:00:00. > :00:00.England's road to recovery. There is more throughout the evening on the
:00:00. > :00:07.BBC News Channel. We're back with the
:00:08. > :00:11.Good evening. Engineers have been struggling to reconnect 3000 homes
:00:12. > :00:16.still without power as gale force winds swept across Northern Ireland.
:00:17. > :00:20.NIE says it restored power to around 30,000 homes overnight. Dozens of
:00:21. > :00:25.roads have been closed because of fallen trees and many flights and
:00:26. > :00:35.ferry crossings have been disrupted. BBC Newsline's Mervyn Jess reports.
:00:36. > :00:40.This house in Southdown had its roof and off after power lines came down
:00:41. > :00:44.on top of that. The three people inside were fortunate to escape
:00:45. > :00:52.uninjured. The fire started at the back of the television. The light
:00:53. > :01:00.bulbs blew off and it burst completely. I got up and shouted up
:01:01. > :01:09.the Stayers you had better get out. There is a fire. -- shouted up the
:01:10. > :01:18.stairs. The wall was on fire. I got my mother out and my father. The
:01:19. > :01:22.storms have impacted on thousands of homes across Northern Ireland with
:01:23. > :01:26.powder cuts caused by trees falling on electricity lines. On the
:01:27. > :01:31.outskirts of South Belfast, high winds snapped -- snapped and
:01:32. > :01:41.Electricity Board but had to be replaced. -- an electricity pole.
:01:42. > :01:45.These high winds are still blowing and it is very difficult but we
:01:46. > :01:49.always have to bear in mind the safety of our engineers. This
:01:50. > :01:54.pensioner arrived home last night to find his bungalow covered by trees
:01:55. > :01:58.which had uprooted in his front garden. This morning friends and
:01:59. > :02:03.neighbours cut a path through to his front door. Did not look too bad
:02:04. > :02:08.that I could hardly see it was so stormy. When you walk up this
:02:09. > :02:16.morning, what did you think? I nearly cried. The high winds sparked
:02:17. > :02:20.a small fire at this shopping centre in Newry over night. Elsewhere
:02:21. > :02:27.falling trees caused problems and blocked some roads. This minibus was
:02:28. > :02:31.among the number -- a number of vehicles damaged. The high winds
:02:32. > :02:37.have continued to batter some areas during the day, making it people --
:02:38. > :02:40.difficult for people everywhere. Power supplies remained the most
:02:41. > :02:56.vulnerable. This engineering work behind me is what is involved in
:02:57. > :02:59.getting things back to normal. The Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams
:03:00. > :03:02.says agreement in the Haass talks can be achieved. Dr Haass and his
:03:03. > :03:05.assistant Meghan O'Sullivan are due to return to Belfast tomorrow to
:03:06. > :03:09.host bilateral talks around flags, parades and the past this weekend.
:03:10. > :03:13.Mr Adams said that progress was made in the talks that broke up in the
:03:14. > :03:15.early hours of Christmas Eve and says he's confident agreement is
:03:16. > :03:22.possible when the talks recommence. Failure is not an option. Dr Richard
:03:23. > :03:25.Haass was invited here. He was invited by us and the Deputy First
:03:26. > :03:31.Minister and the First Minister. All of these issues are soluble and can
:03:32. > :03:39.be sorted out. I think that a deal is possible.
:03:40. > :03:42.Previously confidential state files from the 1980's - released today -
:03:43. > :03:45.show that the Government considered banning Sinn Fein when electoral
:03:46. > :03:49.support for the party started to grow. The state papers also name
:03:50. > :03:52.Gerry Kelly, now a Sinn Fein MLA, as the IRA inmate who shot prison
:03:53. > :04:05.officer John Adams during the Maze jail escape in 1983. Mark Simpson
:04:06. > :04:08.reports. The rapid rise of Sinn ten in 1983 with Gerry Adams elected MP
:04:09. > :04:16.for West Belfast caused concern in government circles. Previously
:04:17. > :04:21.confidential state papers released today show how officials discussed a
:04:22. > :04:26.plan to make the party illegal and fine or jail anyone found to be a
:04:27. > :04:30.member. This historian says the government was trying to find a
:04:31. > :04:39.political solution to a worsening security problem. You had the
:04:40. > :04:47.massacre in South Armagh, bombings in London were civilians died. The
:04:48. > :04:51.government had thought about prescribing Sinn Fein completely.
:04:52. > :04:54.But the government concluded that banning the party would be
:04:55. > :04:59.counter-productive and the idea was scrapped. 1983 was also the year 38
:05:00. > :05:06.diary prisoners escaped from the Maze jail including Gerry Kelly, now
:05:07. > :05:12.a Sinn Fein MLA. A report into the break-out names him as the main fish
:05:13. > :05:16.-- inmate who shot prison officer John Adams. Another prison officer
:05:17. > :05:19.saw him shot -- pointing a pistol into the control room and the report
:05:20. > :05:24.says it was established that he shot John Adams. Gerry Adams was later
:05:25. > :05:29.charged in connection with the shooting but was found not guilty.
:05:30. > :05:35.More than 1000 files have been released today by the Public Record
:05:36. > :05:40.Office but 225 papers have not been published. They are expected to
:05:41. > :05:44.remain secret until the year 26 D seven. The authorities say the files
:05:45. > :06:01.not released contain sensitive personal information.
:06:02. > :06:07.Now time for a weather update. It has been a wild and windy day today.
:06:08. > :06:10.Now time for a weather update. It has been a wild and windy There is a
:06:11. > :06:15.weather warning in place and it remains so until midnight tonight.
:06:16. > :06:25.Temperatures will dip right down to three degrees. Somebody will need a
:06:26. > :06:29.new shared! But the damage is nothing in the way of what we saw
:06:30. > :06:35.today. Showers will continue through Saturday. Some of those showers
:06:36. > :06:42.could be quite snugly over higher ground. There will be some breaks in
:06:43. > :06:49.the cloud. It will be a day of sunshine and showers. Temperatures
:06:50. > :06:52.will reach around five degrees. The showers are ever present as we go
:06:53. > :06:59.through Sunday -- Saturday and into the evening. There will be clearer
:07:00. > :07:02.skies on Saturday night, meaning temperatures will dip sharply.
:07:03. > :07:08.Sunday is not a bad day. It is a cold but right start. But later on
:07:09. > :07:17.in the day another weather front moves in. It is an unsettled picture
:07:18. > :07:21.to our weather. The next weather front is due on Sunday evening into
:07:22. > :07:25.Monday morning so it could get a little bit lively. Towards the
:07:26. > :07:27.middle of the week there are more storms on the way.
:07:28. > :07:30.That's all from the BBC Newsline team. Keep up to date with News
:07:31. > :07:33.Online and you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter.