:00:00. > :00:00.Here on BBC 1, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:00. > :00:10.Peter Robinson has said he decided to step down as First Minister
:00:11. > :00:13.and DUP leader after, in his words, "stabilising" Stormont.
:00:14. > :00:17.He told the BBC it was "difficult" to find the right time to step down,
:00:18. > :00:20.but following this week's political deal, now seemed "appropriate".
:00:21. > :00:29.He's been speaking to our Political Editor, Mark Devenport.
:00:30. > :00:34.There is some flash photography in this report.
:00:35. > :00:39.It has been an open secret in DUP circles. Today, with a deal done and
:00:40. > :00:43.party activists about together their annual conference, Peter Robinson
:00:44. > :00:47.confirmed he is stepping down. In politics, it is very difficult to
:00:48. > :00:53.find the exact moment that is right to announce a departure. Politics,
:00:54. > :00:56.by its very nature, continues to flow on, and thereafter in several
:00:57. > :01:00.layers, so you never really get the end of a chapter, and I think really
:01:01. > :01:03.what we have at the present time with the agreement that has been
:01:04. > :01:09.raised is as close as you are going to get to the end of a chapter, and
:01:10. > :01:12.I hope we get the process within the party so we can have a new leader in
:01:13. > :01:17.place and give them a good time to settle in before the assembly
:01:18. > :01:20.election. After 1970s, Peter Robinson Willie
:01:21. > :01:24.Young estate agent, but he was spurred to enter politics after the
:01:25. > :01:29.murder of a school friend in an IRA bombing. Then followed a long career
:01:30. > :01:33.in Unionist protest politics, which included his arrest for taking part
:01:34. > :01:39.in a loyalist incursion into account the Monaghan village, wearing a red
:01:40. > :01:43.beret at an Ulster resistance rally. However, Peter Robinson also built a
:01:44. > :01:48.formidable reputation as a politician. Eventually, he became
:01:49. > :01:53.one of the chief architects of the DUP's except since a power-sharing
:01:54. > :01:57.after the St Andrews talks. He succeeded Ian Paisley as First
:01:58. > :02:03.Minister in 2008, but within two years, faced a personal crisis after
:02:04. > :02:05.the BBC's Spotlight programme revealed his wife Iris's Spotlight
:02:06. > :02:10.programme revealed his wife Iris' personal and financial relationship
:02:11. > :02:14.with a 19-year-old businessman, a scandal stress.
:02:15. > :02:19.I only ask that people feel they must judge her, they find within
:02:20. > :02:27.themselves as I have done the gift of doing so, of the gift of mercy
:02:28. > :02:33.and compassion. He survived the controversy and the loss of his East
:02:34. > :02:37.fast seek to be Alliance party. This year, the DUP took back east
:02:38. > :02:41.Belfast, but Mr Robinson faced another ordeal when he suffered a
:02:42. > :02:43.heart attack. However, he said he had made up his mind to go before
:02:44. > :02:49.his scare. No, indeed, that occurred after I
:02:50. > :02:56.had informed the party offices of my intention to stand down. If it had
:02:57. > :02:58.happened before, it may well have been one of the factors I would have
:02:59. > :03:07.taken into consideration, because the job is an exacting job, rigorous
:03:08. > :03:11.and at times brutal. Last year, the late Ian Paisley used
:03:12. > :03:15.a documentary to complain about being forced out of the DUP
:03:16. > :03:19.leadership by Peter Robinson and others, but Mr Robinson says he
:03:20. > :03:25.won't be doing the same. I simply wouldn't find myself in the
:03:26. > :03:28.position where I'm going to turn on friends and colleagues who have
:03:29. > :03:36.supported me throughout my lifetime. I will be there to give
:03:37. > :03:39.support, to encourage those who follow, and if the party wants me to
:03:40. > :03:44.give advice, I will give it, but I will not stick my nose in and
:03:45. > :03:49.interfere in future decision-making. I will be there to
:03:50. > :03:52.encourage and to support. DUP supporters are likely to use
:03:53. > :03:56.this week and's party conference as an opportunity to give a lead a
:03:57. > :03:57.rousing sendoff, although he will remain in place until his successor
:03:58. > :04:01.is chosen, probably in the New Year. There's uncertainty about the future
:04:02. > :04:03.of a major retail-led regeneration scheme in Belfast after the
:04:04. > :04:06.Department of Social Development The Royal Exchange project is
:04:07. > :04:12.supposed to to regenerate an area roughly between Castle Court
:04:13. > :04:15.and St Anne's Cathedral. Here's our Economics and
:04:16. > :04:27.Business Editor John Campbell. This area was historically the
:04:28. > :04:33.centre of Belfast as the city grew up in the late 1800 's. But it has
:04:34. > :04:37.been in decline for years. A major regeneration scheme, known as Royal
:04:38. > :04:41.Exchange, has planning permission and government backing. But now, it
:04:42. > :04:45.has hit a snag. The preferred developer owns about half the land
:04:46. > :04:50.needed for the Royal Oak 's change scheme. The Department for social
:04:51. > :04:53.development agreed to use its powers to take control of other buildings
:04:54. > :04:57.which were needed. But now, the department says it does not think
:04:58. > :05:03.the developer can deliver, and so the agreement is at an end.
