:00:00. > :00:15.is all from the BBC News at six. On BBC One we
:00:16. > :00:22.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline: There is a storm of
:00:23. > :00:25.controversy over the Attorney General's call for an end to
:00:26. > :00:33.prosecutions for crimes from the Troubles.
:00:34. > :00:38.The time is come to think about putting a line such that Good Friday
:00:39. > :00:44.Agreement in 1998 with respect to prosecutions and inquests.
:00:45. > :00:46.The reaction has been mixed from victims and survivors. We hear their
:00:47. > :00:52.views at a trauma support centre. victims and survivors. We hear their
:00:53. > :00:54.Four brothers admit being in the house where a couple suffered fatal
:00:55. > :00:57.burns. The property market continues its
:00:58. > :01:02.recovery as house prices edge up again.
:01:03. > :01:08.And as today's wild winds gradually subside, the outlook is a lot
:01:09. > :01:14.calmer. I'll be back with all the details shortly.
:01:15. > :01:23.First tonight, the story that is dominating the headlines. The
:01:24. > :01:28.Attorney General's call for an end to prosecutions for Troubles related
:01:29. > :01:31.killings. John Larkin has told the BBC there should be no further
:01:32. > :01:33.police investigations, inquests or inquiries into killings by
:01:34. > :01:39.paramilitaries, the police or army that took place before the Good
:01:40. > :01:40.Friday Agreement in 1998. The comments have prompted a massive
:01:41. > :01:45.response, from the Prime Minister and the Taioseach, to local
:01:46. > :01:48.politicians and victims groups. In a moment we'll bring you that
:01:49. > :02:03.reaction, but first here is home affairs correspondent.
:02:04. > :02:09.The past continues to cast a shadow over the present. How to deal with
:02:10. > :02:14.the legacy of the Troubles remains one of the most contentious issues
:02:15. > :02:21.on the political agenda. The Attorney General has now entered the
:02:22. > :02:26.debate. More than 15 years have passed since the agreement. There
:02:27. > :02:32.have been very few prosecutions. Every competent criminal lawyer will
:02:33. > :02:36.tell you that the prospect of conviction diminishes with each
:02:37. > :02:44.passing year. It strikes me that the time is come to think about putting
:02:45. > :02:49.a line set at the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 with respect to
:02:50. > :02:54.prosecutions, inquests and other inquiries. 11 people were killed
:02:55. > :03:00.when a bomb exploded at an event in 1987. No-one has ever been
:03:01. > :03:07.convicted. And no-one ever will if the proposal by the Attorney General
:03:08. > :03:14.were to be common law. More with soldiers who shot dead 13 people on
:03:15. > :03:21.bloody Sunday face trial. Any police investigation, inquests or inquiry
:03:22. > :03:25.not completed by the time any such legislation was introduced, would
:03:26. > :03:29.end at that point. The historical inquiries team, set up to re-examine
:03:30. > :03:39.all the Troubles killings, would also cease to exist. So no-one would
:03:40. > :03:45.be prosecuted for offences related to the Troubles before 1998? That is
:03:46. > :03:53.right. Many have described the proposals as an amnesty. It is not
:03:54. > :04:00.an amnesty, it is simply a stay on criminal proceedings. Sometimes that
:04:01. > :04:03.which is a crime ceases to be a crime. It would simply be that no
:04:04. > :04:12.criminal proceedings would be possible with respect to those
:04:13. > :04:17.offences. There is a lot of focus on the use of the word amnesty. We need
:04:18. > :04:26.to not focus on one single aspect of the solution. In terms of balance to
:04:27. > :04:34.that, an and to the inquest, because, if you like, the inquest
:04:35. > :04:38.tends to be the way relatives are able to hold the states to account,
:04:39. > :04:54.whereas a criminal code -- for medical prosecution does not provide
:04:55. > :05:03.an even nice. We do not have the ability to bring to account these
:05:04. > :05:06.offences. If I asked you the question, I want the police to
:05:07. > :05:13.continue pursuing the person who killed my loved one cannot you want
:05:14. > :05:16.to draw a line under it. How do you justify that to this relatives who
:05:17. > :05:20.would say that they believe that you cannot put a price or a time limit
:05:21. > :05:26.on justice? I have had conversations with people in that very position.
