:00:00. > :00:00.Andy Swiss, has the latest. That's all from us.
:00:00. > :00:00.Don't forget, Newsnight's starting over on BBC
:00:00. > :00:12.A witness has told the Historical Abuse Inquiry team that
:00:13. > :00:14.children were sent to Australia like baby convicts.
:00:15. > :00:17.The evidence was part of opening remarks made as the inquiry
:00:18. > :00:23.This section will focus on the experiences
:00:24. > :00:25.of 130 children who were sent from Northern Ireland to Australia.
:00:26. > :00:35.Kevin Sharkey was at Banbridge Courthouse.
:00:36. > :00:41.These are some of the children who were sent to Australia over a number
:00:42. > :00:49.of decades. 131 from Northern Ireland. Some of the boys and girls
:00:50. > :00:52.came from Barnardos, Manor house and is burned and other institutions.
:00:53. > :01:02.The vast majority were from the sister of Nazareth homes. For some,
:01:03. > :01:08.it became a nightmare. Many of those who gave evidence described their
:01:09. > :01:14.experiences after they arrived in the straight year in shocking terms,
:01:15. > :01:21.setting out in graphic detail their descriptions of the severe hardships
:01:22. > :01:25.and is sexual and physical violence to which they say they were
:01:26. > :01:28.subjected as children in the institutions to which they were
:01:29. > :01:40.sent. The inquiry heard today that they wanted this scheme to promote
:01:41. > :01:46.religious and physical well-being. For the government, there were other
:01:47. > :01:50.concerns, some financial. Also today, an indication of the personal
:01:51. > :01:58.stories from Australia due to be heard over the next three weeks. I
:01:59. > :02:03.have always wondered what would have been like to have had a family, her
:02:04. > :02:08.mother and father, brothers and sisters. I never got the chance to
:02:09. > :02:14.find out because I was sent to Australia. We were exported to
:02:15. > :02:19.Australia like little baby convict. The hearing also heard from a child
:02:20. > :02:24.migrant expert. She said many of the children were deceived over the
:02:25. > :02:26.reasons for going. She said the children did not know they would not
:02:27. > :02:35.be coming back home. The inquiry started last January
:02:36. > :02:37.and, so far, almost 70 people have One of the organisations
:02:38. > :02:40.representing survivors and witnesses has written to the Assembly
:02:41. > :02:43.about aspects of the inquiry some I've been speaking to two witnesses
:02:44. > :02:46.who have already given evidence. The Work and Pensions Secretary,
:02:47. > :02:58.Iain Duncan Smith, has called on Alison was ten years old but she
:02:59. > :03:02.went to live in a children's home. Physically and sexually abused, she
:03:03. > :03:07.said the things she suffered there are as clear in her mind as if they
:03:08. > :03:12.happened yesterday. Night-time is the worst for me. I would set up
:03:13. > :03:19.most nights were other people would be asleep, just walking the floors.
:03:20. > :03:25.Then you are remembering every last detail, smells, noises. It is like
:03:26. > :03:31.somebody just turns on a movie and bulb let it stop. Alison gave
:03:32. > :03:36.evidence to the inquiry back in February, something she thought
:03:37. > :03:42.would lift her up pressure from her shoulders. It is like having chains
:03:43. > :03:47.around Pandora's box. He gave the inquiry the key, the chains come
:03:48. > :03:51.off, but you are still left with that. You don't know what to do with
:03:52. > :03:56.it. Alison was told information about the priest she claimed abused
:03:57. > :04:00.her that she did not know beforehand, something similar also
:04:01. > :04:05.happened to Kate, seen here on the left, during her evidence. She found
:04:06. > :04:11.a significant details of past only when she had taken the stand. The
:04:12. > :04:28.shock of finding out that I was abandoned when I was one-year-olds.
:04:29. > :04:32.The shock of that, those little screens in front of you. You can see
:04:33. > :04:39.bad child, bad behaviour. All my life I thought I was about person
:04:40. > :04:43.anyway. My mum used to say to me, your mother and father doesn't want
:04:44. > :04:47.you. The former residents knows little about their past that any
:04:48. > :04:52.little bit of information can have a huge impact. There has been
:04:53. > :04:57.criticism over her lack counselling. Justice will not be done here. I
:04:58. > :05:02.think a lot of our people are very disappointed. We are wondering why
:05:03. > :05:07.we have allowed yourselves to go through all of this. Isolation,
:05:08. > :05:12.depression and frustration at some of the feelings that survivors talk
:05:13. > :05:21.about. Alison is sad to say that giving evidence hasn't changed any
:05:22. > :05:25.of that. It has been so long. No one knows what is really going on in
:05:26. > :05:32.your head, that is the worst part. Painting on her smile. -- a smile,
:05:33. > :05:38.when all you feel are doing is crying. The inquiry says that it
:05:39. > :05:44.understands that people often find that stressful and upsetting to talk
:05:45. > :05:47.about their experiences. They say they have for full-time members of
:05:48. > :06:15.staff helping people through the process.
