08/09/2011 BBC Newsline

Good evening. The headlines: Margaret Ritchie is

to stand down as SDLP leader and I have an exclusive interview.

No rise to a university tuition fees, the Executive says it has

managed to find the money. The police ombudsman says he will

go earlier than planned but these cause for immediate resignation.

A so-called loyalist Supergrass admits he has lied to interrogators

and changed his stories. After today's rare sunshine there

will be more tomorrow, but it is the weekend I will be keeping an

eye on. Margaret Ritchie is to stand down

as the leader of the SDLP. Her decision comes after a leadership

challenge from party colleague, Patsy McGlone. Our political editor

has been given an exclusive interview. What did she have to say,

Mark? Margaret Ritchie contacted me this

afternoon. I have been in her constituency. I was speaking to her

within the last hour. She was spelling out her desire to

concentrate on her constituency seat and she will stand down as an

Assembly member later in the year. And she gave me the answer to the

crucial question as to whether she will hang on to the SDLP leadership.

I have made it a decision. After seven months of -- several months

of deliberation I have decided not to allow my name to go forward for

the annual conference election, which detects the deputy leader,

leader, and other positions, this coming November. The pressure has

been on her and the criticism has been quite personal. Yes. Some of

the media, Terry has concentrated on her performance in the election.

Commentary. I asked her whether she was stung by criticism. She said it

was politics, that you had to take the rough with the smooth. I asked

if she thought her critics within the party had given her long enough.

She would only have been in a position about two years when a

conference. This was her response. I am not here to criticise my

colleagues. The job of being leader of any political party, at a time

when electoral fortunes have gone down, he is particularly time-

consuming. I wish whoever is leader or deputy leader at the very best.

They will have my support as long as they are doing the job in the

best interests of the party. As she looks ahead as to what she is going

to do, how does her departure lead the party? She is not endorsing any

candidates. We know that her deputy has already declared his candidacy.

We are uncertain of what other members of the party may come

forward. Alistair McDonnell is written out. There are indications

that someone who may have associated more with Margaret

Ritchie in the party may come forward. It could be an open

contest. Whoever comes forward, it is an uphill struggle. Given the

electoral momentum behind Sinn Fein, it will be a tough task for anybody

to put the SDLP back in the driving seat.

Margaret Ritchie was the leader of the SDLP for less than two years.

Conor Macauley has been looking back at her short time at the helm.

This IS the time for the SDLP. Thank you. Despite the declarations

of undying support and a public air kissing, Margaret Ritchie's

leadership had divided the SDLP. She had only held the post for a

but failed to connect with the electorate and the party continued

to decline. The spring Assembly elections solid lose another two

seats. It was then a serious questions began to be asked about

her style of leadership. I have seen weaknesses in the party

organisation and how we are being represented and does the to be

addressed immediately. -- and those in need to be addressed. She was

not a natural media performer, sometimes seeming flustered under

questioning. You said you were against a double-jobbing but now

you are trying to get it to people to do that? Absolutely not! Then

there was the deteriorating relationship with Patsy McGlone,

who has declared his intention to stand for her job. He had been

passed over for a ministerial position and had refused to accept

chairmanship of a Stormont committee when it was offered to

him. Nominations will come soon from those who want to be the next

SDLP leader. There is speculation that south Belfast MP, Alasdair

McDonnell, hemp Margaret Ritchie defeated last time, a stand again.

Margaret Ritchie will now it stand -- concentrate on her constituency,

holding the seat she inherited from Eddie McGrady, her political mentor.

Stormont Ministers have agreed by university fees for students will

not rise above the rate of inflation for at least the next

four years. Because of around 3,500 per year is cheaper than the rest

of the UK. The Executive have also decided there will be no more cuts

to further education budgets. This morning, hundreds of sixth-

formers came to Queen's for an open day. I heard about the teaching,

the social life and what sports are on offer. Ministers have not

reached a decision about how their higher education will be funded.

The university accused the Executive of dropping the ball.

are in a terrible situation. Students do not know what they're

going to pay, we do not know how many places are what level of

funding we have, we cannot guarantee what courses will operate.

There is a huge level of uncertainty which is unfair to

everyone. That is why the Executive has to make a decision as quickly

as possible and deal with the issues on the table. This afternoon,

the Executive made their decision. We have agreed there will not be

any rise in the level of tuition fees in Northern Ireland beyond the

level of inflation. Secondly, we have agreed we will be able to

sustain the current levels of funding of higher education sector.

