20/06/2014 BBC Newsline

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline...

One of Northern Ireland's best known car dealerships is at the centre of

Cancer patients welcome the Health Minister's wish to reinstate

prescription charges to pay for cancer drugs.

it could extend my life up to three years but because I cannot get it

here I cannot have the choice. A former pupil bullied

at this school is awarded ?10,000 Two men described in court

as foot soldiers of the UDA are Graeme McDowell is among

the leaders at the Irish Open. And as we approach the longest day

of the year, it looks like we've This evening we can reveal that

a police investigation into the awarding of contracts for police

vehicles is looking at whether there was a conspiracy to ensure that

multi million pound contracts were awarded to one of Northern Ireland's

largest car dealerships. It's understood seven men,

including the former Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland

and a serving officer, have been questioned about possible bribes

received in return for fixing two This afternoon, a former PSNI

officer who's now Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, was suspended

as a result of the investigation. Mark Gilmour has not been arrested

and is not being questioned Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Vincent Kearney has this exclusive Donnelly Brothers is one of Northern

Ireland's best-known car dealerships. One of its owners,

Terence Donnelly, was one of those questioned by detectives

investigating the awarding of PSNI vehicle contracts. He was one of

seven men the PSNI said were arrested on suspicion of a range of

offences including bribery, misconduct in public office and

procuring misconduct in public office. His company has been a

long-standing supplier of vehicles to the police and was recently

awarded a multi-million pound contract for the maintenance of the

PSNI fleet of cars. In a statement to the BBC, Mr Donnelly said he

strenuously denied any wrongdoing on his part in relation to the PSNI

investigation into the awarding of PSNI vehicle contracts. The

statement added that he has Corp rooted fully with the investigation

and expects to be completely exonerated. Others arrested include

a serving officer and a member of the transport department. Files on

both men have been sent to the Public Prosecution Service. In line

with PSNI policy they have been suspended from their jobs while the

investigation continues. The BBC understands police understand made

to ensure and other ultimate impact contract to armour more than 50

police cars was awarded to Donnellys. Duncan McCausland, former

Chief Constable, has also been questioned. Since retiring he has

worked as a security visor to Donnellys. He was released from

police custody last night pending a file being sent to the Public

Prosecution Service. I have been clear that I strenuously deny any of

the allegations put to me. Obviously, I can't talk about the

investigation because that would be improper. That is what I am going to

go out of my way to ensure, and prove my innocence. This afternoon,

the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire police force was suspended

as a result of the investigation. Mark Gilmour was formerly a PSNI

officer. He is not part of the criminal investigation. It is

understood that it has been claimed that while serving here, -- you may

have received a heavily discounted or free card from Donnelly brothers.

This morning I suspended Mark Gilmour. The reason from -- for the

suspension is as a result of information from the PSNI arising

from an investigation announced by them earlier this week. I would like

to stress that the suspension of a Chief Constable is a necessity in

the public interest until the full facts are established. Seven men

arrested as part of this investigation have now been released

pending files being sent to the Public Prosecution Service. The BBC

understands that due to the complexity of the investigation it

could be months before the review of the files is completed and decisions

made about whether or not to bring charges.

The Health Minister says a proposal to reinstate prescription charges

A fee with a maximum payment of ?25 a year per person is proposed.

The SDLP is arguing that the public shouldn't have to pay

Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly reports.

Since being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2009, this woman has been

