06/03/2014 BBC Newsline

Yard's handling of the case. That's all from the BBC News at

Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline The County Tyrone teenager

Sean Hackett is convicted of his father's manslaughter Four brothers

are jailed for up to 11 years each for killing a couple in their County

Armagh home. Angry exchanges at the Policing Board between the DUP and

the Chief Constable over the On the Runs issue. The police begin a hate

crime investigation after a bullet is sent to Tobermore Primary School.

Paul McGinley announces his vice-captains for this year's Ryder

Cup in Scotland and offers advice to Rory McIlroy. Another grey and wet

day today but much better tomorrow. Not as warm but dry, bright and

breezy. Sean Hackett had always admitted

shooting his father at their family home last year but his defence said

he was mentally disturbed at the time, possibly on the verge of

schizophrenia. Today, a jury cleared him of murder and found him guilty

of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The

19-year-old from Augher will be sentenced later. Julian Fowler was

in the court for BBC Newsline. Sean Hacketts's family arrived in court

this morning with their solicitor. His legal team had argued that the

teenager had killed his father in the irrational belief that he would

become his guardian in heaven and resolve his unhappiness and problems

in life following the break-up with his girlfriend. The prosecution

argued that he was a cold, calculating, manipulative killer who

was not suffering from a recognised mental disorder. The Tyrone manager,

Mickey Harte, had given evidence of Sean Hackett's promising future as a

talented Gaelic footballer. He described him as a quiet,

unassuming, lovely young gentleman. The trial heard conflicting expert

evidence about the state of Sean Hackett's mind at the time of the

killing. In his summing up, the judge had told the jury that all

killings are abhorrent, all killings are truly horrific. People act

abnormally but that does not mean they suffer from an abnormality of

mental functioning or have a recognised mental condition. Sean

Hackett's lawyer had argued that you didn't need to be a psychiatrist to

know that something in this young man's head was badly wrong. And that

a finding of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility

would be the right verdict, a just verdict and the proper verdict.

After 2.5 hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously agreed. Sean

Hackett showed little emotion as he was found not guilty of murder but

guilty of manslaughter. On the grounds of diminished

responsibility. Behind him, in the public gallery, his family cried and

hugged each other with relief. As he was led from the courtroom, his

mother Eilish gave him the thumbs up, and said, I love you. Sean

Hackett will be sentenced for manslaughter and two counts of

possessing a gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life next month.

Four brothers have been jailed for up to 11 years each for killing a

couple in County Armagh. Thomas O'Hare and Lisa McClatchey died in a

fire at the remote cottage they shared near Tassagh in 2006. Here's

Gordon Adair. Thomas O'Hare and Lisa McClatchey died from the horrific

injuries they received in the fire which destroyed this cottage. The

fire, which was started by four brothers, Nile, Martin, Christopher

and Stephen Smith. In December they were found guilty of manslaughter

and today, their mother and other relatives wept in the public gallery

as Niall Smith was jailed for ten years, his brother 's 11 years each.

Niall Smith's sentence was reduced because he had effectively pleaded

guilty to manslaughter. One by one, the lawyers said I'd please,

focusing on the motivation. The sexual assault of Stephen Smith by

Thomas O'Hare many years earlier. A lawyer for Stephen Smith spoke of

his client's shame and said he accepted that what happened to him

could never justify the attack. Referring to the time that had

elapsed between the abuse, when Stephen Smith was eight years old,

and the time he felt able to tell others, the lawyer said it was

important to reflect on those seven lonely years. He said his client had

tried to do without -- with what happened by ignoring it. A lawyer

for Martin Smith accepted that his client was the one who had planned

the attack but said fire to this, he had been a model citizen and we make

up of Martin Smith was that of the Big Brother. He said we have a deep

sense of guilt and what happened to his little brother and he had been

unaware of it and had been unable to protect him. Sentencing, the

judgement of fear there could be no excuse. He said that all we give

birth to is anarchy by resorting to our own means. As they have done,

the victims families to comment. Their impact statements were at

their own request not read out in court and the only insight into how

the killings have affected their lives was when the judge said it was

clear that many of them were simply never get over what had happened. --

would simply. The police have started an investigation into who

sent a bullet in the post to a school in Tobermore in County

Londonderry. The incident is being treated as a hate crime. Louise

Cullen reports. The investigation began this morning after the letter

was received at the primary school on the outskirts of the village of

Tobermore. Prince recalled to the primary school this afternoon for an

emergency meeting and they were told what had happened. The school says

the incident is in the hands of the police. It's understood the target

may have been the family of a child at the school, rather than the child

itself. This afternoon, the police confirmed they were treating the

incident as a hate crime. A school is a place where we sent children to

be educated and they should not be discriminative against for their

colour, creed or religion. And for this act to have happened this week

in Tobermore is absolute madness. The investigation is continuing.