:05:27. > :05:33.What I have said to them is that I have drawn attention to the logic of
:05:34. > :05:38.existing legislation and also to the extreme improbability of criminal
:05:39. > :05:46.proceedings ever taking place. The real test of the acceptability of
:05:47. > :05:51.these proposals is, how will the Dems across the board respond? John
:05:52. > :05:57.Larkin has outlined his views to a former US diplomat. He is trying to
:05:58. > :06:06.work out an agreement that includes how to deal with the past.
:06:07. > :06:09.The comments and its strong reactions from politicians. The
:06:10. > :06:14.Prime Minister made it clear the government would not be considering
:06:15. > :06:20.an amnesty. Here is our political correspondent. The past is always
:06:21. > :06:25.present for politicians at Stormont. Those are the remarks of someone who
:06:26. > :06:33.is a convicted terrorist and are shameful. But the attempt to draw a
:06:34. > :06:39.line under the past is succeeding in one thing today, for once uniting
:06:40. > :06:46.the parties against him. I think it would have been better if it had
:06:47. > :06:50.been dealt with in the context of a submission from him as a private
:06:51. > :06:57.individual. He is the Attorney General who is responsibility it is
:06:58. > :07:02.to look over legal matters, and in this instance, we had new
:07:03. > :07:07.conversation with him about this. Given the statement by the Attorney
:07:08. > :07:12.General overnight, on his own behalf and without consultation, does he
:07:13. > :07:17.agree that there can be no question of an amnesty for any terrorist
:07:18. > :07:22.atrocities and crimes, and that all victims of terrorism deserve truth
:07:23. > :07:28.and justice? The Prime Minister did indeed agree. They are his own words
:07:29. > :07:32.and not at the behest of anybody else. The government has no plans to
:07:33. > :07:40.legislate for amnesty for crimes that were committed during the
:07:41. > :07:44.Troubles. The US to format view is consulting on issues of the past, I
:07:45. > :07:51.think that to the right forum to discuss these issues. Don Mikan has
:07:52. > :07:53.shown in the past he has no problem taking on the political
:07:54. > :07:58.establishment. -- John Larkin. This time, and not for the first time,
:07:59. > :08:04.his motivation is being questioned. He did not consult the victims for
:08:05. > :08:10.him. I cannot believe you did not realise the hurt and pain that would
:08:11. > :08:12.be created. An awful lot of people are hurting today because of the
:08:13. > :08:22.shock of discovering this is where he is. Ill-timed and ill advised. I
:08:23. > :08:28.think it was an error of judgment to the overall issue of dealing with
:08:29. > :08:32.the past in dealing with victims. The Taioseach said the idea would be
:08:33. > :08:39.difficult for victims, but there was some support from an unlikely
:08:40. > :08:46.source, and in him Peter Larkin once tried to prosecute. But only one of
:08:47. > :08:50.the local parties came to the aid of the Attorney General. It is very
:08:51. > :08:54.difficult. I have huge sympathy for those who have been affected, but we
:08:55. > :08:58.do have to find a way of moving Northern Ireland from the past and
:08:59. > :08:59.into the future, and a different way of going about things is essential.
:09:00. > :09:09.But it does not look like that wait will be John Larkin's way.
:09:10. > :09:12.Let's get reaction from victims' families now to what the Attorney
:09:13. > :09:14.General has suggested. Donna is at a centre run by the victims' group
:09:15. > :09:16.Wave. This is a cross-community
:09:17. > :09:19.organisation offering support to people traumatised by violence
:09:20. > :09:27.before and since the Good Friday Agreement. It also has a centre in
:09:28. > :09:30.Londonderry and it was in that city today that some bereaved relatives
:09:31. > :09:40.were quick to voice their reaction to the no prosecution proposal.