There will be no further cuts beyond those already imposed as

part of the recent Budget to the recent -- to be to local

universities. It is in line with what we have committed to. We

believe it is the best deal that students anywhere will be able to

get in the United Kingdom. This means studying in Northern Ireland

will, as expected, be a lot cheaper than going to university in the

rest of the UK. In England and Wales the fees cabbie's �9,000 per

year. It is the same in Scotland fought non-Scottish students. These

prospective students are still worried about their financial

future. It has affected my choices. Some of them are just going to be a

bit too much. I am looking at courses outside the UK. It is

daunting. It is worrying. You do not know for you are getting money

from. Your debts will be bigger. Whatever the fine edge situation, I

will be hopefully taking up further education. It is just going to be a

bit harder to work off in the long run. Some of them had their first

taste of the student protest today. They now know there will be no rise

in fees are cuts in university budgets for at least the next four

years. The Executive will have to pay for that by taking �14 million

from other areas. -- �40 million. The Police Ombudsman says he

intends to remain in his post until next June, despite reports

questioning the independence of his office. A hatted and then made the

announcement this afternoon. -- Al Hutchinson.

Storm clouds have been gathering for Al Hutchings in in recent

months. The Chief Executive has resigned.

Three reports have criticised the way the Office conducts its

business. My latest said the operational independence of the

office had been Low Wood and recommended eight suspend

investigations into historical events. R Hutchins and said he will

leave office earlier than planned because of the mounting criticism.

Today, he came to Stormont and hit back at critics who have called for

his immediate resignation, before announcing his chosen date of

departure. I will not that those who want to undermined progress for

their own agenda is to succeed in destroying this office, or indeed

for shaping its future to their own ends. I therefore advised the

Minister of Justice that my last day at work will be on 1st June,

2012. He said he will spend his last nine months in office affixing

the problems he identified. Sinn Fein said it was not good enough.

How can you bring about change when you accept you were leading or

denied -- the organisation into disaster? I accept responsibility,

and I will fix it. I will do that by next during -- June. The idea of

long goodbyes do not work... There are questions whether the Police

Ombudsman should be investigating the past. This was criticised in

the most recent report. Is it a reasonable conclusion to drop that

the issue of dealing with legacy issues an historic issues he is

injecting a note of poison? Nationalists say he should

investigate historic cases of. will destroy the office, whatever

cases are involved. He said he can fix the problems by next June. He

will be under closer scrutiny than ever.

A key witness in the UVF supergrass trial has admitted that since he

handed himself in to police three years ago, he has changed his

account of the murder of the UDA leader, Tom English. Robert Stewart,

a former UVF man, has denied carrying out the shooting in 2000,

but admitted helping to hijack the getaway vehicle. He is giving

evidence against 14 men, nine of whom, including Mark Haddock, are

charged with the murder. On the third day of this trial,

still held amongst heightened security, it came down to exchanges

between two men. For almost four hours, the witness, Robert Stuart,

was under constant pressure as the defence counsel for Mark Haddock

sought to discredit him. This -- the Court of ready knew there were

discrepancies. Earlier, Robert Stewart had let out information

about defendants because he did not want them to get into trouble.

Today, the defence counsel to come back to those interviews. He told

police in 2008, I want to say everything I have said is the truth.

The barrister replied, not two minutes before, he told police it

blooming great whopper. That is correct, said Robert Stewart. The

barrister said, have you glide to induce people? -- allied to accuse

people? He said, everyone is guilty. The judge spoke directly to Robert

Stewart and reminded him of the difference between forgetting

things and adding things on. Speaking of later testimony, he

appeared frustrated at one point and asked Robert Stewart, is this

all made up? There was a smattering of applause from the public gallery,

before Robert Stewart replied, no. They were questions about why be

brothers had turn themselves into Polly's. The defence barrister

asked if they were interested in getting money. Robert Stewart

looked at the defendants before replying, no. I did not want to be

that person any more. I feel a lot better for it, you should try it.

He went on to say, I have gained nothing. The only reason I am

sitting here is that people think I'm telling the truth. The court

was that again next week when Robert Stewart will still be in the

The police in Scotland have confirmed they are investigating a

sighting of a convicted sex offender in Belfast last month. 40-

year-old Paul Hunter Redpath, who is originally from Stanraer, was

convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage sisters in Downpatrick

in 2005. He went missing from a hostel in Aberdeen two years ago.

