:00:25. > :00:28.And exclusive report on the people under threat from vigilantes in
:00:28. > :00:33.Londonderry. One man speaks out about his abuse
:00:33. > :00:40.at their hands of four brothers. They have had a devastating effect
:00:40. > :00:46.on the entire community. The First Minister says there is no
:00:46. > :00:50.evidence the police on but man has failed in his duty. -- police
:00:50. > :01:00.ombudsman. 10 libraries run under threat of
:01:00. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:05.closure but even those that have BBC Newsline has been told that 36
:01:05. > :01:09.people in Londonderry are under threat from vigilantes. According
:01:09. > :01:16.to a police source, 20 have been forced out of the city in the past
:01:16. > :01:21.year. They say that they will end up killing somebody if they
:01:21. > :01:25.continued their attacks and intimidation. Our correspondent
:01:25. > :01:30.spoke to re form were drug dealer who fled, feeling he was in
:01:30. > :01:35.imminent danger. This man says he is taking no
:01:35. > :01:40.chances. A Republican vigilante group burst into his family home on
:01:40. > :01:48.Tuesday night and ransacked it. Luckily the 24-year-old was not
:01:48. > :01:53.there. The armed and masked gang shouted a warning before they left.
:01:53. > :01:58.I just heard this from neighbours and people on the street. I do not
:01:58. > :02:08.know much more because they are only saying that but I want answers
:02:08. > :02:10.
:02:10. > :02:16.about who it was. I know I have had drug issues over the years. But my
:02:16. > :02:22.home was attacked since last year I have got things sorted.
:02:22. > :02:27.The police said that 36 people are still under threat from vigilante
:02:27. > :02:32.groups. 20 young people have been ordered to leave the city since
:02:32. > :02:36.last August. There are enough few idiots who will drive us back to
:02:36. > :02:41.old times but the vast majority support the police and will work
:02:41. > :02:46.with the police. Crime is at the lowest level in 13
:02:46. > :02:52.years in this city. It has been a record year in terms of catching
:02:52. > :03:02.drug dealers. We are making people safer without having to turn to
:03:02. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:09.vigilante Fox. That view was echoed by church leaders. Showing
:03:09. > :03:16.solidarity, the Bishop of Derry he also said that vigilante groups had
:03:16. > :03:21.no constructive role. I think it is dangerous, divisive,
:03:21. > :03:27.intimidating and it is the sort of thing that should not happen in a
:03:27. > :03:32.civil society, a society that wants to move forward. We have a to get
:03:33. > :03:38.that out of the ether in this city. People are suffering, people are
:03:38. > :03:42.afraid, people are anxious. That man remains anxious as well but
:03:42. > :03:46.hopes that he will be able to return from exile.
:03:46. > :03:52.He is adamant that he has put his drug-dealing past behind him and
:03:52. > :03:56.has called for the death threat against him to be lifted. A man who
:03:56. > :03:59.was sexually abused by four brothers has spoken publicly for
:03:59. > :04:03.the first time in order to help other victims.
:04:03. > :04:10.Survivors of abuse in the village were presented with a community
:04:10. > :04:14.award by Stormont, for helping to stop generations of abuse from the
:04:14. > :04:19.brothers. Maicon Connolly has been on a
:04:19. > :04:25.journey from hell. Growing up here in the 1960s, he was targeted and
:04:25. > :04:29.abused by the McDermott brothers. The a just my life but the entire
:04:29. > :04:33.community, it has been a devastating effect.
:04:33. > :04:38.There are many now in counselling from what they did.
:04:38. > :04:43.Following the trial last year, one of the abusers was sent to jail for
:04:43. > :04:49.nine years. The sentence was extended by six months earlier this
:04:49. > :04:53.week for the abuse of another school boy. Two other brothers were
:04:53. > :05:02.deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and were allowed to return
:05:02. > :05:07.home to their home in the village. Survivors have demanded a change in
:05:07. > :05:12.the law. We were promised a review of the Mental Health Act.
:05:12. > :05:20.I have lost sight of that, there is no sign of what is going on. They
:05:20. > :05:26.are not communicating with us. He of staff by waving anonymity, other
:05:26. > :05:31.victims will not stay silent. And a have taken my life back, I
:05:31. > :05:36.have taken control of my own life. I would like survivors of abuse,
:05:36. > :05:44.those who have not had to justice, and those who have come forward and
:05:44. > :05:51.not at justice, I would like them to look at me and think, that man
:05:51. > :05:54.has lived his life. I have a lovely family at home. I'm happily
:05:54. > :06:00.studying for a law degree which I am thoroughly enjoying. I hope when
:06:00. > :06:09.I get to the end of as I can put it to good use.
