:00:17. > :00:21.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline. Our top story this Monday evening:
:00:21. > :00:31.A big blow for consumers as another energy supplier puts up its prices.
:00:31. > :00:35.
:00:35. > :00:45.Also tonight: an early departure chair for the Police Ombudsman. --
:00:45. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:49.an early departure for the. A man is charged with raping a
:00:49. > :00:56.schoolgirl. The schools are back and so is the
:00:56. > :01:04.gridlock for commuters. We is it when it scores go back this becomes
:01:04. > :01:11.a car park? -- went schools go back. Autumn is well and truly upon us
:01:11. > :01:14.this week. No sign of an Indian summer. I will have the latest.
:01:14. > :01:19.First it was electricity prices, then coal and oil, now gas prices
:01:19. > :01:22.are set to rise sharply for many consumers across Northern Ireland.
:01:22. > :01:25.It has emerged this evening that Firmus Energy is increasing its gas
:01:25. > :01:28.price by over 28%. The higher tariffs will apply to customers in
:01:28. > :01:34.ten towns. Our consumer correspondent is here to explain.
:01:34. > :01:44.This will affect Firmus Energy customers in the 10th towns
:01:44. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:55.stretching from London dairy -- Londonderry. It is a 28.4% increase.
:01:55. > :01:59.I reckon that will add �130 to the average Firmus Energy bill. What
:01:59. > :02:08.about companies in the Belfast area? No announcement so far from
:02:08. > :02:15.Firmus Energy so far on that market. Phoenix Gas increased their prices
:02:15. > :02:22.by 39.1% in April, and we expect, after this move by Firmus Energy to
:02:22. > :02:29.follow with something similar in Greater Belfast. Explain why the
:02:29. > :02:36.increase. The same reason as electricity and coal prices going
:02:36. > :02:38.up. Bigger demand their energy and inflation pushing prices up. Thank
:02:38. > :02:41.you. The man in charge of investigating
:02:41. > :02:43.complaints against the PSNI, the Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson, is
:02:43. > :02:46.under renewed pressure tonight with a report pointing to serious
:02:46. > :02:49.failings in the way he runs the organisation. The report was
:02:49. > :02:54.commissioned by the Justice Minister and it suggests the
:02:54. > :02:57.independence of the Ombudsman has been undermined. It's the latest in
:02:57. > :03:00.a series of difficulties for Mr Hutchinson. Last summer, he was
:03:00. > :03:04.forced to withdraw a report into the McGurk's Bar bombing when
:03:04. > :03:06.victims' families complained that it contained inaccuracies. In April,
:03:06. > :03:08.the BBC revealed that Mr Hutchinson's chief executive had
:03:08. > :03:14.resigned, saying the independence of the organisation had been
:03:14. > :03:16.compromised. And in June, an independent review said Mr
:03:16. > :03:26.Hutchinson's weak leadership had undermined the effectiveness of his
:03:26. > :03:30.
:03:30. > :03:36.office. Our home affairs correspondent reports.
:03:36. > :03:42.15 people died when a UVF bomb exploded in McGurk's Bar bar 40
:03:42. > :03:46.years ago. A key role of the office is to examine how the police
:03:46. > :03:51.investigated atrocities like this. How that work has been carried out
:03:51. > :03:55.has been strongly criticised in today's report. Al Hutchinson
:03:55. > :04:05.commissioned the report after the BBC revealed that his chief
:04:05. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:08.executive, seen on the right, announced his resignation. The
:04:08. > :04:12.Criminal Justice Inspectorate uphold his claim they have been a
:04:12. > :04:19.lowering of the independence of the office in the way it to investigate
:04:19. > :04:26.historical cases. Anything which historical cases. Anything which
:04:26. > :04:31.undermines confidence in the office is damaging. This report identified
:04:31. > :04:34.how it approached investigations. I think that is damaging to the
:04:34. > :04:40.opera's. The report says Al Hutchinson has lost the confidence
:04:40. > :04:44.of senior members of his staff and describes the Office as
:04:44. > :04:50.dysfunctional. Investigations are labelled inconsistent and flawed.