This is BBC Newsline and still to come on the programme:

Casting an eye over the catch of the day with a little light

refreshment on the way, Kilkeel enjoys a Royal visit.

And why was this little boy told at the last minute that he couldn't go

to school. A care home for 15 adults with

learning disabilities is to close in Enniskillen. The charity which

runs it says it can no longer afford to keep it open. But the

sister of one resident says they are effectively being evicted. Our

Fermanagh District Journalist has the story.

Be a for a 15 vulnerable adults, this house is their home. Those

they love with our other family. Some have lived here since it

opened in 1994. One resident received a letter saying that they

would close by next February. witnessed residents crying. I did

not want to see that. The family unit will be broken now. I saw that

yesterday. This is devastating. charity that runs the home says

that house has lost more than �350,000 over the last three years.

For a number of years, we have seen the number of residents decline to

the point that there is now 15 residents remaining within the home.

That is despite continued efforts to attract new referrals. We look

at options for redevelopment for the home to attract more people.

That also did not succeed. When residence -- when their income of

residents receive drops well below the level we need to maintain the

service, we have to act. My sister knows where she is in this home,

but change will destroy her. It is very sad. This boils down �2 and

pennies, at the end of the day. is an uncertain time for the 27

staff at work here. The company says they hope to minimise

compulsory redundancies and offer redeployment were possible. The

reality is there are likely to be fewer employment opportunities

locally. The local health trust says there working to find

alternative accommodation for the current residents, but they're not

sure where that will be. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess

of Cornwall were on a visit to Kilkeel today. As our Rural Affairs

Correspondent reports, the local fishing industry played a central

part in their visit. The harbour seals had company today.

On land and water, security was tight as Kilkeel prepared to

welcome Charles and Camilla. Fishing is still the backbone of

this economy and Prince Charles took particular interest in an u-

net designed to allow a juvenile fish to escape. -- AA a new net.

The honour of transporting the royal couple across the water fell

to the Forsyth family. They had five generations are bored. Very

special day. Very nice gentleman to talk to, him and his wife.

enjoyed it very much. Very nice people to have on board. Hundreds

of people turned out to welcome Charles and Camilla. The local

silver band provided musical entertainment. Local school

children have a chance to make the royal couple. I shook their hands.

They were asking me about school. It was good to meet them. I shook

her hand and spoke to them both. I enjoy debt. I spoke to Prince

Charles and I shook Camilla's hand. He asked me about school. I told

him school was good. Seaford is what Kilkeel is all about. This

mobile shop give the royal couple a taste of what has landed locally.

In than not call centre, Prince Charles sampled a local beer.

Whilst Camilla tried her hand at cooking haddock in the kitchen.

There has been a development in the story we had last week about car

insurance. The Office of Fair Trading says it is going to

investigate why Northern Ireland has such high premiums. It is a

has such high premiums. It is a has such high premiums. It is a

has such high premiums. It is a problem that has got people

reacting on Facebook. Add your comment to the BBC Newsline page.

We are also on Twitter and our e- We are also on Twitter and our e-

mail is [email protected]. Next to Family Focus and like many

young children Ross Cartmill from Banbridge had been excited for

months about starting P1. He was due to start last Thursday at a

specialist school for deaf children in Jordanstown. But at the last

minute the family found out his local education board weren't

providing the transport. His parents believe this is down to a

lack of money something the board denies.

Ross will be five next week. He is profoundly deaf with little or no

speech, although he is beginning to sign. About to start school, his

parents were worried that his limited communication would cause

him difficulties in a mainstream school. They say after looking at

options there is nothing suitable in the southern board area for

their son and want Ross to come here to the Jordanstown School for

pupils who are deaf or visually impaired. With special teachers on

site, it seemed perfect for Ross. And I was impressed with the

facilities. They had things in place here that would facilitate my

son's particular needs. A fortnight later, we went to visit as a family.

Ross was in all of the place. He did not want to leave. Ross was

accepted to the school and the southern board wrote a letter to

acknowledge their choice of school. All seemed fine until a phone-call

to the board to arrange transport. Then came the shock, Jackie says

she was told it was not being provided by them. I am distraught

about it. My son cannot speak for himself like a normal five-year-old.

He cannot say what he wants. But he has a way of telling you what he

likes. When he was at that school, he was so happy. We were as well.

