:00:00. > :00:08.Good evening. for the news where you are.
:00:09. > :00:11.The Police Ombudsman has found there was collusion between police
:00:12. > :00:14.officers and a UVF gang who murdered six men
:00:15. > :00:19.The Catholic victims were shot as they watched a World Cup
:00:20. > :00:23.football match in a pub in the County Down village.
:00:24. > :00:25.The Ombudsman said that RUC informers were involved
:00:26. > :00:38.The customers were watching the Republic of Ireland play Italy
:00:39. > :00:41.in the World Cup finals when two gunmen burst into this rural pub,
:00:42. > :00:48.Six men were killed, another five were wounded.
:00:49. > :00:52.The six who died were Adrian Rogan, Barney Green, Dan McCreanor,
:00:53. > :00:58.Eamon Byrne, Malcolm Jenkinson, and Patsy O'Hare.
:00:59. > :01:02.Today, in a 160-page report, Michael Maguire gave
:01:03. > :01:18.the families many of the answers they've been seeking,
:01:19. > :01:19.In addition, my investigation found some security forces
:01:20. > :01:21.and the Newcastle subdivision have been customised
:01:22. > :01:24.Either through direct involvement with loyalist
:01:25. > :01:28.The report concludes had this UVF unit been subject to investigation,
:01:29. > :01:30.they may have been arrested and may not have been involved
:01:31. > :01:34.Whether that attack would have been carried out by another
:01:35. > :01:38.It is important to note we did not find any specific evidence
:01:39. > :01:40.that the police had information that there would be an attack
:01:41. > :01:45.Michael McQuire said many police officers did work tirelessly
:01:46. > :01:49.But he was scathing of the overall police approach, including
:01:50. > :01:53.The investigation particularly in the early stages
:01:54. > :02:04.was characterised by incompetence, indifference and neglect.
:02:05. > :02:06.When viewed collectively, I have no hesitation in saying
:02:07. > :02:08.collusion was a significant feature in the Loughinisland attacks.
:02:09. > :02:11.The ombudsman met with the families in Loughinisland last night,
:02:12. > :02:14.This afternoon, they came together, to give their
:02:15. > :02:19.We set out to look for truth and justice.
:02:20. > :02:23.22 years later, we have truth, but we still haven't got justice.
:02:24. > :02:28.We are elated with the report's findings.
:02:29. > :02:31.Reaction from the PSNI Chief Constable came at today's
:02:32. > :02:52.That is entirely not acceptable to me, anathema to my standards
:02:53. > :02:56.I would say even to the standards of policing in 1994.
:02:57. > :02:59.That is totally not acceptable and those people should be
:03:00. > :03:01.Emma Rogan was only eight when her father Adrian
:03:02. > :03:07.There is a part in the report that said that bad
:03:08. > :03:09.people were in the pub, that is what I was told,
:03:10. > :03:12.bad men entered the pub and murdered my father.
:03:13. > :03:16.Everywhere we went, the door was slammed in our face.
:03:17. > :03:19.They said, no, the police are making that up,
:03:20. > :03:21.collusion doesn't exist, that is wrong.
:03:22. > :03:25.Today, we have got the truth, and we were right.
:03:26. > :03:29.The shootings in Loughinisland have always been remembered as one
:03:30. > :03:39.Guns used in the Loughinisland attack came from a huge Loyalist
:03:40. > :03:44.And the Police Ombudsman's report reveals that many of the weapons
:03:45. > :03:46.were moved when a Loyalist was tipped off that his home
:03:47. > :03:50.Here's our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney.
:03:51. > :03:54.An Ulster resistance rally at the Ulster Hall.
:03:55. > :03:56.Formed to combat the Anglo-Irish agreement, some Unionist
:03:57. > :04:04.They always denied any involvement in paramilitary activity and said
:04:05. > :04:16.they had left by the time it was trying to import weapons.
:04:17. > :04:34.consignment from South Africa along with the UDA and UVF.
:04:35. > :04:37.Six years later, a rifle from that shipment was used
:04:38. > :04:41.Other South African guns were used in at least 70 other murders
:04:42. > :04:44.The key question is, why did that happen?
