14/05/2014 BBC Newsline

still trapped. We

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline:

More than 30 years on, one man's conviction linked to

the RUC's so-called shoot-to-kill policy could be overturned.

A power company tells how the thousands of eels heading to

I've been joining the crowds at Day One of the Balmoral Show and a

Royal visitor was one of the first to arrive to sample the atmosphere.

The organisers of the North West 200 are unveiling an award in memory

The rain stayed away from the Balmoral show we would like more

sunshine, a full forecast later. -- but we would like.

Martin McCauley was seriously injured and

his 17-year-old friend was killed in one of the most controversial

He also came to prominence when he was convicted

of being a member of an IRA team training rebel forces in Colombia.

Today, the 52 year old from Lurgan is back in

the news over that fatal shooting, a so-called RUC shoot-to-kill

In its aftermath, Martin McCauley was found guilty of having weapons.

It has since emerged that a secret MI5 recording of the incident wasn't

Today, the Prosecution Service said it would not oppose his appeal.

Our home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney has the story.

Police claimed Martin McCauley confronted them with a rival in

October 1982. He was seriously injured and his friend was killed

when officers opened fire. This is him leaving court in 1985 after

being given a two year suspended sentence for possession of three

rifles. He insisted he and his friend were not armed and police did

not issue any warnings before they were shot. It was a claim he

repeated in a BBC interview at the scene of the shooting. There were

two shots. I saw a guy with a rifle moving across the door and once he

disappear, the place exploded with gunfire -- disappeared. I moved to

get cover and in doing so I was hit. Police insist the Ben Watt armed and

had been given three warnings. Years later, it was revealed MI5 had a

listening device inside the shed at the time of the shooting that

recorded what happened. That recording could have a stab wished

if police shouted warnings or made reference to Martin McCauley being

bombed before they opened fire -- established. The recording was not

made known to the court at the time of the trial. It was discovered by

the Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester who invested

allegations of a shoot-to-kill policy and to established the

recording was later destroyed. Last year, the criminal cases review

commission group -- referred the case to the Court of Appeal on the

basis evidence had with -- had been withheld. A QC told the court he had

been instructed to read a statement on behalf of the Crown Prosecution

Service. It said relevant material had been withheld at the time, from

the court and from the defence in the trial. The statement said this

undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system and it wrote

it into disrepute. The lawyer told the three Appeals Court judges the

prosecution service would not make submissions to uphold the conviction

and invited them to use their discretion. There will be a hearing

next week to decide whether to do so. The lawyers of Martin McCauley

will argue the conviction should be quashed on the basis title evidence

was not made available to the judge's trial. The contents of the

investigation have never been made public and the lawyers hope that

will change during next week's hearing. He was tried in public and

he was convicted in public and it is his fundamental right these

documents be opened in a court so he and the general public are aware of

what happened. Martin McCauley was not in court to hear the prosecution

statements today as he faces extradition to South America if he

returns to Northern Ireland. He was one of three men arrested in

Colombia three years ago accused of training rebel forces in the

country. Initially cleared off the charge, they were later convicted on

appeal and sentenced to 17 years in jail but sentenced -- but fled to

the Republic to avoid jail. Police are investigating an arson

attack on an errant all attack. They claim there was a similar attack.

Survivors and relatives of those killed in the Dublin Monaghan

bombings 40 years ago this week are to sue the British Government.

They claim the attacks were carried out by Loyalists,

with government collusion, and that there was a cover-up.

Thirty three people, including a pregnant woman,

A tenth man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in connection with

the death of a Catholic community worker in Coleraine five years ago.

He had been charged with manslaughter and attempted murder.

Kevin McDaid died after he was attacked near his home.

Two defendants still face the more serious charges.

Still ahead, Northwest 200 unveils a new prize in the -- in honour of a

The number of people claiming unemployment

benefit is continuing to drop, with claims down by 800 in April.

This is the 15th monthly fall in a row.

The total number of claimants in April stood at 56,100.

That compares to more than 64,000 in the same month last year.

But the total is still well above the lowest ever level

An update now on a story we brought you yesterday on the deaths of

hundreds of thousands of endangered baby eels, called elvers.

Over Easter, they got caught in traps that were meant to help them

get past a hydro-electric dam in County Donegal and into Lough Erne.

Today, the firm that runs the power station

said the traps were being checked every day, but they had experienced

Julian Fowler reports from Ballyshannon.

The dam stands in the way of the tiny young eels making their way to

Lough Erne. They are supposed to be given a helping hand into a tank

where they are collected and transported around the dam to be

released. The remarkable journey of the eels against thousands of miles

away in a part of the Atlantic. The love I drift slowly across the ocean

and when they reach shallow waters, they transform into elvers and make

their way to the freshwater is Lough Erne. Some will stay here for up to

25 years before a game making their way to the Open ocean and back to

the Sargasso Sea to breed. As we know, the hydroelectric plant at

Ballyshannon broke this cycle. Around 300,000 eels died in the

traps here last month. One night over Easter, there was a large

increase in elvers into one trap and we estimate about 150 kilograms of

elvers, which represents 90% of the entire run last year, entered in one

night into one trap. These were not detected until the following morning

and unfortunately, 112 kilograms of elvers were lost at that stage. One

expert said because elvers run at night, traps should be checked at

night. He said there was far too casual and approached are critically

endangered space you. Power company says it has transported 480

kilograms of elvers this year, more than double the total of last year.