:06:09. > :06:13.The fight to change this law goes They First Minister has refused to
:06:13. > :06:20.back the acting Deputy First Minister's call for the police
:06:20. > :06:25.ombudsman to go. He says there is no evidence that the police
:06:25. > :06:30.ombudsman has not performed in his duty. It comes in the wake of a BBC
:06:30. > :06:36.programme that uncover significant failings in the office.
:06:36. > :06:41.The his protest came within hours of the BBC revelations about the
:06:41. > :06:47.police ombudsman's office. Families of victims picketed the office
:06:47. > :06:51.insisting they had no confidence in the police ombudsman.
:06:51. > :06:58.Spot light revealed that a report had been rewritten, information had
:06:58. > :07:05.been withheld from a victim's family, and a case was not followed
:07:05. > :07:08.up. It is damaging enough for Sinn Fein's most senior minister.
:07:09. > :07:12.think the public have lost confidence in his role.
:07:12. > :07:19.He is in danger of damaging confidence in the police
:07:19. > :07:23.ombudsman's office. But he is not convinced, branding the problem
:07:23. > :07:28.superficial. I will not be involved in party
:07:28. > :07:33.political slanging on this issue. Nobody has come to me in the street
:07:33. > :07:39.and said this is terrible, I have no confidence in the ombudsman's
:07:39. > :07:44.office. They are facts are that al
:07:44. > :07:48.Hutchinson announced weeks ago that he would quit next June, after a
:07:48. > :07:54.report said his office was dysfunctional and questioned his
:07:54. > :07:59.independence. BBC Northern Ireland stands by its journalism. In a
:07:59. > :08:06.statement, it said that BBC Spotlight was responsible,
:08:06. > :08:15.rigorously researched and in the public interest.
:08:15. > :08:20.I think the race committee should recall them. It is vital that he
:08:20. > :08:26.can present his testimony so that he can explain himself.
:08:26. > :08:31.committee is considering be issued. After this afternoon's executive
:08:31. > :08:37.meeting, the justice minister met the first and Deputy First Minister
:08:37. > :08:43.has to make arrangements to the place Mr Hutchins and when he goes
:08:43. > :08:48.next June. The serial killer Robert Black's
:08:48. > :08:54.defence opened and closed this morning. He is accused of abducting
:08:54. > :08:59.and killing a nine-year-old in 1981. He chose not to take the stand
:08:59. > :09:05.himself. A forensic pathologist gave evidence from a video link
:09:05. > :09:11.from Malaysia. He said in his opinion it was not possible to say
:09:11. > :09:16.for sure whether Jennifer was strangled or drowned, or if she was
:09:16. > :09:21.sexually assaulted. It of the 10 libraries that had
:09:21. > :09:31.been marked for closure have been given a reprieve, at least
:09:31. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:37.temporarily. The two that will be close to our Moneymore and Moy.
:09:37. > :09:43.Did the campaigning have an effect? I think they were impressed by the
:09:43. > :09:47.amount of campaigning. In many cases it at the effect of
:09:47. > :09:53.increasing membership, increasing the amount of hours that computers
:09:53. > :09:58.were used and increasing lending of books and CDs. Five other libraries
:09:58. > :10:03.have a hurdle to get over in that they need to find new premises. But
:10:03. > :10:08.I think the messages they want these libraries to continue working
:10:08. > :10:14.for the committee. They will have to get local councils are community
:10:14. > :10:20.bodies to help them. That must be done within a year. They must at
:10:20. > :10:24.least have their proposals down, to prove themselves. Most of the
:10:24. > :10:30.decisions were made unanimously in the board meeting today. One was
:10:30. > :10:36.not, which affected Guildford Library, which is surviving
:10:36. > :10:44.nominally but will survive in a different way. That will be viewed
:10:44. > :10:49.by some people as a euphemism. It will have to provide library
:10:49. > :10:54.services from one room many community centre.
:10:54. > :11:04.I am worried and I would be afraid that library services would be
:11:04. > :11:12.greatly reduced and that the service will be affected. I will
:11:12. > :11:18.work to ensure that does not happen. Moneymore and Moy are the unlucky
:11:18. > :11:23.ones because they are just outright closures. Partly because of low
:11:23. > :11:33.usage and also because the buildings are sub-standard, needing
:11:33. > :11:42.new grooves and damp and faulty electrics. Have spoken to the
:11:42. > :11:45.chairperson of the library's Agent say. They allowed the the day's
:11:45. > :11:48.board is not at all happy to take up this recommendation but we
:11:48. > :11:57.believe with the state of the building and the level of use, we
:11:57. > :12:01.could not sustain the operations in Moneymore and Moy.