:04:45. > :04:46.Given that RUC special Branch and military intelligence knew
:04:47. > :04:49.They knew because senior loyalists who were informers were involved
:04:50. > :04:53.The police ombudsman's report today also confirms some of those directly
:04:54. > :04:56.involved had been under long-term surveillance by the police,
:04:57. > :05:15.And when a gang drove to County Armagh to pick up some
:05:16. > :05:18.of the weapons in January 1988, they were being watched.
:05:19. > :05:20.But the surveillance team said they lost sight of the vehicles
:05:21. > :05:22.during the actual time they were being loaded
:05:23. > :05:26.One hour and a half later, a substantial amount of the shipment
:05:27. > :05:28.was seized in two cars stopped at a police checkpoint.
:05:29. > :05:30.But not all of the weapons were retrieved.
:05:31. > :05:33.Including the rifle used to kill six people in Loughinisland.
:05:34. > :05:38.The police ombudsman says he has established the rest
:05:39. > :05:41.of the shipment was stored at home of this man, James Mitchell,
:05:42. > :05:44.As part of the BBC Spotlight investigation 12 years ago,
:05:45. > :05:47.I asked him to respond to allegations he was a member
:05:48. > :05:50.of the Glenanne gang, a group of loyalists links to more
:05:51. > :06:06.Special Branch knew all about James Mitchell.
:06:07. > :06:11.Police had found weapons on his farm in 1978,
:06:12. > :06:15.and in a confession can he told them it was one of the main UVF arms
:06:16. > :06:20.Special Branch, though, did not pass any of this information
:06:21. > :06:24.to detectives trying to locate the weapons.
:06:25. > :06:26.I fail to understand why the police actually could not go
:06:27. > :06:33.As we say in the report, it did have the consequences
:06:34. > :06:41.of failure to go quickly to the farm meant the weapons were moved.
:06:42. > :06:43.Michael Maguire says James Mitchell was tipped off within two hours
:06:44. > :06:45.of the cars being stopped in Portadown, that his
:06:46. > :06:48.The rest of the weapons were moved to another
:06:49. > :06:56.It has emerged, that within hours, they were in the hands
:06:57. > :07:00.A former UDR soldier, he was a leader of the UVF
:07:01. > :07:05.Dubbed the jackal by journalists he was behind dozens
:07:06. > :07:12.But he was never questioned about the shipment.
:07:13. > :07:15.Today, the ombudsman said it was a matter of significant
:07:16. > :07:18.concern that Special Branch protected loyalists from effective
:07:19. > :07:31.investigation by failing to pass on intelligence about activities.
:07:32. > :07:33.Despite being implicated in importation of the weapons,
:07:34. > :07:36.senior members of the UDA, UVF and resistance were not subject
:07:37. > :07:40.This can be attributed to a decision by Special Branch not to disseminate
:07:41. > :07:41.intelligence implicating these individuals, some
:07:42. > :07:45.Given the gravity of conspiracy and impact this has had
:07:46. > :07:49.on the lives of many, I believe this decision
:07:50. > :07:56.on the lives of many, I believe this decision is indefensible.
:07:57. > :08:04.The report today again goes to the heart of the relationship
:08:05. > :08:05.between informers and their handlers.
:08:06. > :08:08.Michael Maguire says some police officers appeared to place more
:08:09. > :08:10.value on gathering information and protecting their sources,
:08:11. > :08:12.than in prevention and detection of crime.
:08:13. > :08:14.That poses serious questions of the very purpose
:08:15. > :08:23.Two former Prime Ministers were here today to urge people
:08:24. > :08:29.Sir John Major and Tony Blair warned that leaving would jeopardise
:08:30. > :08:34.They faced questions from students at the Ulster
:08:35. > :08:39.Our Political Correspondent Enda McClafferty reports.
:08:40. > :08:42.The architects of the peace process, taking time out to survey
:08:43. > :08:48.Derry's Peace Bridge was the first port of call today
:08:49. > :08:54.It was built to celebrate the peace they helped secure.
:08:55. > :08:57.How times have changed from Sir John's last visit
:08:58. > :09:03.Back then, he found himself in the middle of a battle
:09:04. > :09:05.between republican protesters and police.
:09:06. > :09:10.This time, the reception was very different.