:05:04. > :05:06.So what happens next? The department will look for a new
:05:07. > :05:12.regeneration that now. There is also speculation the existing developer
:05:13. > :05:15.could sell up. It is clear this scheme is going to need a large
:05:16. > :05:21.injection of private sector money. It could cost as much as ?350
:05:22. > :05:25.million to complete. It will also need an anchor tenants to make it
:05:26. > :05:29.viable. Both John Lewis and the BBC have been linked to this scheme,
:05:30. > :05:30.neither organisation has expressed any further interest.
:05:31. > :05:32.A man is in a critical condition in intensive care
:05:33. > :05:35.after being shot in the head in west Belfast this morning.
:05:36. > :05:38.The man - who is in his forties - is believed to be a member
:05:39. > :05:41.of the traveller community. Two men have been arrested.
:05:42. > :05:45.The father of a teenager with disabilities who was left alone on
:05:46. > :05:48.a school bus for almost three hours has said his daughter now rarely
:05:49. > :05:54.The driver and a special needs escort failed to drop her off
:05:55. > :06:00.Instead, she was left on the bus at a depot.
:06:01. > :06:09.Our south west reporter Julian Fowler has the details.
:06:10. > :06:15.17-year-old Sophie Kerr uses a wheelchair and is unable to speak.
:06:16. > :06:18.Four weeks ago, she was picked up by a bust to take it will abridge
:06:19. > :06:23.special-needs school, but she was left on the bus, which was then
:06:24. > :06:26.driven to a depot and parked up for nearly three hours before she was
:06:27. > :06:31.found. As far as the school is concerned,
:06:32. > :06:36.she was maybe off sick or had an appointment. As far as we knew, she
:06:37. > :06:39.was at school, so it was a grey area. Nobody knew where she was at
:06:40. > :06:45.the time. Sophie was left cold and upset by
:06:46. > :06:48.what had happened. It is extremely dangerous. With
:06:49. > :06:52.Sophie, we are lucky that she doesn't have as many needs as some
:06:53. > :06:55.of the children, but some of the children, it could have been
:06:56. > :06:58.life-threatening if they had been left in same situation.
:06:59. > :07:01.It is understood the bus trial and an adult who ask what's the
:07:02. > :07:05.special-needs pupils have been suspended while an investigation is
:07:06. > :07:09.carried out. The education authority said they
:07:10. > :07:13.took immediate action, and contacted the parents to offer an unreserved
:07:14. > :07:16.apology. They also said they had written a letter to provide
:07:17. > :07:19.assurances that all steps will be taken to prevent such an incident
:07:20. > :07:22.occurring again. The family say they are still
:07:23. > :07:26.waiting to receive the letter of apology.
:07:27. > :07:29.They want procedures put in place to alert parents if their child does
:07:30. > :07:35.not arrive in school. Now that they have lost trust in the bus transport
:07:36. > :07:37.arrangements, Sophie is instead being taken to school by taxi.
:07:38. > :07:41.Now, AP McCoy's final season as a jump jockey is the subject of a new
:07:42. > :07:46.The Moneyglass legend and his wife Chanelle were among the
:07:47. > :07:52.The documentary gives insight into his final year as a jockey and the
:07:53. > :07:58.Tomorrow night on BBC Newsline, we'll be hearing from the man
:07:59. > :08:03.himself and finding out if he feels the film was an accurate portrait.
:08:04. > :08:09.That's tomorrow on BBC Newsline starting at 6.30 here on BBC 1.
:08:10. > :08:16.Chillier weather is on the way. Angie has the forecast.
:08:17. > :08:24.Good evening. We are about to get a taste of winter over the next day or
:08:25. > :08:28.two. For the meantime, still fairly quiet tonight. The breeze eases a
:08:29. > :08:32.little, dryer with cooler spells. Chilean part of the countryside, low
:08:33. > :08:36.enough for pockets of ground frost. Later in the night, showery rain
:08:37. > :08:39.approaches the north, the first sign of a transition to call the Rec,
:08:40. > :08:43.which will be flooding across the whole country through tomorrow and
:08:44. > :08:48.the start of the weekend. So a cold day tomorrow, the wind picking up,
:08:49. > :08:51.showers eventually showing signs of turning wintry, but through the
:08:52. > :08:54.morning, as the showery rain comes south, just rain falling from the
:08:55. > :08:58.sky. It breaks up a little as it heads into the Republic across
:08:59. > :09:03.southern Scotland and its northern England North Wales. Rain clears to
:09:04. > :09:06.the south-west of England, and then it is largely dry and bright. To the
:09:07. > :09:11.north of that front, bright as well, with wintry showers and buzzard
:09:12. > :09:15.conditions moving into words the North of Scotland. Into Northern
:09:16. > :09:19.Ireland as well, blustery afternoon, and we'll see the showers turning
:09:20. > :09:25.into a mix of Hale, sleet and hill snow. Very cold is brisk winds,
:09:26. > :09:29.highs around 6-7 . We're what is Winsford tomorrow night on Saturday.
:09:30. > :09:34.A wind warning is in place. We might see Gayle is in place. We might see
:09:35. > :09:39.of up to 60 miles an hour around parts of the coast through tomorrow.
:09:40. > :09:43.Again, wintry showers of sleet and snow settling above 150 metres, also
:09:44. > :09:49.becoming ICS temperatures truck those to freezing. So wintry start
:09:50. > :09:50.to the weekend, frost on Saturday night, and a bit more dry on Sunday.
:09:51. > :09:54.Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25 in the morning
:09:55. > :09:57.You can also keep updated with News Online. Goodnight.