:12:01. > :12:07.It is with some sadness we do that but we do undertake to provide
:12:07. > :12:14.mobile services to those two villages. In next hurdle for the
:12:14. > :12:24.library's, consultation going on just now it's about opera --
:12:24. > :12:24.
:12:24. > :12:29.opening hours. Still to come, going crazy for the quad bikes.
:12:29. > :12:38.And what made an entrepreneur. We talk to this mother who decided
:12:38. > :12:42.to invent a new car seat. The chief electoral officer has
:12:42. > :12:49.apologised to those inconvenienced by the lengthy delay in May's
:12:49. > :12:53.election and referendum counts. He told the BBC that lessons have been
:12:53. > :12:59.learned after an independent watchdog strongly criticised the
:12:59. > :13:05.planning of the counts. Pollak sang tables, hairdryers used
:13:05. > :13:15.to dry out ballot papers, at times, may's account generated --
:13:15. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:21.degenerated into farce. The fall out reached London, where Northern
:13:21. > :13:27.Ireland's verdict in the referendum on how MPs should be chosen came in
:13:27. > :13:30.four hours later than anyone else's. It is a of ten men much later than
:13:31. > :13:34.anyone else in the rest of their United Kingdom and it is a shame
:13:34. > :13:40.that the vote for the people of Northern Ireland was something of
:13:40. > :13:43.an afterthought. Today's report lays the blame in
:13:43. > :13:49.different directions. Staff dropping out, poor planning
:13:49. > :13:53.and inadequate communication. Do you think he what the
:13:53. > :14:00.politicians or the general public an apology? It's is important to
:14:00. > :14:05.point out to people we were dealing with the Belections. There were
:14:05. > :14:08.more than 2 million ballots which is far in excess of what was
:14:08. > :14:16.counted before. I would like things to be done more quickly than they
:14:16. > :14:23.were. People were kept hanging around Count venues for longer than
:14:23. > :14:27.they should have been and I apologise. The Electoral Office
:14:27. > :14:37.acknowledges that lessons must be learnt. They plan to speed up the
:14:37. > :14:41.
:14:41. > :14:45.counting process by counting votes Martin McGuinness' suitability for
:14:45. > :14:51.the office was question, while Dana Rosemary Scallon has been
:14:51. > :14:56.threatened with legal action. The query about Martin McGuinness came
:14:56. > :15:02.from the family of the murdered Garda officer Gerry McCabe. Yes, in
:15:02. > :15:07.a statement they claimed that Martin McGuinness had met one of
:15:08. > :15:16.the IRA men convicted of the killing of Detective Jerry McCabe,
:15:16. > :15:21.Kevin Walsh, while he was on the run. The family claimed that Mr
:15:21. > :15:25.McGuinness knew the whereabouts of two other IRA members being sought
:15:25. > :15:28.for the killing. They say that because of his refusal to assist
:15:28. > :15:33.the authorities with their investigations that he was not a
:15:33. > :15:38.suitable candidate for the office of President. Mr McGuinness denied
:15:38. > :15:43.ever meeting Kevin Walsh whilst he was a wanted man and said he had no
:15:43. > :15:48.information about the whereabouts of any other suspects. He
:15:48. > :15:51.unreservedly condemned the killing of Jerry McCabe, which he said was
:15:51. > :15:59.unjustifiable, and he said he would never stand over attacks on the
:15:59. > :16:07.members of the Garda. Last week we had Diana considering legal action.
:16:07. > :16:12.Now we hear about possible legal action against her. That is right.
:16:12. > :16:21.The whole issue stems from comments made on a broadcast on television
:16:21. > :16:24.last Friday on which she spoke of false and malicious accusations. A
:16:24. > :16:34.solicitor acting for Dina's niece and sister issued a statement in
:16:34. > :16:40.which he said he had been instructed by them to issue libel
:16:40. > :16:47.proceedings and less totally unfounded and defamatory statements
:16:47. > :16:52.were retracted immediately. There has been no response from Diana.