:09:41. > :09:46.Emotions were running high as a relatives confronted a US diplomat
:09:47. > :09:52.in a local hotel lobby over the controversial proposal by the
:09:53. > :09:56.Attorney General. He is trying to drawn -- a line, and we do not think
:09:57. > :10:02.that is right. We need justice and accountability. These women lost
:10:03. > :10:08.their brother, who was shot dead on bloody Sunday. Their father was also
:10:09. > :10:14.injured in the 1972 shootings in which 14 people died. How do you
:10:15. > :10:20.draw a line? How do you say it is OK for killers to go free? There is no
:10:21. > :10:26.peace for us. It is not something we can accept. One man who lost his son
:10:27. > :10:30.in a bombing also said the idea was a complete nonstarter. I do
:10:31. > :10:34.in a bombing also said the idea was any merit, and I think that we, as
:10:35. > :10:37.part of the United Kingdom, we deserve the same just as we would
:10:38. > :10:45.get in London or Birmingham or Glasgow. The diplomat would not be
:10:46. > :10:48.drawn on the suggestion. One of the few principles I had it that I tend
:10:49. > :10:55.not to comment on things before I have a chance to read and write just
:10:56. > :10:58.them -- to read and digest them. I look forward to meeting with the
:10:59. > :11:02.Attorney General in getting a better sense from him directly about what
:11:03. > :11:07.his thoughts are, and then I want to see how the various political and
:11:08. > :11:14.civic leaders react before I formed my own opinion. It was a busy day
:11:15. > :11:24.for the doctor. With me is Alan McBride, who lost
:11:25. > :11:28.his wife and father in law in the Shankill bombing and Jude Whyte,
:11:29. > :11:33.whose mother was killed by a UVF bomb in Belfast.
:11:34. > :11:37.We heard there from the relatives you have had an inquiry, but some
:11:38. > :11:41.are still looking for justice. What merit do you see in the suggestion
:11:42. > :11:50.of new prosecutions? I think John Larkin reflects the toxicity that is
:11:51. > :11:54.still going on. The people of Derry Neal within five minutes of those
:11:55. > :11:58.events that those 13 people who were killed that they were indeed
:11:59. > :12:05.murdered him and 30 years later, they are still crying out for
:12:06. > :12:09.justice. What John Larkin said was that many of these relatives groups
:12:10. > :12:13.and many people who have been briefed by this conflict will never
:12:14. > :12:19.get justice if a prosecution is what they seek. It simply will not
:12:20. > :12:24.happen. He is being very realistic about what he said today. Has he
:12:25. > :12:29.been bold and brave? I totally disagree with him. I think it is a
:12:30. > :12:34.very strong message for victims to hear that they will never get any
:12:35. > :12:37.justice, they will never get any prosecutions, there will never be an
:12:38. > :12:45.inquiry into the murder of their loved ones. I had a trial and a
:12:46. > :12:50.guide served a short time in jail, and at least I got that. Everybody
:12:51. > :12:54.deserves what I got, absolutely. There is protection from prosecution
:12:55. > :12:59.for those involved in the decommissioning of weapons, also,
:13:00. > :13:02.those who can help locate the victims of the disappeared, so what
:13:03. > :13:08.is the difference with this? That is a matter for the families to decide
:13:09. > :13:13.if that is what they would accept in order to get that information about
:13:14. > :13:17.the bodies of their loved ones. There was no consultation here. John
:13:18. > :13:27.Larkin has put this on the table to be discussed, but he did not discuss
:13:28. > :13:30.this with the victims and survivors. I do not know what his powers are
:13:31. > :13:35.and what sort of things he can comment on. I thought he was
:13:36. > :13:42.overstepping the mark on this one a little bit. There needs to be a
:13:43. > :13:46.process for these people to get the answers they are looking for. People
