:00:07. > :00:12.Good evening. A former IRA member has raised questions about Sinn Fein
:00:13. > :00:17.president Gerry Adams' claim that he was never in the IRA. Peter Rogers,
:00:18. > :00:20.who was jailed for the murder of a Garda officer in 1980, alleges Mr
:00:21. > :00:25.Adams ordered him to transport explosives to Britain for a bombing
:00:26. > :00:28.campaign that year. He also claims he received orders from Martin
:00:29. > :00:32.McGuinness six years after he claimed to have left the IRA. Our
:00:33. > :00:41.Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison reports.
:00:42. > :00:45.For Peter Rogers it is a long way from the North Antrim coast to
:00:46. > :00:51.Wexford in this far south and some of the key moments in his life. At
:00:52. > :00:57.one time he was regarded as an IRA hero after he escaped from the
:00:58. > :01:01.Maidstone prison ship in 1972. He continued his paramilitary
:01:02. > :01:06.activities in the Republic. At the time of the first hunger strike he
:01:07. > :01:09.was summoned to a meeting with superior officers in the grounds of
:01:10. > :01:15.Trinity College Dublin because he claims he was reluctant to move
:01:16. > :01:31.unstable explosives to Britain for a bombing campaign. I told Gerry that
:01:32. > :01:36.they were explosives. Himself and Martin stood back out of earshot of
:01:37. > :01:39.me and they had a talk and Jerry says, you cannot replace those
:01:40. > :01:48.explosives, you have to go with what you have. Are you sure about that?
:01:49. > :01:52.Gerry Adams said he was never in the IRA and Martin McGuinness said he
:01:53. > :02:00.left the IRA in 1974 and he swore an oath to that effect. That maybe so,
:02:01. > :02:08.but I that over the years there have been that many lies told and nobody
:02:09. > :02:15.knew where they were at the time of the peace process. A short time
:02:16. > :02:18.after the meeting back in Wexford his van with the explosives was
:02:19. > :02:24.stopped by detectives and there was a gun battle and he murdered Garda
:02:25. > :02:29.Seamus Wade. Another Garda was injured. Peter Rogers was initially
:02:30. > :02:35.sentenced to death, but given a 40 year sentence for capital murder.
:02:36. > :02:38.Nine years into his sentence he left the republican movement after
:02:39. > :02:44.writing to the families apologising for what he had done. He was
:02:45. > :02:49.released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. His apologies were
:02:50. > :02:55.not accepted. Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness declined to be
:02:56. > :02:57.interviewed for this report, but Sinn Fein issued a statement saying
:02:58. > :03:02.there is no truth in the allegations and Gerry Adams has already publicly
:03:03. > :03:09.refuted them. The allegations made by Peter Rogers show, as if people
:03:10. > :03:12.didn't know, that the past, disputed, murky and unclear, still
:03:13. > :03:17.has a capacity to raise and comfortable issues.
:03:18. > :03:21.Flybe is to resume flights from George Best Belfast City Airport to
:03:22. > :03:25.London this October. It has signed a five-year deal with London City
:03:26. > :03:28.Airport. Earlier this year the company ended its flights between
:03:29. > :03:38.Belfast City and Gatwick. Our economics and business editor John
:03:39. > :03:41.Campbell has more. Flybe has been an airline
:03:42. > :03:48.experiencing turbulence in recent years. It has had to cut costs,
:03:49. > :03:52.roots and jobs, including more than 50 in Belfast. Now it is attempting
:03:53. > :03:57.to revive its fortunes, signing a five-year deal with London City
:03:58. > :04:04.Airport. That will mean three flights a day. The airline boss says
:04:05. > :04:08.it is part of a broader strategy. The big idea is boosting regional
:04:09. > :04:14.collectivity, providing access to the capital for customers in
:04:15. > :04:20.Edinburgh, Belfast, Inverness, Exeter and Dublin. But with lots of
:04:21. > :04:25.competition how sustainable will it be? When we survey our customers it
:04:26. > :04:29.is always in the top three destinations and I am convinced it
:04:30. > :04:34.is going to be successful. Also if you want to travel into London it is
:04:35. > :04:41.in close proximity to the centre of London. This route is likely to be
:04:42. > :04:46.attractive to business customers. The airport is in London's financial
:04:47. > :04:51.district and could mean less hassle than an increasingly crowded
:04:52. > :04:59.Heathrow. Flybe is Belfast City's airport's biggest customer. But both
:05:00. > :05:03.Belfast airports are facing intense competition from Dublin which is
:05:04. > :05:09.adding new routes all the time. Fly B is also going to fly from Dublin
:05:10. > :05:12.to London city. The police are appealing for
:05:13. > :05:16.information about a race hate crime which happened in east Belfast
:05:17. > :05:19.earlier this week. Two men and a woman were assaulted in the
:05:20. > :05:22.Lawnmount Street area by a group of around 15 people, some of whom were
:05:23. > :05:26.wielding golf clubs. All of those attacked suffered cuts and bruises
:05:27. > :05:28.and one of the men lost two teeth. The incident occurred between nine
:05:29. > :05:32.and half past nine on Monday evening.