:04:50. > :04:56.Inspectors say some reports were redrafted to reduce criticism of
:04:56. > :05:02.the place. Some senior members of the staff claimed sensitive police
:05:03. > :05:07.material has been withheld. And two senior members of staff asked to be
:05:07. > :05:11.disassociated from some reports. The inspectors say Al Hutchinson
:05:11. > :05:17.should suspend investigations into historical events until the issues
:05:17. > :05:20.have been addressed, and he has agreed. He insists he is the best
:05:20. > :05:28.person to implement those changes. He says we he will step down
:05:28. > :05:31.earlier than planned because of criticism of his office.
:05:31. > :05:38.acknowledge the personal attacks on me are becoming dysfunctional in
:05:38. > :05:42.their impact in the office, and I have reflected on that and taken a
:05:42. > :05:46.decision, and I will announce that on Thursday. Politicians are
:05:46. > :05:53.divided about whether he should be allowed to choose the time of his
:05:53. > :05:56.departure. A Al Hutchinson wants to go on his 65th birthday. But I
:05:56. > :06:02.wonder hear from him on Thursday and allow him the opportunity to
:06:02. > :06:11.provide answers to the report. further delay there is, the further
:06:11. > :06:16.damage is done to the Ombudsman Office. Al Hutchinson should go now.
:06:16. > :06:23.I intend to do with the issues raised. I think it is appropriate.
:06:23. > :06:28.Al Hutchinson's contract runs until November, 2014. But he had planned
:06:28. > :06:32.to step down in December after turning 65. He has now announced he
:06:32. > :06:38.will leave office earlier than planned. My understanding is that
:06:38. > :06:41.he will step down within the next six-nine months.
:06:41. > :06:44.A man has appeared in court charged with raping a teenage girl. The
:06:44. > :06:46.accused, who is from the south of England, faces a number of other
:06:46. > :06:53.charges. Chris Page's report contains details you may find
:06:53. > :06:59.upsetting. The man in the dock was Philip
:06:59. > :07:06.Shorten. He is charged with 11 of child sex offences including rape.
:07:07. > :07:11.The accused denies the charges. The court heard he met his alleged
:07:11. > :07:15.victim through an internet Messaging Service last year when
:07:15. > :07:21.she was 15. According to the prosecution, there chap started
:07:21. > :07:27.normally, but then he started asking her to perform sex acts
:07:27. > :07:33.Infanta the Web can. -- their chats. A detective told the court that Al
:07:33. > :07:38.Hutchinson -- Philip Shorten broom to the girl. When the girl asked
:07:38. > :07:45.the accused, why not someone older? He replied, 15 it is too young for
:07:45. > :07:50.some people, but perfect for me. The court heard Philip Shorten made
:07:50. > :07:54.four trips to Belfast to meet the teenager in hotels. The rape
:07:54. > :08:02.happened in February. Philip Shorten's solicitor claimed deep
:08:02. > :08:06.accused believe the goal was over 18. A defence lawyer argued for
:08:06. > :08:10.bail. But the detective opposed bail,
:08:10. > :08:17.saying Philip Shorten posed a risk to children. The district judge
:08:17. > :08:19.reminded the accused in custody. -- remanded.
:08:20. > :08:22.The row between the Irish government and the Vatican over the
:08:23. > :08:24.fallout from the clerical abuse scandal is set to continue. At the
:08:25. > :08:27.weekend, Rome rejected unprecedented criticism of it made
:08:27. > :08:30.by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. He had claimed the Vatican had interfered
:08:30. > :08:34.in a state inquiry into sex abuse by priests. The Vatican said the
:08:34. > :08:37.claim was unfounded. Now the Irish government appears to have more to
:08:37. > :08:44.say on the matter. I'm joined from Dublin by the Irish Times'
:08:44. > :08:49.religious afairs correspondent. No one is blinking so far end this
:08:49. > :08:59.stand-off. What can happen next? The Cabinet meets on Thursday. They
:08:59. > :09:07.will not respond before then, though end their Kelly said -- Edna
:09:07. > :09:16.Kelly said he would reiterate his stance. The government will prepare
:09:16. > :09:21.a response. It was only released on Saturday just gone. The government
:09:21. > :09:25.will not take as long as respected to respond, but there is no sign of
:09:26. > :09:31.the government backing down. two victims's groups are quoted as
:09:31. > :09:37.saying, at the Vatican is to try to deny responsibility, so the
:09:37. > :09:42.Church's reputation continues to suffer. The Vatican is not trying
:09:42. > :09:50.to deny responsibility, it has done so. It makes it clear it has clean
:09:51. > :10:00.hands. What happened in Ireland is the sole responsibility of the
:10:01. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:09.Church leadership here. It quotes a line, underlining this fact. It
:10:09. > :10:19.exonerates itself utterly. What can the government say? Will this does
:10:19. > :10:19.
