:00:09. > :00:13.Good evening. The First Minister, Peter Robinson,
:00:14. > :00:16.has given the Government a deadline of this Friday to give their
:00:17. > :00:18.response to the on-the-runs controversy. Tonight, he met the
:00:19. > :00:21.Secretary of State at Hillsborough Castle and afterwards asked for the
:00:22. > :00:25.Assembly to be recalled also on Friday and claimed the Royal
:00:26. > :00:30.Prerogative of Mercy had been used to grant amnesty to republicans.
:00:31. > :00:39.Let's speak to Martina Purdy who is outside Hillsborough Castle.
:00:40. > :00:44.Martina, Mr Robinson seems to have set a 24 hour deadline?
:00:45. > :00:47.Yes, I think it is clear that the First Minister has given the
:00:48. > :00:52.Government a deadline. He had a very frank meeting tonight here at
:00:53. > :00:56.Hillsborough Castle hours after he threatened to resign. There is two
:00:57. > :01:04.things he wants. He wants the letters of comfort to those
:01:05. > :01:08.on-the-run to be rescinded. He want a judicial inquery and he told the
:01:09. > :01:12.Secretary of State that he wants to hear from the Government. Depending
:01:13. > :01:19.what he hears, that will inform what happens on Friday. He told the
:01:20. > :01:25.Speaker to recall the assembly on Friday. It is clear that Friday is
:01:26. > :01:31.going to be a key day in our political calendar. I have... I have
:01:32. > :01:38.talked to the Speaker for recall of the Assembly on Friday and we will
:01:39. > :01:42.place before the Assembly a motion which I hope we will get widespread
:01:43. > :01:46.support and we are happy to talk to other parties about the content of
:01:47. > :01:49.that. In the course of that, I will make remarks are dependant on the
:01:50. > :01:56.outcome of the meeting that I've just had. What else has the First
:01:57. > :02:02.Minister been saying this evening? Well, the First Minister said he had
:02:03. > :02:06.information that this issue goes beyond letters, assuring Republicans
:02:07. > :02:12.they are not going to be arrested and prosecuted that it involves the
:02:13. > :02:20.Royal Prerogative of Mercenary. He didn't go into detail, but he did
:02:21. > :02:22.say he had information on this and the Secretary of State, that he was
:02:23. > :02:28.more confident of that information and it appears that this crisis is
:02:29. > :02:34.likely to deepen. There have been developments with the policing board
:02:35. > :02:38.with on-the-runs tonight? That's right. We have the minutes of a
:02:39. > :02:42.policing board meeting from April 2010 at which the issue of
:02:43. > :02:51.on-the-runs was discussed. Now, at that meeting, the DUP MLA asked a
:02:52. > :02:55.question to Drew Harris and the Assistant Chief Constable answered
:02:56. > :02:58.by outlining the process by which the OTR process was dealt with. He
:02:59. > :03:01.made no mention of a letter, but I think it is clear that this is going
:03:02. > :03:06.to be something our politicians will be arguing about in the coming days
:03:07. > :03:08.and you will have more on that developing story on Good morning
:03:09. > :03:12.Ulster. Thank you.
:03:13. > :03:15.Tonight's developments come after Mr Robinson earlier threatened to
:03:16. > :03:18.resign if there wasn't a judicial inquiry into the issue, but Sinn
:03:19. > :03:22.Fein said his threat was foolish. Chris Page has more.
:03:23. > :03:27.The court case involving this man, John Downey, revealed he was one of
:03:28. > :03:31.187 Republicans who were sent letters about whether they were
:03:32. > :03:35.wanted by police. On the day after the case against Mr Downey
:03:36. > :03:40.collapsed, the political fallout has deepened. The First Minister has
:03:41. > :03:44.said he wants a judicial inquiry or he will quit. I am not prepared to
:03:45. > :03:48.be the head of a Government that's kept in the dark in this way. I the
:03:49. > :03:52.want there to be full disclosure. I want the people of Northern Ireland
:03:53. > :03:56.to know what's gone on. If Ian Paisley had been told that this is
:03:57. > :04:00.what the Government was going to do, we wouldn't have entered into
:04:01. > :04:04.Government. That would not have been an acceptable basis for us to enter
:04:05. > :04:08.into Government with Sinn Fein. A former vice chair of the policing
:04:09. > :04:12.board said that board members including representatives of the two
:04:13. > :04:17.main Unionist parties were briefed about the scheme for on-the-run
:04:18. > :04:23.suspects. I am surprised. Not alone was there a briefing to the policing
:04:24. > :04:29.board, if you read the report, it is referred to there. It is in the
:04:30. > :04:35.public domain and it is well described. The TUV leader is
:04:36. > :04:40.questioning what the DUP knew. Well, I hear what they say, but I'm
:04:41. > :04:42.surprised, if they didn't, given that they were in very close
:04:43. > :04:48.negotiations with the Government then it seems to be a failure on
:04:49. > :04:56.their part to fully integrate the issues that lay at the heart of the
:04:57. > :05:05.negotiation to get Sinn Fein and the DUP into Government. And now it is
:05:06. > :05:11.all coming home to roast. Sinn Fein says it shouldn't be a resigning
:05:12. > :05:16.matter for the First Minister. We have had difficult times on the
:05:17. > :05:20.streets. We have had severe disorder on our streets over the last year,
:05:21. > :05:26.but any talk about resignation misses the point. What we have got
:05:27. > :05:31.to do as parties, we need to get to implementing the Haass policies. It
:05:32. > :05:36.wasn't just in Northern Ireland that the issue was top of the political
:05:37. > :05:37.agenda. It was raised in the House of Commons during Prime Minister's
:05:38. > :05:43.Questions. We should be clear the man should
:05:44. > :05:47.never have received the letter that he received, John Downey. It was a
:05:48. > :05:51.dreadful mistake and a mistake that we need to have a rapid factual
:05:52. > :05:54.review to make sure this cannot happen again. But whatever happens,
:05:55. > :05:58.we have to stick to the principle that we are a country and a
:05:59. > :06:02.Government under the rule of law. At Westminster, and Stormont, one
:06:03. > :06:06.court case has raised numerous questions. The next few days will
:06:07. > :06:15.show how far-reaching the consequences might be.