:13:47. > :13:51.do not like the idea of drawing a line under the past, but for those
:13:52. > :13:58.who need and want an inquiry, a police investigation, why should
:13:59. > :14:01.they be deprived of that? He merely suggested that people should start
:14:02. > :14:07.talking about this on and he based it on the evidence that we are now
:14:08. > :14:11.over 20 years into a post cease-fire situation. There are statutory
:14:12. > :14:17.hotties working day and night for these prosecutions and they are not
:14:18. > :14:34.coming. I asked evil to reflect, -- I asked people to reflect. Look at
:14:35. > :14:41.the case of my mother. I understand why the man who did it did it. That
:14:42. > :14:45.is a private issue and I do not want to reflect that on any family. That
:14:46. > :14:49.is just my opinion. One solution will not fit all. Of course, and
:14:50. > :14:55.people have will not fit all. Of course, and
:14:56. > :15:00.through the courts. All John Larkin said was, what we as a society, we
:15:01. > :15:08.as a society to not want to deal with this issue. This is a template
:15:09. > :15:11.and we rejected it. Later in the programme, we mark the 30th
:15:12. > :15:19.anniversary of the shooting at a church near Darkley in County Armagh
:15:20. > :15:22.when three people were killed. Four brothers accused of a double
:15:23. > :15:26.murder and arson attack have admitted, for the first time, that
:15:27. > :15:37.they were the gang who entered the victims' home. They continued to
:15:38. > :15:47.deny the charge of murder. They are req used of killing, so here near
:15:48. > :15:54.County Armagh. Nile and Martin Smith arrived at
:15:55. > :16:01.court last week. They have admitted they were the masked men who entered
:16:02. > :16:10.the victims' home just just over seven years ago. There was a huge
:16:11. > :16:19.explosion in the house. Both died from their injuries within days.
:16:20. > :16:25.Smith brothers required stays in hospital. One of the mast a nurse to
:16:26. > :16:30.phone his wife, he was convinced he was going to die. The partner of
:16:31. > :16:35.Stephen Smith said when she arrived at the hospital she was told that
:16:36. > :16:39.all four were critical and not expected to live. In an agreed
:16:40. > :16:45.statement of facts read to the jury, the brothers accepted that they had
:16:46. > :16:49.brought the petrol with them and it had been distributed throughout the
:16:50. > :16:53.hose. The prosecution case is that the Smith brothers were motivated by
:16:54. > :16:56.a desire to punish the victim for a sexual assault he had perpetrated on
:16:57. > :17:05.the youngest brother 16 years earlier. In another statement read
:17:06. > :17:08.to the jury, the partner of Stephen Smith said he had become
:17:09. > :17:15.increasingly agitated in the months leading up to the fire about the
:17:16. > :17:24.presence in the area of the victim. He said he had been obsessive about
:17:25. > :17:25.protecting their son. He had struggled for years to come to terms
:17:26. > :17:30.with what Thomas O'Hare had done to struggled for years to come to terms
:17:31. > :17:34.him and had spent time in a psychiatric ward. The prosecution
:17:35. > :17:40.has concluded and the defence is expected to start on Monday.
:17:41. > :17:43.The Parades Commission has imposed restrictions on a loyalist protest
:17:44. > :17:47.planned for Belfast city centre at the end of this month. The parade
:17:48. > :17:50.will mark the first anniversary of Belfast City Council's decision to
:17:51. > :17:54.restrict the flying of the union flag at City Hall. The Commission
:17:55. > :17:57.says the protest, involving 40 bands and up to 10,000 participants, must
:17:58. > :18:01.leave the City Hall assembly point no later than 12 noon and pass the
:18:02. > :18:14.Royal Avenue North Street junction no later than 12:30pm.
:18:15. > :18:17.New figures show that the housing market is continuing to recover with
:18:18. > :18:27.a number of house tells higher than any time since 2007 -- house sales.