:10:19. > :10:25.continue? The government can point out the papacy refused to co-
:10:25. > :10:30.operate. The same papacy did not respond to the same commission. It
:10:30. > :10:35.wrote to him twice and he didn't respond. It wrote to the
:10:35. > :10:45.congregation into 2006. It didn't respond. The bad guy has form when
:10:45. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :10:57.it comes to dealing with inquiries like this. -- at the Vatican.
:10:57. > :11:01.you very much indeed. Still to come: Could this be
:11:01. > :11:06.another contender for the international goal of the year?
:11:06. > :11:16.And why does the end of the school holidays bring rush hour traffic to
:11:16. > :11:18.
:11:18. > :11:21.a grinding halt? One of the biggest paramilitary
:11:21. > :11:24.trials in decades starts in Belfast tomorrow. Two convicted UVF members
:11:24. > :11:27.have turned Queen's evidence. They will testify against 14 men they
:11:27. > :11:29.say were at the heart of the terrorist organisation. It's a
:11:29. > :11:32.similar approach to the controversial supergrass trials of
:11:32. > :11:35.the 1980s when dozens were convicted on the word of informers.
:11:35. > :11:43.Most of the convictions were later overturned. So why is the approach
:11:43. > :11:49.being revived now? BBC Newsline's Will Leitch reports.
:11:49. > :11:55.The legal system send dozens to jail. Republicans and loyalists
:11:55. > :12:04.labelled them touts and pledged to kill them. In the 1980s, evidence
:12:04. > :12:10.was given against other members. Huge trials were held in front of a
:12:10. > :12:15.judge without a jury because of fears of intimidation. In one case,
:12:15. > :12:18.22 i i it -- IRA men were sentenced to more than 22,000 years.
:12:18. > :12:22.court was packed with police officers. There would have been
:12:22. > :12:28.people sitting close to the judge to make sure no one would attack
:12:28. > :12:35.him. The relatives of the people in the dock attended all the hearing,
:12:35. > :12:41.and they were quite often jeered and cheered. The judge sometimes
:12:41. > :12:46.had difficulty maintaining order. Dozens were convicted here. But the
:12:46. > :12:53.system like the building itself was to crumble. Most of the convictions
:12:53. > :13:00.were overturned. But now, there is a new court house, new legislation,
:13:00. > :13:05.and a new police service, and a similar tactic is being tried again.
:13:05. > :13:09.Legislation was provided for serious organised crime across the
:13:09. > :13:15.United Kingdom. They are relevant sections in that legislation, and
:13:15. > :13:24.that provides for non jury trials. The public is getting confused with
:13:24. > :13:29.the old corpse, which no longer prevail, and were non statutory.
:13:29. > :13:33.There are other differences. The witness signed a contract with the
:13:33. > :13:36.prosecution. They must have admitted all their crimes, and if
:13:36. > :13:46.they withdraw from the trial process, they felt does aggravate
:13:46. > :13:48.