There is a security alert at Green to change in Londonderry. The alarm

was raised after the discovery of a suspicious package. An army bomb

disposal team is up a scene. Coming up... Find out how locally brewed

beers are whetting taste buds at home and abroad. There were angry

exchanges between the DUP and the Chief Constable over the issue of On

the Runs at the Policing Board today. Matt Baggott insisted the

board had been fully briefed about the police's role in the scheme and

reacted angrily to a claim that he had not been fully honest with the

board. Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Vincent Kearney,

reports. There were smiles and pleasantries as the Deputy Chief

Constable attended last Policing Board meeting before retiring at the

end this month. You happy here for over 100 meetings suffer that you

deserve a medal. But the gloves came off on the issue of the On the Runs

scheme was discussed. The PSNI called the process by checking the

legal status of On the Runs operation rapid. DUP members

questioned by the name of that operation was never mentioned by

police and said they had never been told that letters of assurance were

being sent to people, telling them they were not wanted for

prosecution. The operation seems to be the only operation that could not

be mentioned. You cannot expect me to comment on the last ten years of

briefing to a different Policing Board, before devolution, to people

who were no longer present. Quite frankly, you are being disingenuous.

This is the only operation that has never been named. He does not have

any right to question the integrity of members of the command team. It

did not finish there. This operation, which goes to the heart

of our justice system, and the integrity of that system, why were

we not briefed on that? I have been asked these questions for or five

times and is a role for politicians to make the point. But it is not for

me to comment on anything around the politics of that process, how it

came to be and let me be clear - the Policing Board was briefed. In 2010,

it was briefly about the existence of the process. Where the

information came from, it was followed up by letter with specific

numbers of those involved. It is not right to say that you were not

briefed. You were briefed. Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly, who was involved

in submitting the names of On the Runs to the police for checking,

agreed. To sit here and talk sent me because you never heard the word

rapid, that you did not get any information, is utter nonsense. The

police told the board that the first heard about the letters of assurance

after John Downie was arrested at Gatwick Airport last May. The judge

said last week that he would not stand trial for the murder of four

soldiers because of such a letter. The PSNI said it immediately

suspended the operation. The BBC has obtained a copy of figures submitted

to the board, illustrating the extent of the scheme and the fact

that not every on the run was told they would not be prosecuted if they

returned to Northern Ireland. They revealed that the PSNI was asked to

clarify the legal studies of 228 people. Of those, 192 were told they

were not wanted for questioning or arrest. 15 were actively wanted by

the police. Eight of them were told they would be returned to prison but

released immediately under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Checks

on six people were suspended after John Downie's arrest. Three of those

named were later arrested and one of them convicted. Two of them are the

subject of ongoing investigative reviews by the police. While files

on the remaining to have been sent to the Public Prosecution Service.

The Justice Committee announced that it will mind its own investigation

into the operation of the On the Runs scheme. The Belfast taxi firm

Fonacab has apologised to a gay couple who say they were thrown out

of one of its taxis for kissing. It happened on Tuesday night when the

driver was taking a group of students to a gay nightclub in the

city centre. The firm is one of city's biggest taxi companies and

has recently sponsored Belfast Pride, a LGBT festival. One of the

passengers in the taxi, Mark McLoughlin, explained to the

Talkback radio programme what happened. We were driving down the

Malone Road and Stewart leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. The taxi

driver could see this through his mirror and he told us to stop and he

pulled over and he said, get out. I mean, we were stunned. Are you

serious? He said I am not having that in the car. Fonacab says it is

aware of an alleged incident and has apologised to the customer. The firm

says it is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and limited in

discrimination and has started an internal investigation. What does

this say about attitudes towards homosexuality? Gavin Boyd is from

the Rainbow Project, the largest LGBT organisation here. What sort of

reaction have you been getting? On social media we have seen people

expressing a lot of anger at how the young men were treated. LJ BT people

across Northern Ireland can experience this across Northern

Ireland and I think the young men here can be commended in terms of

standing up for their rights. There has been a lot of communication to

try to raise awareness especially in regard to discrimination. Has that

not improve matters? I think it has on the effort taken by the equality

commission and the PSNI to educate the public about rights has been

good, but we are still lacking in educating young people about these

issues, especially in schools and universities. You mentioned social

media. Our social media page has had a lot of comments today. Some people

say they would side with the driver, they don't want to see

people being openly affectionate. That is everyone's right, but you

cannot just say that when it is two men were two women in a taxi who

were kissing, but that is beyond the pale whereas if it is a young man

and a young woman in a taxi, that is not treated the same. Thank you for

joining us. Coming up on BBC Newsline before

7pm: Continuing our series on the centenary of the start of World War

One - tonight, how recruitment posters were used to get young men

to sign up. New, locally-brewed specialist beers

are whetting the taste buds, not just here but in a growing number of

foreign markets. Seven micro-breweries are now firmly

established, with more in the pipeline. Our business correspondent

Julian O'Neill reports on a sales boom. Craft beer is a niche market.