on a crusade to raise awareness of the condition. Most recently she has

been campaigning for access to specialist cancer drugs. Extremely

expensive, they are currently available to cancer patients in

England and Scotland but not Northern Ireland. If the Cancer

Drugs Fund was available here I would be able to get the drug

available to women in England. If I lived in England I would get it and

it would extend my life by ten months to three years. Last night on

Twitter, that battle stepped up a gear when Una and the Health

Minister N-Gage in a debate. Una suggested the money was already

there. The Health Minister suggested reinstating prescription charges

would help with the bill. The SDLP insist the money is already

available via a national scheme work pharmaceutical, knees pay into a

fund designed for the Wii search and of element of specialist drugs. --

pharmaceutical companies. He knows he has money coming to him from

pharmaceutical companies, 9 million over the last two years, a projected

12 million next year. He has the money, get on with it. Where are

used suggesting the money has gone? The Minister has questions to

answer. I hope it has not got into a big black hole. The deal is that the

money should be used for innovative drugs. This week, a new campaign

called on people to pledge their support for equal access to cancer

drugs. While we are debating this today, while it is being bandied

about by the political parties, nine cancer patients are going to die,

today and tomorrow, and every other day this year. Enjoying the

sunshine, this cancer survivor also told me patients should not have to

wait. Definitely not. Definitely not. They haven't got the time on

their hands. I have survived and I am very, very thank for that I have

survived and hopefully there will be drugs available. In a statement

Edwin Poots said, the PPR scheme is designed to constrain the cost of

medicines across the UK and was never intended to fund specialist

drugs. A school that's been told to pay

?10,000 to a pupil who was bullied, says it is reviewing

its pastoral care policy. As

our education correspondent Maggie Taggart reports, the case involving

Abbey Grammar in Newry could have The pupil who sued the Abbey Grammar

had suffered abuse He finally left in 2009

after what was described The pupil, Ryan Collins,

is now 19 and took the case after he showed signs of adult psychiatric

damage when he came across Awarding him ?10,000,

the judge said he had no doubt Ryan was a very embittered young man who

had been subject to a lot Judge Brian walker said

the school is excellent But he said the events overwhelmed

the principal and staff. The Newry Reporter newspaper

has been following the case. Ryan struck a chord with everyone in

the court when he said that he no longer wished to live. His father

reiterated that sentence by saying that the victim came home one day,

climbed under his blanket, and said that he did not want to live any

more. While the judge said the school had

taken adequate action, he said if it had been tacked better

and more quickly some of This is the old school building

where the brilliant took place. The principle does not want to be

interviewed for but he says in the school they are reviewing their

pastoral care policy to see if it's more effective. The school has

apologised to Ryan and wishes him well in the future.

A teachers' union says schools all have bullying policies,

but implementing them is the important thing.

It is an interesting decision and will have ramifications for schools.

It is something of a precedent so I think it has to be read and taken

seriously. Governing bodies will be looking

at their own procedures to make sure they are doing all they can to

tackle the problem Still to come...

