask if a Spanish student jailed yesterday for attempted grievous

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bodily harm can be retried on a more serious charge. 29-year-old

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Rodger Costa, who admitted dropping a concrete block on a policewoman's

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head in rioting in Ardoyne last year, was jailed for four years. Mr

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Paisley says he's outraged that the Public Prosecution Service went for

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a lesser charge. Racist bullying in our schools is

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said to be replacing sectarianism. The Northern Ireland Council for

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Ethnic Minorities questioned children who are are Asian, black,

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mixed race or of Eastern European origin. It found that more than

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half of them are being bullied, and that many schools aren't able to

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deal with it. This report from 10-year-old Pauline and her mum are

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well settled and a new home. But when they arrived from Poland two

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years ago, she was badly bullied. They were saying bad words to me.

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They were trying to bully me. They were saying, go back to your own

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country, and things like that. do you think they were picking a

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new? Because I am from a different country. I belong to Poland, and I

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am a different person. Sooner than name-calling turns to violence, and

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their home was attacked. Her mum said that was the last straw.

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was really sad, and I wanted to go back to my country. I have no

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family, no friends, everything is new. It was really bad time for us.

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Pauline says her school was not at fault, and she was helped by

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teachers, but the report says not all victims can rely on support

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from the school. Many have responded very effectively and

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treat racist bullying very seriously. Unfortunately others are

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either unable to deal with racist bullying, or not quite sure how to

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go about it, and in some cases, schools are unwilling to even

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acknowledge that there is a problem, never mind confronted. So what

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needs to be done to tackle the issue? The Department need to look

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at the specific issues. They need to look at good practice, but the

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trainee and the information in for teachers, and I also need to have

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some kind of monitoring system to start with so they can see how

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prevalent the problem is, and they can look at ways of tackling that

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problem. The Department of Education says it has no plans to

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create specific guidance on racist bullying because it is working to

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prevent bullying in all its forms. Paulina is now happy in school, the

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bullying has stopped and she has this advice for other children are

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going for it. I would say, tell the people and they might help you, and

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:14:16.:14:19.

tell the teachers. And tell your Still to come on the programme: why

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was Winston Churchill at Queen's University? Politicians will be

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replaced with the public as storeman throws open its doors. The

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vice chancellor of the University of Ulster has urged the Stormont

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Executive to approve the expansion of the Magee Campus in Londonderry.

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Richard Barnett was speaking at the summer graduation at the Millennium

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Forum in Derry. He warned of the catastrophic consequences for

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Northern Ireland if universities continue to be underfunded. He said

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the cap on student numbers should be lifted.

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The central message is the case for the expansion of education in

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Ireland it is stronger today than it has ever been. It is strongest

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in Derry. The reason for that is we have a relatively small higher

:15:11.:15:14.

education sector here. We have got away with that because so many of

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our people have gone to Scotland to study. We know now that these there

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will be up to �9,000. Many people will not be able to afford. They

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will want to study close to home, but clearly there is a cap on the

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number of places here. It is important we give those people the

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opportunity to study here. Now for the second part of our series

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looking at the British Pathe film archive. Northern Ireland has

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plenty of famous visitors these days, but only decades ago, few

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VIPs made the trip to our shores. Pathe cameras did, though, capture

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some remarkable moments featuring two of the best-known figures of

:15:49.:15:59.
:15:59.:16:03.

Winston Churchill may have been best known for his brave war

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leadership, but he could mess about with students as well. This is

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Queen's university rag week in 1926. Churchill was Chancellor of the

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Exchequer. He was presented with hat. In the spirit of rag week, he

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newly cut off someone's beard. He went through Belfast on a horse. --

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Churchill kept up his links with Northern Ireland throughout his

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life. He was given the highest order by two of the bigger cities.

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It is a great pleasure. I am delighted to become a Freeman of

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Belfast and Londonderry. It is all the greater because of the

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distinguished company who have come over here to give it to me. From

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one great wartime leader to another. Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of

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Franklin Roosevelt. She visited in 1942. Most of her trip was spent in

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Derry. It was an important American naval base at the time. She was the

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woman who created the modern image of the First Lady. There would have

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been at tremendous sense of being cared for her as part of the

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American personnel here were concerned. It is doubtful if many

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of them would have recognise there, because there was no television.

