:00:07. > :00:09.A new investigation is to be launched into the controversial
:00:10. > :00:14.killing of an IRA man by the RUC in Downpatrick 25 years ago.
:00:15. > :00:16.An eyewitness has come forward and supported claims
:00:17. > :00:19.by the family of Colum Marks, that he was shot
:00:20. > :00:33.Our home affairs correspondant Vincent Kearney reports.
:00:34. > :00:35.RUC officers were in wait when an IRA unit
:00:36. > :00:38.were ordered to carry out an attack in April 19 91.
:00:39. > :00:40.One of the IRA members Colum Marks was shot dead.
:00:41. > :00:43.The police officer who fired the shot said he believed Colum
:00:44. > :00:46.Marks was armed and had refused to stop when an attempt was made to
:00:47. > :00:50.arrest him. No gun was ever found.
:00:51. > :00:52.His family claimed Colum Marks was shot after being arrested.
:00:53. > :00:56.The RUC insisted that was not the case.
:00:57. > :01:00.Lawyers for the family have been taking legal action in a bid to
:01:01. > :01:04.force the police to investigate the circumstances of the killing.
:01:05. > :01:07.They have said they couldn't do so because the RUC had already
:01:08. > :01:11.That all changed when an eye witness came
:01:12. > :01:16.The eyewitness has said that during the
:01:17. > :01:19.shooting, he saw a man believed to be Colum
:01:20. > :01:21.Marks walking along the street under police guard.
:01:22. > :01:23.He said it was clear the man was under
:01:24. > :01:26.arrest and three RUC officers were with him.
:01:27. > :01:29.That contradicts police claims that Colum Marks was not under arrest
:01:30. > :01:33.when he was shot because it was feared he posed a threat.
:01:34. > :01:36.Lawyers for the Marks family haven't disclosed any
:01:37. > :01:46.The legal action was finished today now
:01:47. > :01:47.The legal action was withdrawn today now
:01:48. > :01:50.that it's been decided that an investigation will be launched.
:01:51. > :01:51.The decision was welcomed by a lawyer
:01:52. > :01:56.This information disputes the previous statements by the RUC.
:01:57. > :02:01.An assessment of the case will be carried out to establish
:02:02. > :02:07.Two months ago, the Attorney General asked the prosecution
:02:08. > :02:09.services to review the decision not to prosecute any
:02:10. > :02:16.police officers involved in the incident.
:02:17. > :02:19.The Inquiry into Abuse at Institutions has been shown
:02:20. > :02:22.an MI6 intelligence document which claimed at least one agent
:02:23. > :02:27.was aware of sexual abuse at Kincora Boys Home.
:02:28. > :02:30.It's long been at the centre of allegations that a paedophile
:02:31. > :02:32.ring, involving high-profile political and military figures,
:02:33. > :02:41.Lisa McAlister reports from the Inquiry in Banbridge.
:02:42. > :02:45.The document emerged during evidence given via video link
:02:46. > :02:48.a by Deputy Director of MI6 which operated here in
:02:49. > :03:12.Known as SIS officer A, he was asked about the 1989 note which stated:
:03:13. > :03:21.Giving evidence via video link said that despite an extensive trawl of
:03:22. > :03:27.MI6's file, the could not find any other evidence to support the 1989
:03:28. > :03:32.note. Cheer of the enquiry then asked whether the author of the note
:03:33. > :03:35.had some personal knowledge which he hadn't recorded by F, for some
:03:36. > :03:41.reason, had the wrong end of the stick. He replied that he couldn't
:03:42. > :03:43.speculate as to what the offer was thinking when he wrote it.
:03:44. > :03:46.SIS officer A also said the service found no credible evidence
:03:47. > :03:48.to support the claims former M16 chief Sir Maurice Oldfield
:03:49. > :03:53.The coordinator of security operations in Northern Ireland
:03:54. > :03:59.had his clearance revoked in 1980 when it emerged he was gay.
:04:00. > :04:03.At the time, the security services would not give clearance to gay men,
:04:04. > :04:06.amid fears that foreign spies would blackmail them.
:04:07. > :04:09.None of the former Kincora residents who have given evidence to the HIA
:04:10. > :04:14.have claimed Sir Maurice abused them though one claimed
:04:15. > :04:22.A woman found with head injuries in Newry this
:04:23. > :04:25.morning is in a critical condition in hospital.
:04:26. > :04:28.It happened at a house on Hollyridge Lane,
:04:29. > :04:31.between the Fiveways roundabout and Carnbane industrial estate.
:04:32. > :04:34.Officers found her as they followed up a report about a drunk
:04:35. > :04:40.Police say it's not yet clear how she was hurt.
:04:41. > :04:44.A court has been told that a double murderer admitted to his girlfriend
:04:45. > :04:46.that he had used a samurai sword to kill two men
:04:47. > :04:52.One of them had been almost decapitated.