:18:28. > :18:31.What do these figures show? We have the residential property price index
:18:32. > :18:35.which is produced every three months and is thought to be the most
:18:36. > :18:39.comprehensive look at the market. It shows that in the last three months
:18:40. > :18:44.between July and September, prices have increased by 2%, which is the
:18:45. > :18:50.second quarter in a row we have seen prices increasing, which suggests
:18:51. > :18:53.the market is finally stabilising and perhaps some meant going into
:18:54. > :18:59.the market. That gives us an average price of ?99,000. Another figure is
:19:00. > :19:04.the number of transactions which has breached about 4000 which is the
:19:05. > :19:07.highest number of transactions since 2007, which is suggesting that you
:19:08. > :19:12.have willing buyers and sellers transacting. There are signs of
:19:13. > :19:17.recovery, but can you transacting. There are signs of
:19:18. > :19:22.perspective? You have to be realistic. Northern Ireland suffered
:19:23. > :19:31.about the worst property crash the world knows. If we got 2005, prices
:19:32. > :19:36.are still 10% below what they were in 2005, so for a lot of people in
:19:37. > :19:44.negative equity, there is still a long way to go. What has been the
:19:45. > :19:46.reaction? The finance minister says this is evidence that confidence is
:19:47. > :19:50.returning and it is good news for first-time buyers.
:19:51. > :19:54.On the day that Hull finds out that it is to be the next UK City of
:19:55. > :19:59.Culture, the minister for culture here has announced what happens when
:20:00. > :20:03.the Derry/Londonderry year ends. The focus of the legacy from the year
:20:04. > :20:14.will be on community arts, rather than high profile events.
:20:15. > :20:19.It has been an exciting year so far with resignations and rose, but also
:20:20. > :20:24.dramatic highlights and very successful events. It has always
:20:25. > :20:27.been a concern that the year-long UK City of Culture celebrations would
:20:28. > :20:31.end and nothing would take their place. Now the minister for culture,
:20:32. > :20:36.arts and leisure says she is trying to put that right. She says she will
:20:37. > :20:39.make sure some initiatives can continue for another three years
:20:40. > :20:50.such as the music promise which gets tuition to young people. -- gives
:20:51. > :20:54.that tuition. The Minister has provided ?2 million for the next
:20:55. > :20:57.five months but will be asking the executive for more money. The worst
:20:58. > :21:02.thing that could happen is everything stops on the 31st of
:21:03. > :21:08.December. Come January, nothing, that is not going to happen. A new
:21:09. > :21:12.charitable body will be created to deliver the Legacy programme of
:21:13. > :21:15.events after the year of culture ends. What is most exciting for me
:21:16. > :21:22.is that those projects that have been under the radar, that our
:21:23. > :21:26.long-term Legacy programme based, and the idea that the music promise
:21:27. > :21:30.has a less by not only in the city but also potentially rolled out
:21:31. > :21:35.across Northern Ireland, is very exciting. A new group of people will
:21:36. > :21:46.be drafted in to make sure the legacy lives on.
:21:47. > :21:49.There has been a lot of debates today about how we deal with our
:21:50. > :21:52.past. 30 years ago this evening, three gunmen attacked a church near
:21:53. > :21:56.Darkley in County Armagh. Three people were killed. The shooting was
:21:57. > :22:05.during a service which was being recorded at the time. The sound of
:22:06. > :22:13.what happened is in our next report. You may find it upsetting.
:22:14. > :22:18.A modest place of worship in the sprawling hills of south Armagh.