The music city festival being held in Derry and the tourists getting

into the groove. Two men, described in court

as foot soldiers of the UDA, have been remanded in custody

charged with attempted murder. The charges follow violence in Larne

in March Our north-east reporter

David Maxwell was The police described it as a

"rampage." A gang of up to 100 - many masked - caused damage to

homes, cars and people. The local MP said it was a "co-ordinated show of

strength" following the tensions in The area and the arrests of some

members of the UDA. Three houses were badly damaged including this

one. It was attacked for the second time in as many months. The man who

lived here with his partner and children were so badly beaten he was

left unconscious. Today, two men from Greenisland appeared in court

accused of attempting to murder him. Steven Blackwood, of my yard

gardens, and Stephen Mettleton from Rossmore Green. The men are also

charged with intimidating the man's family, causing criminal damage, and

rioting. They spoke only to confirm their names and to say they

understood the charges against them including attempted murder. A police

officer told the court the men were foot soldiers of the South East

Antrim UDA and he told them the DNA profiles had been found on gloves

and a balaclava discovered in a bin after the attacks. A defence lawyer

for the men said his clients strenuously denied any connection

with the UDA. A detective constable told the court that to date, 29

people had been arrested in connection with the disorder. Four

had been charged and 1000 exhibits amassed in the ongoing

investigation. An application for bail was refused on the grounds of

possible reoffending and the intimidation of witnesses. The men

are due in court on 17th July. The bereaved partners of dozens

of RUC officers are to have 25 years ago a decision was taken

to withdraw the pensions if the As Kevin Sharkey reports there has

been a lengthy campaign to have A memorial to RUC officers

killed during the Troubles. For the widows or widowers left

behind, a pension for life. But, new rules introduced in 1989

changed things, and any recipient And for some widows or widowers,

this was a serious problem. If they were considering getting

married again, they had to take into account the reality that

their pension would go. I've been told

of one case where a widow with two children was planning to remarrry,

but when the rules changed, she had to cancel her wedding because she

couldn't afford to get married Earlier today,

I spoke to a number of widows whose They didn't want to comment

at this stage. But the Chairman of

their husbands served in the RUC. -- the chairman of the

representative group announced a breakthrough. We want to say that we

recognise that it is a recognition of the service and sacrifice police

officers made down the years. For most police officers there with a

widow or a widower and all of those who lost their lives as a result of

terrorism or those who died in service, they are going to benefit.

The Policing Board administers the scheme and says the change covers

people whose wife or husband or civil partner died in the conflict

accidentally, on duty, or in any other circumstances. It also applies

to pensions linked to police officers who retired before their

deaths, according to the Policing Board. Pensions from before 1989

will be reinstated in July. Still to come... At the Irish Open, Graeme

McDowell is well placed at the midway stage in the competition.

There'll be plenty of music in the Londonderry air tomorrow

as the city hosts a daylong celebration of performances.

Music City 2014 will host everything from Jazz to classical,

For the early birds, the first performance starts at

the crack of dawn and then the BBC presents a major concert with the

Here's our North-West reporter, Keiron Tourish.

It was one of the highlights of UK City of Culture year

and tomorrow, there'll be sights and sounds everywhere to celebrate

Tourists today got a taste of what's to come.

We are here as tourists for three days and it is so exciting to see

Music City. We are really happy. I am so happy to bring them over here

to see what has happened in the peace process. It is amazing.

It'll be another early start this year again as the dawn chorus will

be heard at the ancient fort at Grianan in Donegal tomorrow morning.

And throughout the day, there'll be music on every street

corner - from jazz to classical and singer songwriters.

There are so many tourists and locals coming in. It is a real

confidence boost and it makes you feel special. It is so good. 45,000

people came out for the day and it is good and be one of the main

legacy projects of the 2013 year. The Legenderry Maritime Festival

begins tomorrow with food fun and The Clipper round the world yacht

race arriving here on Monday. It was amazing two years ago. The party is

starting already. The home boats are doing well and have been reading for

some time. It is getting tiring. But I think we are going to hang onto

it. More than 100,000 people attended

the maritime festival in 2012 and it generated lots of money for the

local economy. It is hoped two years on we will have a significant

impact. -- it will have. In a few minutes... A tribute to a

cameraman who took risks to bring us the news. Before that, sport with

Stephen Watson at the Irish Open. There was disappointment for Rory

McIlroy here as he missed the halfway cut and had some early for

the second year in a row. Three of Aaron's other major champions are

battling for the Irish Open honours including Graeme McDowell, who is

two shots off the lead. And to other Northern Ireland golfers were

pushing hard. Graeme McDowell has been trying to work out how to win

this tournament since the start of his professional career 12 years

ago. Today for the first time, he put himself in position to do just

that. He found his rhythm and his range very quickly. He returned an

impressive near flawless round of five under par. This is a big week

and there is pressure and expectation but I feel like coming

off last week at the US open, that pressure and expectation is lower

than normal. Perhaps it is a reason I am more comfortable in general. I

am looking forward to coming into the weekend in contention and

enjoying these crowds. It has been a difficult season for Gareth Maben

but spending time with his family has been his priority. Golfing is

not as important as it used to be. You can sometimes lose a little bit

of will. I have lots of things going on in my life so it has been

frustrating. Rory McIlroy was despondent after missing the cut by

one shot. I look back on every Irish Open and say I enjoyed it. Do I say

that I have played my potential? Definitely not. Not even close.

Michael Hoey could not improve on yesterday's score and is seven shots

off the lead. Darren Clarke is a shot further back. And at the

women's US open at Pinehurst, Northern Ireland's Stefanie Meadow

has impressed on her professional debut. The 22-year-old from

Jordanstown finished one over par when she completed her weather

delayed first round today, meaning she was eighth on the leaderboard

and she has remained steady in contention during her second round.