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is believed that these are the only moving pictures of her visit. Her

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priority was meeting American servicemen, but she did what on the

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Derry walls. She also dropped into this Red Cross Hospital in Belfast.

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She has a diary description of coming to Belfast, she got a

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hospital was a very grim place, very shoeless. She was sorry she

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did not have time to visit all wards, because American GIs would

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have relished a visit. Eleanor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill

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were right standings these people. This really seen footage shows that

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while they were making their mark on global history, they left an

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imprint on local history. Stormont is throwing open its doors, to the

:18:48.:18:51.

public, that is, not politicians. The tourist industry has welcomed

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new hourly guided tours, which should see visitor numbers to the

:18:54.:19:03.

house on the hill soar. The benches were more sparse than

:19:03.:19:13.
:19:13.:19:13.

usual, and the speaker was being ignored. The public are queuing up

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to take place of absent politicians. This is Martin McGuinness up there.

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Until now, you had to be a special guest to tour the buildings, but

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from this week, you turn up on the hour and away you go. This building

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is more like a leisure centre or a library than a court house, in the

:19:38.:19:42.

sense that we are not here to keep you out, we want you to come over

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the door as citizens and engage. We want to remove the mystery of

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decision-making, politics, public life. The tourist industry is

:19:53.:20:01.

impressed. It was a closed shop of four, and we have a lot of people

:20:01.:20:04.

staying from Europe and America are who want to see this part of

:20:04.:20:10.

history. It was very difficult to do so before. You would not suggest

:20:10.:20:14.

that as a place to go before, whereas now it is definitely one of

:20:14.:20:20.

the top attractions. It is very pleasant and open for everybody for

:20:20.:20:24.

public viewing. This building is really nice. Her it was very

:20:24.:20:31.

amazing, and a very interesting. I learned about the political

:20:31.:20:35.

situation in Northern Ireland. Westminster could learn a lot from

:20:35.:20:43.

this. It is a lot more open. We do not have that in the UK. The guides

:20:43.:20:50.

cannot answer every question. not know. The tour has continued

:20:50.:20:56.

through the summer. They will even continue when the politicians are

:20:56.:21:04.

back, I'll be at less frequently. It is three, which is cheaper than

:21:04.:21:14.
:21:14.:21:17.

Westminster. -- it is free. Ireland's cricketers were glad the

:21:17.:21:22.

sunshine daymare, because rain delayed the start of the second

:21:22.:21:29.

Intercontinental Cup game between Ireland and Namibia. Play

:21:29.:21:32.

eventually got under way after lunch, reduced to 38 overs per side.

:21:32.:21:35.

Namibia won the toss, batted first and some very big hitting by their

:21:35.:21:39.

tail got them up to a total of 175 all out. John Monie took three

:21:39.:21:45.

wickets for 31 runs. Moments ago, they reach that the target with

:21:45.:21:50.

just two wickets lost. Donegal manager Jim McGuinness has

:21:50.:21:52.

expressed his disappointment with his own county board for not

:21:52.:21:55.

postponing club fixtures in the run-up to the Ulster final against

:21:55.:21:57.

Derry. McGuinness will now be without defender Leo McLoone for

:21:58.:22:00.

the final after the player fractured his eye socket in a club

:22:01.:22:08.

match on Sunday. Obviously in an Ulster final you

:22:08.:22:13.

want your top players available to you, and he has worked very hard to

:22:13.:22:19.

get back into the fray, and it is very unfortunate. It is unfortunate

:22:19.:22:25.

for him more than anybody. He misses out now, and for us, we have

:22:25.:22:30.

to move on and prepare as best as we can for the final. American

:22:30.:22:33.

football is by far and away the biggest sport in the United States,

:22:33.:22:36.

and it is starting to gain popularity here across the Atlantic.

:22:36.:22:39.

Northern Ireland currently has three amateur sides, and all of

:22:39.:22:42.

them are currently trying to battle through to the big showpiece final

:22:42.:22:52.
:22:52.:22:57.

It is not your average changing room. It is not your average strep.

:22:57.:23:02.