:13:48. > :13:53.this the fault process. -- they face a new process. Two for members
:13:53. > :13:58.of the UN -- UVF have come forward. They have admitted their crimes and
:13:58. > :14:03.been sentenced. They are pointing the finger at the people they say
:14:03. > :14:10.were involved. Chief among them is this loyalists. He and his
:14:10. > :14:17.associates go on trial for a range of offences. They are linked to the
:14:17. > :14:23.murder of plummy English killed in 2004 stop -- Tommy English. The
:14:23. > :14:28.trial will be held in this Belfast court room. The authorities say
:14:28. > :14:33.that is to allow more people to be present and insure proceedings are
:14:33. > :14:42.open and transparent. But there is opposition to the approach. We are
:14:42. > :14:47.all out for justice. This is a supergrass trial, and a supergrass
:14:47. > :14:56.trial is the supergrass trial. There is no difference here and the
:14:56. > :15:00.deer 2011. The stakes are high. If it is successful, others could
:15:00. > :15:07.follow. Already, a senior member of the UVF has come forward and is
:15:07. > :15:10.The new term at Stormont began today, with no programme for
:15:11. > :15:17.government yet in place. Our political correspondent, Martina
:15:17. > :15:23.Purdy, looks at the Executive's in- tray.
:15:23. > :15:28.It is that time of year again. A new term at Stormont and the work
:15:29. > :15:34.is piling up already. But where to start? There are decisions to be
:15:34. > :15:41.taken on tuition fees, council reform and the future of accident
:15:41. > :15:45.and emergency units. Top of the file is the need to priorities in a
:15:45. > :15:49.new Programme for Government. had one meeting of party leaders
:15:49. > :15:57.before recess and puts forward some ideas but nothing has come to
:15:57. > :16:02.fruition it since that meeting to see if we can get some agreement on
:16:02. > :16:05.some of these issues that will be a very controversial. Critics of the
:16:05. > :16:09.first and Deputy First ministers are already complaining that some
:16:09. > :16:14.of the issues they have to clear-up have not changed much from last
:16:14. > :16:18.term. The review of the North-South institutions has yet to be
:16:18. > :16:23.published, the development of the Maze prison site has yet to be
:16:23. > :16:29.agreed, we have yet to see the review of public administration and
:16:29. > :16:33.decisions around the boundaries Commission. And so the list goes on.
:16:33. > :16:40.The leaves may be turning gold but there's less to be had in the
:16:40. > :16:50.Stormont coffers. A key challenge for ministers. I do not know if
:16:50. > :16:51.
:16:51. > :16:58.Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness can show the wisdom of
:16:58. > :17:00.Solomon, but that is what we need in these difficult times. A source
:17:00. > :17:04.in the First Minister's Office insists there will be no undue
:17:04. > :17:08.delay in delivering a programme for government and that a number of
:17:08. > :17:11.outstanding issues including councillor for and are close to
:17:11. > :17:17.resolution. Keeping harmony will indeed be a challenge but the new
:17:17. > :17:27.term has brought a new approach. Following old tensions over an
:17:27. > :17:29.
:17:29. > :17:33.Irish Language Act. Coming up in a few minutes: What a
:17:33. > :17:36.difference a week makes. The schools are back - and so is that
:17:36. > :17:38.morning rush hour. There's never been a World
:17:38. > :17:45.Heavyweight boxing challenge fight in Ireland, but it's happening next
:17:45. > :17:47.month in Belfast. Gavin Andrews is here with all the news.
:17:47. > :17:51.Martin Rogan will take on Panama's Lewis Andreas Pineda for the vacant
:17:51. > :17:55.WBU heavyweight title at the Odyssey Arena. The bout is
:17:55. > :17:58.scheduled for the 27th October and was revealed today in West Belfast.
:17:58. > :18:07.The WBU belt is seen by some as one of the lesser titles in the
:18:08. > :18:15.heavyweight division, but Rogan's having none of that.
:18:16. > :18:22.Did George Foreman call it the lesser belt? Did Rory Sandra's call
:18:22. > :18:27.it that lesser belt? Ricky Hatton earned all his best fights off it.