The production lines have never been busier. Sales are rising and this

old farm in Kilkeel turns out 300 bottles of specialist brew each

year. We have seen the rise of craft beer at the whole island of Ireland

and we are trying to ride that wave at the moment. A lot of people are

asking for a different choice of beer, more than they used to be.

It's one of seven local micro-breweries. A few others are

planned as demand increases in Europe and further afield. Some

bars, particularly in Belfast, are also on the supply list. The pub

industry is still dominated by the big names, who control about 90% of

the market. But the recent arrivals are squeezing in. This is launch

night for another of the small breweries. Beautiful what the

undoing. These boys did this a happy and now look at them. The flavour is

next to none. The larger breweries cannot put the detail that we can

because we are brewing in small bottles. But the lower sales volumes

can mean higher prices. You pay ?4 or 454 a bottle of beer. A lot of

places now charge similar for standard like so I don't have a

problem with that. It is great used the someone at home doing so well.

Rather than bringing in something from a different country. Back in

Kilkeel, this business is planning new premises. And as it aims to take

a local name even further afield, it also hopes to add to its small

staff. More now in our series commemorating

the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. This evening, our

Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison looks at how and why recruitment

posters were used to get young men to sign up on this side of the Irish

Sea. Ireland has always been a place

apart from the rest of the UK, and the First World War was no

different. Because of political sensitivity, conscription, despite

plans, was not introduced here. So any soldier wanting to fight had to

be persuaded to volunteer to do so, and over 200,000 were. Not far from

the referee can bash Mike the River Liffey, these are the memorial or

gardens. Until recently they were overgrown with the new state

reluctant to acknowledge the 30,000 men who died in the First World

War, meant the history books largely forgot. Some believed they were

fighting for the Crown, others for the promise of home rule and the

rights of small nations. Recruitment posters like these persuaded tens of

thousands to volunteer for the trenches. Increasingly sophisticated

messages were reduced that appeals to different audiences. The use of

peer group pressure, defending women and family, and celebrating the

bravery of Irish men. One of them got AVC and survived the experience.

An attempt was made to recruit his father to act as an informal

recruiting agency -- agent but apparently the father got drunk at a

rally and started singing Irish nationalist songs, spawning the

effect. Politics was never far away. Many of the posters were printed at

this block, a place now associated with Trinity College students.

Changed times indeed. There will be more on that story on

BBC Radio Ulster tonight at 11:50pm. Tomorrow here on BBC Newsline and on

Good Morning Ulster, there'll be another World War One at Home story

Stephen Watson is next, and he has Ryder Cup golf news.

Yes, Paul McGinley has named some of his backroom team and he has gone

for experience, selecting Irish veteran Des Smyth and Scotsman Sam

Torrance as two of his vice captains for this year's tournament in

Scotland. And he also had words of encouragement for Rory McIlroy, as

the Holywood golfer shows signs of rediscovering his best form. I spoke

to Paul McGinley today in Dublin - firstly, about those vice-captain

picks. I got the job in January last year. They were the two first people

who came to mind. Debt has been a mentor and friend over the years and

has been proved right in many occasions, and Sam is a guy who we

have a strong bond over what happened in 2002, and he impressed

me behind-the-scenes when he was captain. As the first Irish Ryder

Cup captain, how many Irish golfers can we get on the team? The group --

the group the bookies say we will have to with Graham and Rory, and

Paul has a record as a Ryder Cup winner in the past. He showed form

in the summer and would be at the top of a list of potential picks but

I don't want the players to think too much about the Ryder Cup now. It

is important for Rory and Graham to focus on winning in my army now. How

pleased have you been to see Rory McIlroy return to his best form?

Please, but not surprised. Golf is a long road and he will win the

series, no doubt, and he has proven he has the ability to win and he

will win more major championships, but golf is full of twists and turns

and good days and bad days, and Rory will be no different.

Rory has come close to winning and he is currently tied for second

place at the world golf championship in Miami.

Ulster's Iain Henderson will win his ninth cap when he starts for Ireland

in Saturday's Six Nations clash against Italy in Dublin. His

inclusion at the expense of the injured Peter O'Mahony is the one

change from the side which lost to England. Thomas Niblock reports.