:22:19. > :22:30.This is an audio recording of the service that night in 1983. This is
:22:31. > :22:41.the moment terror struck. SHOTS FIRE. A bullet went through the hymn
:22:42. > :22:46.book. They did not care. That is what evil men do. 70 rounds were
:22:47. > :22:53.fired at the building. The men killed, seven seriously injured. The
:22:54. > :23:01.youngest was six months old up to people older than I am. They were
:23:02. > :23:06.there to kill anyone. If the men that got killed just happen to be at
:23:07. > :23:14.the front door. -- the three men. They did not finish there, they went
:23:15. > :23:18.outside and went up and down the building with a machine gun, trying
:23:19. > :23:23.to kill everybody inside. The funeral is followed. Strong invoice,
:23:24. > :23:29.united in grief, families inconsolable. It was sometime later
:23:30. > :23:35.before the congregation returned to their church. Initially it was very
:23:36. > :23:39.difficult. For the first couple of months or thereabouts we tended to
:23:40. > :23:41.difficult. For the first couple of meet in another building quite
:23:42. > :23:51.locally until I think it was January 1984. 30 years later, the hole is
:23:52. > :23:55.still standing strong. A memorial to those killed and seriously injured
:23:56. > :24:00.that cold, dark, November night. This is no longer used as a place of
:24:01. > :24:06.worship. There was a church built next door in 1990. The congregation
:24:07. > :24:10.are prepared to forgive the men who were intent on killing many and now
:24:11. > :24:16.the Attorney General has called for an end to prosecutions of Troubles
:24:17. > :24:20.related murders, is that a step too far? That is the political martyr
:24:21. > :24:26.and a matter for the Northern Ireland assembly to determine. As
:24:27. > :24:28.fun as we are concerned, justice will be done, whether it is in this
:24:29. > :24:37.life or the life to come. will be done, whether it is in this
:24:38. > :24:40.as we are concerned. If you'd like to find out more
:24:41. > :24:43.details of the victims' stories you've heard today and the Attorney
:24:44. > :24:52.General's suggestion about prosecutions please visit the BBC
:24:53. > :24:56.News website. The high winds were causing all
:24:57. > :24:59.sorts of problems today. A Christmas lights switch on had to be was born
:25:00. > :25:07.is due to damage to the Christmas tree. -- postponed.
:25:08. > :25:15.It is still very stormy at the moment, with peak gusts of 70 mph.
:25:16. > :25:19.Trees will fall more easily because there are more leaves compared to
:25:20. > :25:28.the middle of winter. Still some very stormy conditions around. A
:25:29. > :25:36.tree has fallen here. Some ferocious seas. Massive waves building up.
:25:37. > :25:44.Spectacular to look at but pretty nasty if you are out on a boat. A
:25:45. > :25:49.weather warning up until midnight tonight. Particularly close to the
:25:50. > :25:53.east coast. After midnight things gradually settled down. Many places
:25:54. > :26:02.end up drive. A touch of frost or eyes is possible. -- ice. There will
:26:03. > :26:07.be a notable breeze is specially around the coast but a lot of dry
:26:08. > :26:12.and great weather. If you can find a bit of shelter tomorrow it will not
:26:13. > :26:16.feel as bitter as it did today, but temperatures a little bit shy of
:26:17. > :26:20.where they should be. A little below the average for this time of year
:26:21. > :26:25.and it will feel rather chilly in the breeze. Things are looking, and
:26:26. > :26:30.more settled as we head towards the weekend and that means that tomorrow
:26:31. > :26:34.evening and tomorrow night there will be a sharp fall in
:26:35. > :26:40.temperatures. A sharp frost to come tomorrow night which will be around
:26:41. > :26:46.on Friday morning. It might be back to the scraping of windscreens on
:26:47. > :26:51.Friday, and the day itself will be dry for most with some pleasant
:26:52. > :26:54.sunshine and fairly light winds. We have had some pretty lively whether
:26:55. > :26:59.to begin with this week, but things are looking more settled, much, as
:27:00. > :27:10.we head towards the weekend, largely drive.
:27:11. > :27:14.Our late bulletin is at 10:25pm. You can also keep in contact with us via
:27:15. > :27:17.Facebook and Twitter. From BBC Newsline, goodnight.