:18:27. > :18:36.They did not use it as a platform but it did get them to where they
:18:36. > :18:41.wanted to go. That is just a few. They all held that belt. I do not
:18:41. > :18:51.make the belts, I'd just fight for them. It is a great opportunity for
:18:51. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:56.Belfast. It is massive for our city, massive in every way. I am going to
:18:56. > :18:59.join the ranks of those fighting for a world title and I am going to
:18:59. > :19:02.take it. Now from a world heavyweight
:19:02. > :19:04.contender, to a goal that might make the rest of the world take
:19:04. > :19:06.notice. Matty Burrows famously did it last year. Now Coleraine's Jonny
:19:06. > :19:13.Black has produced another Irish league wondergoal. Thomas Niblock
:19:13. > :19:18.reports. It looks like any typical free-kick
:19:18. > :19:22.on any normal Saturday afternoon. The Johnny Black Strike was
:19:22. > :19:30.anything but however. It is only September but it looks as if we
:19:30. > :19:35.have already seen the goal of the season. All the boys have been
:19:35. > :19:45.giving me a bit of grief about it, saying it was in before it even hit
:19:45. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:55.the net. But I just knew it. On the BBC's Board website alone, how many
:19:55. > :20:01.people do you think have argued that go? It is now over half-a-
:20:01. > :20:09.million. That is crazy. That is more than the amount of people who
:20:09. > :20:16.watched Usain Bolt at the weekend. You are bigger than Usain Bolt!
:20:16. > :20:21.would not say that but it is nice to get that many hits. Janine Black
:20:21. > :20:26.provided the cross for of Burroughs and that famous strike last year.
:20:26. > :20:32.But spare a thought for the goalkeeper that day. They say
:20:32. > :20:39.lightning cannot strike twice. Those pictures of that goal have
:20:39. > :20:41.been a massive success on the internet. If you want to see the
:20:41. > :20:43.goal again and leave a comment, check out the BBC Newsline facebook
:20:43. > :20:46.page. We're also on Twitter and our email address is
:20:46. > :20:50.bbcnewsline@bbc.co.uk. Nigel Worthington has today been
:20:50. > :20:52.defending his tactics and his record. Northern Ireland have been
:20:52. > :20:55.beaten just three times in the last 14 qualifying games, but after
:20:55. > :20:57.losing to Serbia on Friday, their Euro 2012 qualification hopes are
:20:57. > :21:00.hanging by a thread. Northern Ireland must win their last three
:21:00. > :21:06.games to make it to the finals, starting with a win tomorrow in
:21:06. > :21:11.Estonia. Stephen Watson is with the squad in Tallin.
:21:11. > :21:15.Depressed and deflated said the negative body-language as rather a
:21:15. > :21:23.Ireland arrived in his Downie up with alarm bells ringing. The
:21:23. > :21:31.message from the Under Fire manager however is much more positive.
:21:31. > :21:37.going to take it calmly. We are a group and we have to work together.
:21:37. > :21:43.We all want to win. And the squad is keen to take some of the heat
:21:43. > :21:50.off the man in charge. The boss gets paid to pick the team and we
:21:51. > :21:56.stand by that. We will go out and we worked our socks off. I think
:21:56. > :22:00.some of the criticism towards him may be is just a bit unfair.
:22:00. > :22:04.here in Estonia players are firmly behind their manager and remaining
:22:04. > :22:08.optimistic that they can still make it to the European finals. But the
:22:08. > :22:15.fans have different ideas about qualification and the future of the
:22:15. > :22:20.boss. I think any manager with a record like that is going to be
:22:20. > :22:30.under pressure. You always hope the manager can do good things but I
:22:30. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:34.think he has had his chance. What is your take on the manager?