Versatility can be a good or a bad thing. Some see Iain Henderson as a

second row forward. Others think he should play in the back row. The

latter is where he will start for Ireland this weekend, so what does

the Irish coach think? I was talking to Paul earlier anti-confirmed he

doesn't want him competing with him so it might be part of

self-preservation, the selection tool. I think he is athletic enough

to play in the background but he is strong enough to play in the second

row. I think Oster are still trying to solve it and so are we, so we may

see a bit of him in both positions on Sunday. -- on Saturday. It will

be Henderson's first start in the Six Nations, putting a frustrating

beginning to the season behind him. I was frustrated at the start of the

season with two injuries, putting me out for longer than I expected. I

had to play my way back in and ended up getting some game time against

Munster and showing what I could do. Henderson's Ulster team-mate Paddy

Jackson will start on the bench. That's because Jonny Sexton has

recovered from a thumb injury, and will start fly half in the must-win

game against the Italians. This year's Schools Cup Final in

rugby will see Sullivan Upper play Methodist College Belfast. Today

Sullivan beat Coleraine Academical Institution 27-14 in the second

semifinal. Tries from Charlie McEwan, Mark Crockford and Josh

Davidson helped the Holywood School to their first ever appearance in

the 137 year history of the Schools' Cup. You can see the final of the

competition on BBC Two on St Patrick's Day.

Northern Ireland's goal drought in away friendlies has now stretched to

ten games. The match against Cyprus ended 0-0 last night with only ten

men on the pitch. Meanwhile, in Dublin, Martin O'Neill suffered his

first defeat as Republic's manager, losing 2-1 to Serbia. Nial Foster

reports. It was Northern Ireland's two showed the early initiative, but

Martin Paterson's header was saved. The visitors' blushes were saved by

the quick thinking and athleticism of Alan Manas. To compound Michael

O'Neill's misery, Gareth McAuley were shown a straight red card for

this challenge. Created a couple of half chances, we maybe could have

done better, and then we had to play the game out with ten men. But the

spirit and the workrate were good and we have to commend the players

on that. The fact we got 17 players on the pitch and got game time was

important, but the level of performance was disappointing. We

need to learn from that. There's no mugs in international football.

We've got some tough games in the group where we can't invite pressure

playing the wrong places and give them that opportunity to get on the

front foot. At the Abbey the stadium, Shane Long took advantage

of some dodgy Serbian defending to fire the hosts into the lead, but

they own goal from the unfortunate James McCarthy drew the sides level.

Then after an hour, this goal gave Martin O'Neill something to think

about ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

Not a good night for our international foot honours, north

and south. As long as they win the important games when the qualifiers

start, that is all that is important.

The weather is next, and there has been a warning for County Fermanagh.

Geoff Maskell is here Our late summary is at 10:25pm.

been a warning for County Fermanagh. Geoff Maskell is here Our late It

has been a miserable day, grey and rainy everywhere and that yellow

warning for heavy rain remains in place across Fermanagh until

midnight. It is not so much the volume of water, or the impact it is

having on swollen rivers and lakes. This evening and tonight, the rain

gradually works its way east. We get some clearer skies behind.

Temperatures dipped to four or five degrees but tomorrow will be a much

better day. It will be drier and brighter, if a little chilly. This

is the picture you will wake up to. We have a few showers are around but

then the sky is dark to clear, it brightens up a little. We might even

see some sunshine. Some showers could fall as sleet or snow because

it is a colder air mass coming in so that is reflected by the

temperatures, highs of six or seven degrees. Stay out of the wind and in

the sunshine and it won't feel too bad. Those dry conditions continue

in the first part of Friday night and into Saturday morning before a

little rain edges in. It is a cold night because of those clear skies,

temperatures close to freezing. A change at the weekend, a more

unsettled picture because of a low pressure system. Here it is tracking

up the West Coast of Ireland. That will bring rain and cloud and some

quite strong winds as we go through the weekend. So starting Saturday,

which will be the welter of the two days, plenty of rain to begin with,

things pick up a little as we go through the day, and temperatures

have recovered to highs of 11 or 12 degrees. On Sunday another similar

picture is that front moves northwards. We start with a bit of

rain but Sunday gets a lot better. Things brighten up towards the end

of the day and next week the high pressure exert its influence,

whether settled down and things get a good bit brighter.

Finally a reminder of our main stories. Sean Hackett, accused of

murdering his father, has been found guilty of manslaughter on the

grounds of diminished responsibility.

And for brothers have been jailed for up to 11 years age for killing a

couple in a fire at their cottage in County Armagh. Our late summary is

at 10:25pm. I keep watching. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Ireland lead the way but could Italy cause an upset?

Scotland host France, aiming for back-to-back victories, and will

flourishing England or holders Wales stay in contention at Twickenham?