:06:16. > :06:19.A man has been shot in North Belfast. It happened in Norglen
:06:20. > :06:23.Parade shortly before 7pm this evening. The man, believed to be in
:06:24. > :06:25.his 40s, suffered gunshot wounds to his legs and elbows.
:06:26. > :06:31.An Omagh councillor says the community is stunned after the death
:06:32. > :06:35.of a woman which the police are treating as murder. The woman was
:06:36. > :06:39.taken to hospital, but died the following day. The police are
:06:40. > :06:44.appealing for anyone with information on the 36-year-old's
:06:45. > :06:50.death to contact them. The families of 11 vulnerable adults
:06:51. > :06:59.have received an apology from the Western Health Trust. Some endured
:07:00. > :07:03.horrendous episodes of physical and verbal abuse. Some staff and
:07:04. > :07:10.including management remain suspended.
:07:11. > :07:12.Ulster Rugby has confirmed that they are holding an internal
:07:13. > :07:14.investigation into Nick Williams' alleged unauthorised absence. The
:07:15. > :07:17.player will not be considered for selection for Friday night's match
:07:18. > :07:21.against Newport Gwent Dragons. Thomas Kane reports. It is
:07:22. > :07:25.understood that Nick Williams asked Ulster if he could return home to
:07:26. > :07:29.New Zealand for a personal matter. It is believed that request was
:07:30. > :07:35.declined, but Williams travelled home and made himself unavailable
:07:36. > :07:41.for last weekend's game. He has returned, but the breach of contract
:07:42. > :07:46.could have serious consequences. The union put out a statement about the
:07:47. > :07:50.processes of how it will be handled and what's happening. We'll, you
:07:51. > :07:54.know, we'll leave it at that. It will go through the process that
:07:55. > :07:59.needs to be taken. Have you any idea how long the process will take and
:08:00. > :08:04.how disruptive it will be? It doesn't take long at all. For all
:08:05. > :08:07.parties for whatever the outcome, these things are dealt with
:08:08. > :08:13.immediately and we can move on. Previously viewed as an integral
:08:14. > :08:14.part of the squad, the big question is now whether or not Williams will
:08:15. > :08:26.be part of that moving on process? With the weather forecast. Here's
:08:27. > :08:31.Barra Best. It is a wet and windy end to the day. Low pressure brought
:08:32. > :08:35.with it strong winds with gales along coastal areas. This evening's
:08:36. > :08:39.rain is going to clear away. Turning drier for many of us. Chilly too.
:08:40. > :08:42.Temperatures in towns and cities falling to three or four Celsius,
:08:43. > :08:46.but in countryside areas, it will be colder than that. Tomorrow morning
:08:47. > :08:49.there could be the odd stretch of ice, possibly frost as well.
:08:50. > :08:53.Otherwise that rain will leave behind scattered showers tomorrow,
:08:54. > :08:57.but not all the time. There will be plenty of dry, bright and sunny
:08:58. > :09:00.weather on the cards. Many of us tomorrow morning will get off to a
:09:01. > :09:03.bright and sunny start. One or two showers here and there, but not for
:09:04. > :09:08.everyone. Elsewhere, across Britain, it will be a descent start too after
:09:09. > :09:12.tonight's rain clears away towards the east. Brightening up nicely.
:09:13. > :09:16.Good spells of sunshine, but through the afternoon, we will see more
:09:17. > :09:21.unsettled weather coming into Wales and central areas and into the south
:09:22. > :09:25.with rain. Adross Ireland, it is -- across Ireland, it is a a mixed bag.
:09:26. > :09:28.Dry and bright weather with good spells of sunshine. The showers will
:09:29. > :09:32.be hit and miss. They won't be for everyone. You may manage to escape
:09:33. > :09:36.them, but prepare yourself just in case. There is a the threat of the
:09:37. > :09:41.shower during the day. Temperatures tomorrow six or seven Celsius so
:09:42. > :09:44.feeling cooler with the south-westerly winds. Friday will be
:09:45. > :09:49.a chilly start. After that, it will be a day like that tomorrow.
:09:50. > :09:52.Scattered showers. Saturday is shaping up to be the best day of the
:09:53. > :09:59.week. Sunday, are not a bad start, but it will go downhill later.
:10:00. > :10:02.That's it for now from everyone on the BBC Newsline team. Good night.