That is because this is the home to one of only three American football

:23:02.:23:12.
:23:12.:23:15.

teams locally. In Northern Ireland there is three teams. We also have

:23:15.:23:21.

another seven teams down in Dublin. They play in the league as well. At

:23:21.:23:30.

the end of it, we have a full season, and a final. The American

:23:30.:23:34.

equivalent is known throughout the world at the Superbowl, but on our

:23:34.:23:39.

doorstep we have the Shamrock Bowl. It is the Shamrock Bowl. The same

:23:39.:23:48.

sort of premise. It is the end of the season game in Dublin. It is a

:23:48.:23:57.

big deal for us. We have two games here and then the play-offs. The

:23:57.:24:03.

last game of the play-offs is the Shamrock Bowl. Whether the reach

:24:03.:24:06.

the coveted shamrock or not, there is one side of the sport which

:24:06.:24:11.

keeps bringing the players back. once you get involved in the

:24:11.:24:15.

contact, they enjoy the physical game, the logistics of it, there is

:24:15.:24:25.
:24:25.:24:28.

a lot more work strategy than soccer. It is more physical.

:24:28.:24:36.

American football could be the sport for you. Some ski area

:24:36.:24:43.

looking for people there. -- scary looking. Ireland's Special Olympics

:24:43.:24:46.

squad have return from a very successful summer games in Athens.

:24:46.:24:49.

The team landed back today in Dublin airport with a total medal

:24:49.:24:52.

haul of 107. 41 of those medals were won by Northern Irish athletes,

:24:52.:24:54.

including the youngest gold medallist, 12 year-old Fergal

:24:54.:25:02.

Gregory, swimmer from Crossmaglen. Absolutely amazing. Brilliant

:25:02.:25:07.

atmosphere here. Everybody cheered them on. Just brilliant, I am so

:25:07.:25:17.
:25:17.:25:20.

proud of him. I am so glad to have him warm. Very good Northern

:25:20.:25:22.

Ireland's netball team lost 75-33 to Australia today at the world

:25:22.:25:25.

championships in Singapore, but win tomorrow against Samoa and they are

:25:25.:25:28.

in the quarter-finals. Finally, the new US Open champion Rory McIlroy

:25:28.:25:32.

is the European Tour's golfer of the month for June. He now heads to

:25:32.:25:35.

Sandwich for the Open Championship, but former world number one Tiger

:25:35.:25:43.

Woods confirmed today he will not be there due to a leg injury.

:25:43.:25:47.

We will bring you all the big interviews with in Rory McIlroy and

:25:48.:25:54.

Darren Clarke. If you mess that the documentary last night, it was a

:25:54.:26:01.

good watch and you can catch it on good watch and you can catch it on

:26:01.:26:07.

the website. Now the latest on the weather. All good things come to

:26:07.:26:12.

end, and that is what has happened in the last 24 hours. There is more

:26:12.:26:15.

unsettled weather heading our way as we go through the rest of the

:26:15.:26:22.

week. At least it has been better than the first have, when we had

:26:22.:26:26.

the weather front pushing very and giving us a great man cloudy start.

:26:26.:26:33.

We will have sharp showers edging their way in. For central and

:26:33.:26:38.

eastern areas it will be dry. Some brightness around but you cannot

:26:38.:26:44.

last that -- count on that last into the night. The showers will be

:26:44.:26:48.

popping up. They will become persistent rather than heavy. There

:26:48.:26:56.

will be the order moderate burst here and they are. Tomorrow is a

:26:56.:27:00.

mixture of bright spells and showers. First thing in the morning

:27:00.:27:08.

we are looking at more cloud and sunshine. Here will be drier than

:27:08.:27:15.

it will be further north. Even when it does, there are more showers to

:27:15.:27:25.
:27:25.:27:25.

come. Probably staying quite cloudy. The further side you goal, it is

:27:25.:27:28.

where we will see the brightest spells, but also potentially the

:27:28.:27:33.

heaviest showers. With lighter win tomorrow, it could be quite slow

:27:33.:27:40.

moving and prolonged. Gaps in between, but the breeze is likely

:27:40.:27:45.

north-westerly tomorrow. It will be a fresher feeling today. The low-

:27:45.:27:49.

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