:16:52. > :16:58.Finding out your child has autism can result in emotions like shock,
:16:58. > :17:04.anger or even denial. There is confusion about where to turn. This
:17:04. > :17:09.week two initiatives were launched. For this week's family focus I am
:17:09. > :17:11.joined by a parent of a child with autism and Dr Stephen Bergin, the
:17:11. > :17:19.chair of the Regional Autistic Spectrum Disorder Network. Stephen,
:17:19. > :17:23.what difference will be his make? If I can take you back to 2007 if
:17:24. > :17:27.you were a young man and you were worried about your child. The last
:17:27. > :17:34.thing you wanted to find out is that you would have to wait two or
:17:34. > :17:40.three years to see a specialist. On the back of considerable investment
:17:40. > :17:45.to put in place a raft of specialist practitioners, we have
:17:45. > :17:51.brought that down to just a few weeks. Because we have put a lot of
:17:51. > :17:56.practitioners into the trusts, we have a whole raft of diagnostic
:17:56. > :18:06.services in place. We have standardised diagnostic methods in
:18:06. > :18:09.
:18:09. > :18:14.place. And this is a joined-up approach? Yes, two years ago the
:18:14. > :18:22.board wanted to bring together the trusts and the voluntary sector and
:18:22. > :18:28.other agencies such as education to work collaboratively. Laura, you
:18:28. > :18:33.have a son, David. One of these guides is a guide for families. How
:18:33. > :18:38.useful would this have been for you? It would have been brilliant
:18:38. > :18:41.to have something because 28 years ago when my son was diagnosed there
:18:41. > :18:45.were not even voluntary organisations in Northern Ireland.
:18:45. > :18:51.It would have been great to have an idea of what would be ahead. We
:18:51. > :18:57.have outlined from the time of diagnosis right through to when the
:18:57. > :19:02.child starts university, so it is a broad range of information about
:19:02. > :19:09.what it is like to live with autism. We have put what we have learnt
:19:09. > :19:13.into this book to give families an idea of what is ahead. As we said,
:19:13. > :19:23.your son David is 30. There is a bit of a disparity with what
:19:23. > :19:26.
:19:26. > :19:36.happens to older people with autism, adults. When you have been in the
:19:36. > :19:41.situation of having funding, now be focused will be on adolescents. -
:19:41. > :19:46.the focus. We will shortly be starting to write the adult guide.
:19:47. > :19:55.Thank you very much for joining us. To find out more and if you would
:19:55. > :20:00.like to download these documents, checkout our Facebook page.
:20:00. > :20:02.Tonight at an awards ceremony in Dublin one person will win the
:20:02. > :20:10.accolade are Entrepreneur of the Year. There are seven Northern
:20:10. > :20:16.Ireland people in the 24 finalists in the prestigious and Stan yum
:20:16. > :20:21.competition. -- Ernst and Young. Entrepreneurship is a hard concept
:20:21. > :20:27.to define. It is somebody who found a gap in the market and exploited
:20:27. > :20:31.it. Somebody who can make money for themselves, who can take an idea
:20:31. > :20:35.and develop good. Somebody who is willing to take a risk for
:20:35. > :20:41.something they believe in. In fact, an ultra nap -- entrepreneur can be
:20:41. > :20:47.a mother of two who do and -- designs car seats for children.
:20:47. > :20:54.Since she can't buy them the way she wants, she decides to make a
:20:54. > :21:00.run. Grainne Kelly has just signed a contract to create these seats.
:21:00. > :21:08.We have launched an application as well for children, to add a bit of
:21:08. > :21:11.street credibility. Children don't want to ride on a baby seat. We are
:21:11. > :21:20.trying to inspire children by letting them have their own cool
:21:20. > :21:30.product. Perhaps an entrepreneur is somebody who's company makes parts
:21:30. > :21:39.
:21:39. > :21:44.for boats. This man, makes such products. We spend over 11 % of our
:21:44. > :21:51.turnover on product development. That is about getting an advantage.
:21:51. > :21:56.Do we have enough entrepreneurs here? I think there are a
:21:56. > :22:02.phenomenal number in Northern Ireland but they are not given the
:22:02. > :22:05.recognition they deserve. Just two of the 24 -- the 23 finalists
:22:05. > :22:09.competing for the title of Entrepreneur of the Year. But there
:22:09. > :22:12.are hundreds or even thousands more out there and they are keeping the
:22:12. > :22:17.economy running in these difficult times.
:22:17. > :22:20.If you have an entrepreneurial story to tell us, let us know.
:22:20. > :22:24.There will be great Britain football teams at the London
:22:24. > :22:30.Olympics but well Northern Ireland players be involved?