We cried. This is a travesty. school too say they were looking

forward to Ross starting. At child who is deaf, the earlier they start

to learn how to communicate, the better. The more that he sits at

home, the less chance he has of coming into school and starting on

a way of communicating. southern board does provide

transport to this school for other children. Ailyah is from Dungannon

and the board pays for a taxi to get her to and from school every

day. But for now Ross is all dressed up with nowhere to go, and

the family are appealing to the board to look again at their

situation. Some potentially hopeful news

tonight. While the board says it doesn't comment on individual cases,

it says it continues to endeavour to work with the Cartmills in

relation to Ross' placement needs. And we hear from the family that an

educational psychologist is coming out from the board to reassess

Ross' statement. We will keep you posted of any developments.

After Northern Ireland's disappointment in Estonia earlier

this week, it was back to domestic football last night. Gavin Andrews

is here with more. Lisburn Distillery, Cliftonville,

Glentoran and Linfield have all booked their place in the semi-

finals of this year's County Antrim Shield. And the Glens looked

impressive. They had their youngsters to thank for a 5-2 win

youngsters to thank for a 5-2 win over Carrick Rangers.

The County Antrim Shield competition gives up and coming

talent a chance to impress. That was evident last night. Carrick's

Paul McDowell drew first blood. But Owen Beggs levelled just before the

break. Jim O'Hanlon showed maturity beyond his years to make it 2-1.

Jimmy Callacher was spot on with the free kick on the hour mark.

O'Hanlon arguably stole the show. A regular first team place must

regular first team place must surely be just around the corner.

personally have faith in the young kids at this football club. To see

them express themselves in this way, by scoring goals and being

comfortable and to work hard and get their just rewards, it was very

get their just rewards, it was very pleasing. Meanwhile, a Rory

Patterson free kick combined with a goalkeeping error allowed Billy Joe

Burns to score the only goal of the game at the Ballymena showground.

1-0 the result, and a last four place for the Premier League

place for the Premier League champions.

Every community has them. Individuals who give up their time

for others. Jon Clifford ran football teams in Londonderry for

almost 40 years. Hailed as an unsung hero, he died at the weekend

at the age of 58. Our North-West Reporter looks at the life of a

sportsman whose left a lasting legacy.

Jon Clifford never sought the limelight. He is pictured here in

the background as the Chiefs steward when Barcelona came to play

against Derry City in 2003. He founded as soccer club for Boys in

1974. Since then, he touched the lives of thousands of young people.

He had been diagnosed with lung disease and died after a short

illness. The affection for him was evident in the large numbers who

attended his funeral. He told people how to be a good human being.

Most of the people that I played with have gone on and been

successful people. Despite the troubles, he continued to keep his

team's playing football and give his young players for focus. He was

keeping these people on the straight and narrow, through

violent times. He was giving people of focus away from violence.

next generation is continuing to benefit from his leg is a. He was

funny. He always made you smile. -- his legacy. He would tell you how

it was straight. He was passionate about a certain team from Glasgow,

but maybe not the one you would think. He was setting in the

stadium with a Rangers top one. He was unique. People say you will not

see his like again. There are very few Jon Cliffords in our community.

few Jon Cliffords in our community. A view echoed by all who knew him.

A lot is happening in the weather over the next few days. It was nice

to see some sunshine earlier today, just a reminder that September can

still feel warm. But you knew it would not stay for long. The cloud

has already returned and it has already second up to bring some

rain. Over the next few hours, he will be some dampness around. No

escaping the rain tonight. The rain moves northwards to tonight. The

winds will pick up and it will remain mild. Tomorrow has not

looking too bad. The early dampness mystery fairly quickly and the

second half of the morning will be dry with some sunshine. More of a

breeze compared to today, but it is coming from a mild southerly

direction. It will not feel cold outdoors. Temperatures well above

average for this time of year. It could be the last day to wear

sandals because it will stay dry for a large part of the day. Things

go downhill on Friday night. Daylight hours should be dry, but

after dark the rain returns. Wet weather tomorrow night. Look at

these temperatures. We can see the impact of having tropical air above

us. Strong winds and rain at times this weekend. At the moment, it

looks like that will affect both days of the weekend. There could be

some problems for the Proms on Saturday night. Heavier rain on

Sunday. Sunday-night into Monday, we could have our strongest winds

and potentially most damaging. We will keep a close eye on that.