:06:16. > :06:18.Pastor James McConnell has announced he is stepping down. The cleric from
:06:19. > :06:19.the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle caused controversy
:06:20. > :06:21.recently when he called Islam 'heathen' and 'satanic. Pastor
:06:22. > :06:24.McConnell told his congregation that after 57 years of ministry he felt
:06:25. > :06:28.the hour had come to hand over the reins. The 77 year old has recently
:06:29. > :06:31.The Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, has called on
:06:32. > :06:34.Sinn Fein to back the Government's welfare reforms, accusing them
:06:35. > :06:38.Sinn Fein are currently refusing to endorse the changes, which has
:06:39. > :06:40.resulted in London withdrawing money from the block grant.
:06:41. > :06:43.Mr Duncan Smith was responding to a question in the House of Commons
:06:44. > :06:45.from the North Antrim DUP MP Ian Paisley.
:06:46. > :06:56.Is this secretary aware of the threat to stability in Northern
:06:57. > :07:00.Ireland due to Sinn Fein not adopting these proposals? I would
:07:01. > :07:04.say to the honourable gentleman, they need to face up to their
:07:05. > :07:08.responsibilities. They can't have it all ways. If they get the welfare
:07:09. > :07:12.bill through they will benefit from the support they will get, but they
:07:13. > :07:18.can't set in limbo land. It is time for them to get on him to what
:07:19. > :07:22.elected government needs to do. Conor Murphy said his party would
:07:23. > :07:24.not take any lectures from Iain Duncan Smith and they would continue
:07:25. > :07:39.their opposition to welfare reform. Former Real IRA leader Michael
:07:40. > :07:41.McKevitt has been granted leave by the Republic's High Court - to bring
:07:42. > :07:44.another legal challenge to his detention. Earlier today he lost a
:07:45. > :07:47.case against the Irish Justice Minister- for refusing to allow his
:07:48. > :07:49.early release from a 20-year sentence. Michael McKevitt will now
:07:50. > :07:52.use a judicial review to contest his 100 new jobs have been created
:07:53. > :07:56.at a nursing home in Limavady. Almost ?3.5 million has been spent
:07:57. > :07:58.on the Cornfield Care Centre. The new 52 bed extension will cater
:07:59. > :08:01.mainly for care of the elderly. The nurses at the centre look
:08:02. > :08:04.after patients with different needs Staff numbers at the facility
:08:05. > :08:18.will increase from 100 to 220. People are living longer. The demand
:08:19. > :08:24.for the husband and wife to work means that needs to be extra care
:08:25. > :08:27.provided and it can be provided in their own home, so it is provided by
:08:28. > :08:28.people like ourselves. A look ahead at the weather
:08:29. > :08:40.forecast now with Barra. A lot of settled weather to come
:08:41. > :08:47.this week, but not many blue skies. Overnight tonight, if the cloud
:08:48. > :08:50.breaks, temperatures could get down to single figures. Tomorrow, cloudy
:08:51. > :08:56.start and will stay that way for much of the day. Some of us will get
:08:57. > :09:02.to enjoy the odd bit of sunshine. The wind will be like tomorrow,
:09:03. > :09:05.cloud to start the day. Across Britain and Ireland high-pressure is
:09:06. > :09:09.in control so we will all have a fine, dry day. Sunshine stretching
:09:10. > :09:14.from Scotland into the far south-west of England. In the
:09:15. > :09:20.south-east of England, temperatures will be in the low 20s. Not bad at
:09:21. > :09:26.all for the time of year. When we do get spells of sunshine tomorrow in
:09:27. > :09:30.Northern Ireland, temperatures could reach 21 degrees. Under the cloud,
:09:31. > :09:35.19 degrees. As for weather state, we still hold onto the high-pressure,
:09:36. > :09:43.so a lot of dry weather in the forecast. There will be a good deal
:09:44. > :09:50.of cloud around. Temperatures could reach 22 degrees on Wednesday if the
:09:51. > :09:54.clouds break. Winds will be light. For the rest of the week
:09:55. > :09:57.high-pressure is here to stay so a lot of dry weather to come. Great
:09:58. > :09:59.for getting outdoors.