An investigation is being carried out into the kill which could result

in a prosecution. The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage,

has said he can't understand why one of its most prominent Asian

supporters has accused the party The claim was made by the chair

of the party's youth wing, Nigel Farage was speaking in Belfast

today, With more is our political reporter,

Stephen Walker. The UKIP leader arrived in Belfast

city centre for the infamous -- Ford and for the infamous Eurosceptic,

the venue was appropriate. Headlines follow Nigel Farage and a prominent

Asians supporter has announced her resignation, saying the party was

racist. This young lady, this time last week, appeared on national

television in a debate to say our policy on immigration was right and

the least racist because we do not want to discriminate against the

Commonwealth in favour of Eastern and Southern Europe, so we have not

changed in a week. I suspect peer pressure has made her change her

position. UKIP are running 23 candidates in next week's

collections and one European candidate but with just three

collected representatives here, the challenge is obvious. Northern

Ireland's election marketplace is crowded so UKIP will have to come up

with something different to tempt voters away from the more

established parties. Later this month, we will discover if the

appeal of Nigel Farage has been successful.

Thousands of people have gone along to the first day of our biggest

There were some traffic delays, but not as many as last year.

Nicola Weir is there for us this evening.

The weather had been so good, here on the opening day of the Balmoral

Show. 3,000 rosette is given out by the hard-working 93 judges. There

was traffic disruption at the start of the day but that did not hamper

the numbers coming this morning. Final preparations and Showtime.

Thousands flocked to the opening day of the show for the sights, sounds

and smells. The Princess Royal officially opens the three-day

event, making sure she had a look at some of the 4,000 animals on show.

Princess Anne gave us an award and she asked is how many animals we had

and we said, 46. -- she asked us. She said we had the biggest number

in the class, so happy at that bit. I am really nervous, making sure

everything is right. It is a big day, a big showcase and you want to

make sure everything is right. We are showing Aberdeen Angus. I hope

they do well, we will see. If they do, we might get some sales. It must

be a lot of work. On the go from four o'clock this morning getting

them clean. So I am looking forward to tomorrow. Food was a big draw,

with producers pulling out all the stops. It has become very popular, a

lot of people trying it, but we do it on the spit so it is special. You

can see what you are eating. We always get a fantastic response,

half the effort is convincing people to try it, and they love it. Goat is

going crazy in Northern Ireland. The rain stayed away and visitors were

treated to prime livestock, a couple of Heron using Bowmans and unusual

visitors. -- hair raising moments. It has been good and they take you

three things you did not know. What did you not know? I did not know

they gave you free samples. It is good for the first morning, a good

crowd. Traffic was bad but it is good. We have seen the horses and

the cows, it is very good, a good day out for the kids. It is not all

about animals, this will set you back nearly half ?1 million. I will

take two! If farmers are making money, they will spend money, they

are progressive and we want to help them. We enjoyed working with the

farming industry, they are great people, resilient, they have been

through hard times and good times and they are consistent,

hard-working and honest. A successful opening day and even the

youngest found something to keep them happy.

I am joined by the Chief Executive of the Royal Ulster agricultural

Society Colin McDonald, and a show winner, Graham Davidson. A good

day? We could not have hoped for better. They would. , perfect

weather. Slow getting in this morning. -- the weather was perfect.

As you can see, the numbers are good today. What are exhibitors telling

Q? Most of them like the bigger show and they have had a good time. They

cannot see everything here and that is pleasing to me. Everybody wants

to do different things and I am delighted they are having a good

time, that is what it is about. Anything to highlight? The highlight

was the Royal visits because the Princess Royal has been interested

in the society since 2007 and she came to see what she liked. She

loved it and she saw so many things and said we do things really well

here and others should take a lesson from us. You did talk about traffic

disruption and people found it difficult to get in, did you make

the proper plans? I think so, it was a bit slow this morning. Those who

came during the rush hour were caught up in that but the exhibitors

were in and the rush hour ended and everything happened all right. I was

pleased to be incontinent -- in constant contact with the travel

Centre who kept me up to date. The best way to get here is public

transport. And you are a show winner, can we see your trophy and

how did you get it? It is the young farmers award. The best point score

overall. What does this mean to you, it is a major award? You just

have to look at the name on the trophy to see who they were, it is a

proud moment to win the award and to get my name on the trophy.

Congratulations, and plenty more judging tomorrow and hopefully more

winners. I will be here all day. And we will return to the show in a

couple of minutes for the weather forecast.