:05:33. > :05:37.Preparations began today for road closures for the Giro d'Italia cycle
:05:38. > :05:47.race. Signs have started going up warning motorists of disruption
:05:48. > :05:51.across more than 200 miles of roads. . As Mark Simpson reports, the
:05:52. > :05:54.starting stages of this world renowned event next month promises
:05:55. > :06:00.to be a challenge for the cyclists and motorists.
:06:01. > :06:05.17 days to go and the first of 17 Hundred Rd signs go up. For the road
:06:06. > :06:11.service it is not their usual colour, but then again it is not
:06:12. > :06:16.every day that the Giro d'Italia comes to town. Normally we would not
:06:17. > :06:22.put signed up for the event like this, but we accept the public need
:06:23. > :06:26.to be fully informed, so our own direct labour squads are putting up
:06:27. > :06:32.1700 of these and it will give the public plenty of time and
:06:33. > :06:36.information. Along with last year's G8 summit this will be the biggest
:06:37. > :06:42.traffic management scheme we will have had to do in Northern Ireland.
:06:43. > :06:48.Day one is from the city centre to Stormont and back. Day two goes to
:06:49. > :06:54.the Causeway Coast and back. Day three is from Armagh to Dublin. For
:06:55. > :06:58.cycling fans it is the chance of a lifetime, the opportunity to see
:06:59. > :07:04.some of the best riders in the world. But what about people who
:07:05. > :07:09.want to avoid it? The road closures are going to be spread over three
:07:10. > :07:15.days, but 200 miles of racing means a lot of traffic disruption. For
:07:16. > :07:18.those who do not want to see the cycling, they should inform
:07:19. > :07:24.themselves of the roots and see where the disruption is going to be
:07:25. > :07:29.and give it a wide berth. Emergency provisions will continue to be made
:07:30. > :07:34.as you would expect. It promises to be a colourful weekend of cycling,
:07:35. > :07:38.but getting around parts of Northern Ireland in a car could be an uphill
:07:39. > :07:41.task. A special concert is being held in
:07:42. > :07:45.Dublin tonight in celebration of the late Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney.
:07:46. > :07:47.President Michael D Higgins and the international singing star Paul
:07:48. > :07:50.Simon are among guests at a special commemoration for the poet at the
:07:51. > :08:00.National Concert Hall. Celebrating Seamus Heaney is part of the One
:08:01. > :08:09.City, One Book Festival. I am a great admirer of his poetry
:08:10. > :08:17.and I loved him dearly as a friend. I am very ploughed as proud and
:08:18. > :08:20.pleased to be able to participate. Sport and Antrim's Mark Allen is
:08:21. > :08:23.through to the second round of the World Snooker Championships in
:08:24. > :08:26.Sheffield after a comfortable 10-4 win over England's Michael Holt.
:08:27. > :08:29.He'll meet either world number one Neil Robertson or Robbie Williams in
:08:30. > :08:34.the second round at The Crucible on Sunday.
:08:35. > :08:41.It turned out pretty nice this afternoon and there is some nice
:08:42. > :08:45.weather to come tomorrow, but we have had some sharp showers this
:08:46. > :08:52.evening. They will continue for a while before easing away, so the
:08:53. > :08:58.second half of the night will be dry. Potentially quite cool in rural
:08:59. > :09:03.areas. Tomorrow it will be largely dry and bright with warm spells of
:09:04. > :09:07.sunshine. The low cloud quickly disappeared through the morning and
:09:08. > :09:13.with light winds it will soon start to feel quite warm. Down south a lot
:09:14. > :09:18.of sunshine tomorrow as well with the odd shower breaking out. Across
:09:19. > :09:22.eastern areas of Scotland and England it will be dull, misty and
:09:23. > :09:28.damp to begin with, but the day will brighten up. Where the showers come
:09:29. > :09:34.along they could be quite lengthy and on the heavy side. One or two
:09:35. > :09:40.showers likely tomorrow afternoon, but most places most of the time are
:09:41. > :09:45.dry. Not a bad day on Friday I to begin with. But some rain will
:09:46. > :09:50.develop later on in the day and that is down to an area of low pressure
:09:51. > :09:56.which will bring a change in the weather this weekend. On Saturday we
:09:57. > :09:59.are looking at a wet day, maybe not right through the day and it will
:10:00. > :10:05.feel cooler as well. It should dry up on sunbaked and hopefully become
:10:06. > :10:11.a little brighter. You can keep up to date with news online and follow
:10:12. > :10:14.us on Facebook and Twitter. Goodbye.