:09:11. > :09:14.The old political foes were on a joint mission to convince
:09:15. > :09:23.voters here to stay in the EU, warning that the UK could be torn
:09:24. > :09:26.apart if the vote goes the other way.
:09:27. > :09:29.I believe it would be an historic mistake to do anything that has any
:09:30. > :09:31.risk to destabilise the complicated and multilayered constitutional
:09:32. > :09:33.settlement that underpins the present stability in Northern
:09:34. > :09:44.the European Union would do. It would throw all the pieces of the
:09:45. > :09:49.constitutional jigsaw up into the air again.
:09:50. > :09:52.Tony Blair said a vote to leave would undermine the political
:09:53. > :09:59.Here we stand as former prime ministers, and we say to the Leave
:10:00. > :10:03.campaign directly, you have fundamental questions to answer
:10:04. > :10:06.about Northern Ireland, the common travel area,
:10:07. > :10:14.the EU on the future make-up of the UK. The people of Northern Ireland
:10:15. > :10:17.need these answers, and need to have them within the next days before
:10:18. > :10:33.But those in the Leave campaign were quick to hit back.
:10:34. > :10:35.I do find it rather disgraceful for both
:10:36. > :10:41.importance of the peace process here in Northern Ireland, to come over
:10:42. > :10:46.here and suggest that a vote on a predicted action would undermine
:10:47. > :10:52.people in Northern Ireland to the political settlement and exclusively
:10:53. > :10:54.peaceful and democratic means to determine the island's future, that
:10:55. > :11:01.become less resolute if there was a democratic vote to leave the EU, is
:11:02. > :11:05.not only unjustified, but actually pretty irresponsible.
:11:06. > :11:07.But what about those who were listening?
:11:08. > :11:09.Were they convinced by the arguments from the two former
:11:10. > :11:13.They were trying to scare us, scaremongering has been used a lot
:11:14. > :11:16.by politicians and news readers. I feel like they were scaremongering,
:11:17. > :11:18.telling us about drastic consequences if we do leave the EU.
:11:19. > :11:21.I was quite on the fence whether to stay or leave
:11:22. > :11:32.here today will be convinced by the arguments put forward by Sir John
:11:33. > :11:36.Major and Tony Blair. Some don't even have a vote, but may go home
:11:37. > :11:38.and tell their families what they have heard today.
:11:39. > :11:48.difference come June the 23rd? That remains to be seen.
:11:49. > :11:51.A man who killed his mother two years ago thought she was a witch
:11:52. > :11:54.after he'd taken so-called legal highs, a court heard today.
:11:55. > :11:56.34-year-old Alun Kinney Evans suffered a drug induced
:11:57. > :12:06.psychosis after buying the drugs online.
:12:07. > :12:08.Margaret Evans, a 69-year-old hairdresser, was found beaten
:12:09. > :12:10.to death in the garden of her home in Portstewart.
:12:11. > :12:13.Alun Evans has admitted her manslaughter on the grounds
:12:14. > :12:15.of diminished responsibility, and will be sentenced next week.
:12:16. > :12:23.Now finally the latest weather outlook with Cecilia Daly.
:12:24. > :12:32.It will be 40 in some areas tonight particularly near the East coast.
:12:33. > :12:41.Warm and Maggie everywhere this coming night. Plenty of cloud
:12:42. > :12:47.around. Misty and murky nearly East coast. Showers breaking out widely.
:12:48. > :12:53.Lots of showers for the Republic of Ireland as well as parts of Wales
:12:54. > :12:56.and south-west England. Showers over Scotland and northern England. It
:12:57. > :13:03.should be dry over the Midlands and the south of England. The chance of
:13:04. > :13:10.some heavy showers and perhaps thunder. As we look ahead to the
:13:11. > :13:11.weekend it will still be close at times, also unsettled, of the two
:13:12. > :13:14.days Saturday will be the drier day. Our next BBC Newsline
:13:15. > :13:16.is at 6.25 in the morning And tomorrow evening at 6.30 we'll
:13:17. > :13:21.be live from Nice as we bring you the very latest in the run-up
:13:22. > :13:25.to Northern Ireland's From all of us here
:13:26. > :13:31.on the programme, goodnight.