:22:34. > :22:39.kinky will have to go. Does Nigel Worthington have three games to
:22:39. > :22:43.save his job? One thing is for certain - he needs a victory
:22:43. > :22:47.tomorrow would the sun will finally set on another island's qualifying
:22:47. > :22:49.campaign. Darren O'Dea and Stephen Kelly have
:22:49. > :22:53.been drafted into the Republic of Ireland team for the Euro 2012
:22:53. > :22:55.qualifier against Russia in Moscow. They replace the suspended Sean St
:22:55. > :22:57.Ledger and injured John O'Shea. After the disappointing nil-nil
:22:57. > :23:00.draw against Slovakia on Friday, Giovanni Trappatoni's men really
:23:00. > :23:10.need a win in Moscow against the group leaders to retain hopes of
:23:10. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:18.automatic qualification. Every game away from home is always
:23:18. > :23:24.tough. When you play against a team like Russia who have great
:23:24. > :23:30.individual players, it is going to be a tough game. Do not think for
:23:30. > :23:36.one second that we are coming here to lie down and think that Russia
:23:36. > :23:40.are just going to roll as over. The players certainly know that we're
:23:40. > :23:49.coming here to get something out of this game and we will not make it
:23:49. > :23:51.easy for it Russia.. Alan Campbell won a bronze medal in the single
:23:51. > :24:01.sculls at the World Championships in Slovenia - a third success for
:24:01. > :24:03.the Coleraine contingent in the Great British rowing team.
:24:03. > :24:06.If you are a commuter on the roads, you probably noticed a big
:24:06. > :24:08.difference this morning with the return of the dreaded rush hour
:24:08. > :24:10.traffic. The congestion is usually blamed on the return to school
:24:10. > :24:17.after the summer holidays. But as Mervyn Jess explains, there's more
:24:17. > :24:20.to it than that. It was all change this morning on
:24:20. > :24:24.the roads into Belfast. The congestion build up that began at
:24:24. > :24:28.the start of September hit home today. There was a marked
:24:28. > :24:34.difference on some of the major roads and junctions compared to the
:24:34. > :24:39.traffic situation last week. It is just six minutes past eight. This
:24:39. > :24:45.is Romany rush hour. I'm coming down the Castlereagh Road. The
:24:45. > :24:48.traffic is flowing freely. Not that much of it about and it has been
:24:48. > :24:56.that weight since the school's got off for their summer holidays. So
:24:56. > :24:58.why is it that when the schools comeback this becomes a car-park?
:24:58. > :25:04.Well those of us lead any increase in volume with the schools
:25:04. > :25:10.returning but there are also factors like how the traffic drives,
:25:10. > :25:17.stopping to let kids off, moving in and out of side roads. And the
:25:17. > :25:20.weather as well, the capacity of the roads to slightly reduced.
:25:20. > :25:24.Belfast control centre has one of the most advanced traffic
:25:24. > :25:31.management systems in Europe with more than 100 CCTV cameras watching
:25:31. > :25:36.on roads. There's nothing especially scientific about traffic.
:25:36. > :25:40.A large part of it is down to how we behave on the roads. What is for
:25:41. > :25:47.sure is that the holidays are coming to an end for the schools
:25:47. > :25:53.and colleges and also for the motorist.
:25:53. > :26:01.It is never going to change! Just to run in to Radio Ulster, that
:26:01. > :26:08.passes the time! Of course everything is rest when the weather
:26:08. > :26:14.is wet. We had a few showers today. And the rain is certainly around
:26:14. > :26:21.And the rain is certainly around this evening.
:26:21. > :26:25.The rain has been moving in from an Atlantic weather system. It is the
:26:25. > :26:31.first autumn storm. Nothing exceptional, but it will make it
:26:31. > :26:41.feel quite a Tumilty this weekend. And it makes the evening of that
:26:41. > :26:47.
:26:47. > :26:57.much darker as well. -- feel quite Some unsettled weather for the rest
:26:57. > :27:02.of the coming week. That is the mega picture at the moment. Heavy
:27:02. > :27:12.and steady rain coming in the next few hours until it turns more to
:27:12. > :27:18.showers during the eight hours. The wind also picks up tonight. That
:27:19. > :27:25.tour will be a some sunshine around. -- but tomorrow there will be some
:27:25. > :27:31.sunshine around. The wind will be quite strong and gusty making it
:27:31. > :27:41.feel quite chilly. And showers are likely to merge to from a longer
:27:41. > :27:49.
:27:49. > :27:56.spell of rain in the afternoon. Temperatures of just 15 degrees.
:27:56. > :28:04.There is that airier of rain moving south-east during the latter part