Today was a Down day at the Northwest 200, but yesterday, fans

were reminded of just how dangerous the sport of road racing can be.

A French rider had a high-speed crash. He was airlifted to the Royal

Victoria Hospital and the latest on his condition is that he remains

critical. One family who knows about the dangers of road racing is the

Dunlop family. Robert and Joey lost their lives by competing in this

dangerous sport. Robert is the most successful rider in the history of

the competition and his sons are here this week to keep the Dunlop

name going. Brotherly love at Northwest 200, the

new generation of the Dunlop family are helping to prolong the famous

surname of their Father Robert and on-call Joey. John McGuinness knew

them better than most, his former team-mate and family friend paid a

special visit to their hometown of Ballymoney this afternoon. They will

never be forgotten in my eyes and in a lot of other people's. I have

raced around the world and as far as Japan and Australia, we were

instantly talking about Joey and Robert and Michael and William, so

Ballymoney is on the map! Joey and Robert won an amazing 28 titles

between them. A friendly on track rivalry which has similarities

today. And if Michael is to beat William, he will have to overcome an

injury as the brothers battle it out to win a new trophy named after

their Father. It is a good thing to have. It will be nice for one of us

to come home with it, something different. When it comes to

motorbikes, family comes first and we get on well we have ups and

downs. It is good you can have a chat about it afterwards. It is

funny, we do it all the time. Famously, Michael won his first

Northwest 200 in 2008. Days after the death of his Father on the same

circuit. John McGuinness finished third on that race -- in that race.

There's no way I could have eaten Michael and a lot of people were

willing him to win. -- eaten. It was like a Mexican wave all round the

track and it was a special moment. And there could be more memories for

the Dunlop dynasty this week. And that trophy will be unveiled

this Saturday after the racing for the best rider of the meeting and we

will have more special reports this week.

He used to captain his hometown club and now he is set to manage them.

Derry City, who sacked Roddy Collins over the

weekend, have confirmed that Peter Hutton is the new Brandywell boss.

All smiles in his first training session but many macro knows he has

to get results to claim the table. He was widely respect it as a

player, turning out almost 700 times. He won a league title and he

now stepped up from being assistant to play a macro. Unfortunately, it

did not work out for him. We have to move on and we have to focus for the

campaign. Some players have become disillusioned so it is important to

instil confidence in them and give them the freedom to express

themselves. The club's top scorer last season has been in and out of

the team were denied a row with Roddy Collins. I read the media

reports saying we were arguing, I never had a cross word with the man.

When he came in, I act him. This is not the first time Peter Hutton has

been in the hot seat, he has been caretaker three times in the past.

At this time, he is the confirmed boss of the team and he has until

the end of the season to make an impression.

That is it from the North Coast. Before you go, porch to it is

relatively quiet. -- Port Stewart. What can we expect tomorrow, more

prep is all racing? Roads will be closed tomorrow at

quarter past nine. Thousands of people will descend on the North

coast for the second qualifying session and the roads will open

again for a couple of hours in the afternoon but close at quarter past

five for the first races. These grandstands hold thousands and they

will be full tomorrow. And I can tell you there are literally

thousands of people around the country, motorcycle fans, keeping a

close eye on the weather forecasts and keeping their fingers crossed

for sunshine tomorrow and Saturday! We hope to provide that, thank you.

The racing is really dependent on the weather.

The Balmoral Show keeps going on, whatever the conditions.

Cecilia is there to bring us the forecast.

It has been good all day but you have reigned around at the moment.

Stephen is looking for sunshine tomorrow. -- you have reigned

around. -- rain around. The show is on until the end of the week and it

is great and we have sampled the food tent. There was a smell of food

and the last time I had the treacle was when I was a child as a family.

This is the forecast. It will get warmer and drier and brighter.

Ladies Day is on Friday. A breeze is picking up and temperatures could

hit 18, 19 degrees. It is damp and places tonight, Cloud will stay

through the night and it will stay mild. Considerably milder across

County Armagh. Lows of eight, 9 degrees. Tomorrow will be a fine and

warm day. Through the morning, it will be quite cloudy to begin with

and there could be some drizzle around. Thursday will largely be dry

and it will brighten through the morning, with sunshine. Not

wall-to-wall sunshine, but temperatures will respond to light

winds, highs of 18, 19, 20 degrees. A light feel to the day tomorrow.

Friday, dry and bright weather around. Some rain moving into Danny

call later in the day. That is the sign of this weekend. -- bunny goal.

Clearing on Sunday to leave a breezy day with showers. For the race day

on Saturday, rain at Northwest 200 but it is not a wash-out. We are

hoping for dry spells in the afternoon. And it is not a wash-out

here at Balmoral! Our late summary is at 10:25.You can

also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter. From BBC

Newsline, goodnight. Check out a report on the

preparations involved in getting ready with the livestock for the

competitions at the Balmoral Show, shampoo and a hairdryer! Good night.

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