We will update score on the bulletin later tonight.

This Sunday sees Donegal take on Antrim in the Ulster Championship

semifinal. Donegal are chasing a fourth consecutive appearance in the

provincial decider. Antrim have only made it to two finals in the past

four decades. Back towards the end

of the noughties, Antrim football went on a roll the like of which

its fans hadn?t seen since 1970. The journey to

the Ulster football final began in Ballybofey at Donegal?s expense and

under the watch of Liam Bradley, who?s back and has brought his

all-star son along for the ride. It is interesting to watch them at

work. It is you Nick in Ireland and let's hope it pays off. Has the self

belief permeated to the players? I hope it does, if it does, all the

better. Donegal are an entirely different

prospect than Fermanagh. Were the Bradley boys to steer

Antrim to a win, it would be Lets hope for a winning again for

one of Northern Ireland's golfers. Before we go to the weather

forecast, something a little unusual for BBC Newsline which we

thought you might like to see. A look back at the career of a BBC

news cameramen - one of the longest Peter Cooper has been filming

for us for 46 years - Today, as he retires,

Mark Simpson looks at just a sample of the many pictures he has

captured, in good times and in bad. Not everyone wants to be filmed,

but Peter Cooper filmed everyone. For more than four decades,

on all sides of the divide, in every town and city, from every

angle, at all hours of the day. Throughout the piece process where

the politicians went, he went as well. If you watch a history

programme from the 70s to the 2000s, the chances are the pictures

you see will have been taken by Peter Cooper. Not just because he

was there, but because he was a genius at what he did.

He filmed the attack at Milltown cemetery by loyalist Michael Stone.

And then 18 years later, when Stone attacked Stormont again,

the BBC cameraman who caught it on film was...

He started at the BBC as a trainee in 1968, and since has covered

every type of news story, whether a royal visit or a political crisis.

He?s kept the focus away from himself throughout what's been

a remarkably long and distinguished career.

46 years must be an amazing record but for somebody like Peter Cooper,

a front-line witness to history, on behalf of the audience to bring

pictures of Northern Ireland through the darkest of times, through the

peace process to the present day to the widest possible audience, what

an amazing achievement. As for the thoughts

of the man himself on filming the past 46 years of

history, well, he films interviews, Peter Cooper the

highly-admired camera-shy cameraman. Peter, we wish you have and

happiness in your retirement. The summer solstice starts tonight

and as we go through the night it will be nice and dry. This was the

picture through the day. Cloud around but it broke up nicely. This

evening we have fine amounts of sunshine in eastern counties before

we go to nightfall. Through the night, temperatures in some areas

will fall into the single figures especially in the countryside, as we

had clear skies. It will feel cold out and about. In towns and cities

it should stay at about ten or 11 degrees. If you are planning on

going to any summer solstice events in the morning, you will want to

wrap up warm, but at least there is no rain in the forecast. Tomorrow,

dry and bright, much like today. A fair amount of cloud at times coming

and going. Bright weather developing, too, and some sunshine.

Towards the north coast it will stay quite cool with the onshore breezes.

Further inland and West, temperatures of 19 or maybe 20

degrees. Not bad if you are out and about during the day. A fine into

the day as well. Bright weather around with good spells of sunshine.

More cloud building tomorrow night. Not quite as Chile, most places

staying in double figures. That brings us to Sunday. The fine

weather continues. Plenty of outdoor activity whether to enjoy and more

cloud around on Saturday but it will still be dry. Writer weather coming

through and some sunshine. Where we get the sunshine, temperatures about

20 degrees. It will be the north coast that feels a little bit

cooler. For the likes of Portrush or Ballycastle it will seem like 14 or

15 degrees because of the onshore wind. Away from the wind it will be

quite nice. Next week, the high pressure remains for Monday.

Settled, dry and bright again. It is not until choose date that things

begin to breakdown a bit with a little bit of rain.

-- not until Tuesday. The next summary is at 10:25pm here on BBC

One. Thank you for watching.