:22:30. > :22:37.Very possibly. Stuart Pearce and Hope Powell were named as the
:22:37. > :22:42.prospect -- respective head coaches. The Irish Football Association has
:22:42. > :22:45.constantly stated that they oppose the concept of Team GB but at a
:22:45. > :22:51.press conference at Wembley Stadium today Stuart Pearce was adamant
:22:52. > :22:58.that he will select Northern Ireland players. As a manager, I
:22:58. > :23:03.would want to pick from the biggest pool of players possible. I think
:23:03. > :23:06.it is vitally important, it is Team GB, and on the back of that we need
:23:06. > :23:11.to pick the best players possible to have the best opportunity of
:23:11. > :23:19.winning the tournament. As far as I am concerned, it is not just
:23:19. > :23:24.English players by any means. It is open to anybody and I think, if I
:23:24. > :23:29.was a player, trying to put myself in their position, trying to get
:23:29. > :23:35.myself forward to be part of this tournament and this occasion would
:23:35. > :23:39.be fantastic. There is a long way to go but if Europe's and Ryder Cup
:23:39. > :23:49.team was being selected two Northern Ireland players would be
:23:49. > :23:51.
:23:51. > :23:58.assured of their places, Rory Mackle Roy -- and Rory Michael Royd
:23:58. > :24:02.and Stephen Hoey. He has captained the Ulster rugby
:24:02. > :24:09.team so far this season and today Chris Henryk signed a two-year
:24:09. > :24:13.extension. Down through the years Northern
:24:14. > :24:23.Ireland has produced many motor cycling champions, mostly on two
:24:24. > :24:25.
:24:25. > :24:29.wheels. But the four-wheel kind is growing in popularity. We caught up
:24:29. > :24:36.with our quad racing stars of the future.
:24:36. > :24:40.This is a rider's are a view of quad racing. Over 80 children from
:24:40. > :24:47.all over the country travel here to race every week.
:24:47. > :24:53.It keeps them away from the street, stops them running up and down the
:24:53. > :24:57.streets of their neighbours. They thoroughly enjoy it and there are
:24:57. > :25:02.prizes at the end of the year for them. It is really, really good fun
:25:02. > :25:09.for all of the children. Each of the competitors enjoy it
:25:09. > :25:19.for different reasons. I like to hang off, when you go
:25:19. > :25:19.
:25:19. > :25:24.around the corner has. Getting good positions is fun. -- corners.
:25:24. > :25:31.good to meet new people. One parent knows the real reason that children
:25:31. > :25:40.love to race. He loves it because of the martyr! It gives him a sense
:25:40. > :25:46.of achievement. -- because of the mud.
:25:46. > :25:52.With moves like this, it is pretty competitive as well.
:25:52. > :26:00.It looks like a lot of fun. Now let's get the latest on the
:26:00. > :26:04.The wet weather from the west made its way across the whole province
:26:04. > :26:10.and we are in for a pretty damp evening. But the cloud is helping
:26:10. > :26:14.temperatures to creep up to just above average. Looking at the rest
:26:14. > :26:18.of the UK and Ireland on the satellite picture, this is that
:26:18. > :26:24.weather front that was moving in earlier, affecting Ireland and the
:26:24. > :26:30.west coast of Scotland, where there was persistent brain for a time.
:26:30. > :26:34.The best of the weather was in the south-east and the South of England.
:26:34. > :26:38.As far back home, but rain is going to stay with us for the rest of the
:26:38. > :26:44.evening and into the first part of the morning, but it will start to
:26:45. > :26:49.fragment and break-up, so we should be left with a fairly dry evening.
:26:49. > :26:54.Temperatures dipping to just eight or nine degrees. It should feel
:26:54. > :27:00.noticeably milder than last night. Friday, a mild start, but it will
:27:00. > :27:07.be a cloudy and breezy day. Some showers developing in parts of
:27:07. > :27:12.County Fermanagh, County Londonderry. The winds will pick up
:27:12. > :27:18.all the time but it is pulling in warm air from the South stoic
:27:18. > :27:22.should have an noticeably milder field tomorrow. -- so it should.
:27:22. > :27:28.Those showers eventually fizzling out so, by the late afternoon and
:27:28. > :27:33.early evening, it will be dry for just about everyone. As we head
:27:33. > :27:38.overnight and into Saturday, that is when the weather changes. It
:27:38. > :27:42.will become wet and windy. There is a bit of uncertainty about when the