:04:53. > :05:00.Police found the two casualties in the living room of this
:05:01. > :05:02.Appearing for sentencing today was 47-year-old
:05:03. > :05:09.Armstrong initially denied carrying out the frenzied attack,
:05:10. > :05:12.claiming he had arrived at the house to discover
:05:13. > :05:21.Later, he admitted killing both Colin Lindsay and Stanley Wightman.
:05:22. > :05:24.All three men lived close to each other in the Belvoir Estate in south
:05:25. > :05:26.Belfast and were well known to each other.
:05:27. > :05:28.Mr Lindsay apparently telephoned Armstrong asking him to come
:05:29. > :05:36.All three men then spent most of the day drinking together.
:05:37. > :05:44.The attack happened later that evening.
:05:45. > :05:51.It was only discovered when Mr Armstrong then returned to his own
:05:52. > :05:56.home and his girlfriend noticed he was covered in blood on his face and
:05:57. > :06:00.on his hand. She also noted that there was a samurai sword in the
:06:01. > :06:03.passenger well of the car he was driving.
:06:04. > :06:06.The court heard that sword blows to the victims' hands and arms point
:06:07. > :06:08.to the murdered men trying vainly to protect themselves.
:06:09. > :06:10.Autopsy results record multiple sword blows to the neck
:06:11. > :06:13.Two incisions to Mr Lindsay's spinal cord would have
:06:14. > :06:22.Police arrived at the murder scene shortly after 8pm.
:06:23. > :06:27.They found two casualties in the living room.
:06:28. > :06:29.Colin Lindsay was found slumped on the sofa.
:06:30. > :06:33.Mr Wightman was found lying in a doorway.
:06:34. > :06:36.He too had sustained multiple injuries to his head and neck.
:06:37. > :06:43.He died of his injuries though two days later.
:06:44. > :06:45.Bereaved family members and friends of the two
:06:46. > :06:48.murdered men were in the public gallery for today's hearing.
:06:49. > :06:51.Albert Armstrong had been sentenced to life for the two murders.
:06:52. > :07:01.He will learn next month the minimum tariff he will have to serve.
:07:02. > :07:04.A service will take place tomorrow in Thiepval in France
:07:05. > :07:07.for the thousands of men from the 36th Ulster Division
:07:08. > :07:10.who died at the Battle of the Somme in World War One.
:07:11. > :07:12.They fought and died alongside friends and neighbours,
:07:13. > :07:27.The Royal Irish Regiment's had to learn a new anthem in preparation
:07:28. > :07:32.for tomorrow's Somme centenary service in France.
:07:33. > :07:35.The ground at the Ulster Tower in the Thiepval have been
:07:36. > :07:38.transformed for this special commemorative event.
:07:39. > :07:41.The service needs to be dignified and show
:07:42. > :07:43.respect to the soldiers that lost their lives
:07:44. > :07:51.The arts are also involved in marking
:07:52. > :07:56.It is a remarkable privilege to put the art next to
:07:57. > :07:59.the reality and see how they are against each other.
:08:00. > :08:02.To commemorate these men and this event and how it
:08:03. > :08:05.Such was the sacrifice of the 36th Ulster
:08:06. > :08:07.Division that it led the French Government
:08:08. > :08:12.to making a rather unique gesture of gratitude.
:08:13. > :08:15.The site that we are standing on here was donated
:08:16. > :08:18.in perpetuity by the people of France to the people of Ulster after
:08:19. > :08:25.It is our piece of land as long as there is a memorial on it.
:08:26. > :08:26.Technically, when you come through our gate,
:08:27. > :08:32.As French protocol, to this day, they don't walk into the site
:08:33. > :08:42.Over 2000 Ulstermen were killed with 5500
:08:43. > :08:45.killed, wounded and missing on the first day of the fighting.
:08:46. > :08:47.Tomorrow, the slaughter at the Somme will be remembered by tens
:08:48. > :08:54.of thousands of people 100 years after the battle.
:08:55. > :08:57.Everything is now in place for this special televised Somme centenary
:08:58. > :09:03.Probably the most important of all the centenary commemorations,
:09:04. > :09:05.particularly for those families who have connections with the 36th
:09:06. > :09:16.The centenary of the Battle of the Somme is being marked
:09:17. > :09:19.by an overnight vigil in County Down.
:09:20. > :09:21.It's open to the public and is one of several similar events
:09:22. > :09:32.being held across the UK. David Maxwell reports.
:09:33. > :09:41.This tower was well known by the men of the 36th Ulster Division. The
:09:42. > :09:46.trained on the land around it before heading to the battlefields of
:09:47. > :09:50.France. A copy of it at the Excel would become a lasting memorial to
:09:51. > :09:55.those who paid the ultimate prize. A century on that from the evil
:09:56. > :10:02.battle, a lone piper played a lament on that tower overlooking County
:10:03. > :10:06.Down. Within earshot at the Battle of the Somme Museum, an overnight
:10:07. > :10:09.vigil to remember those who were killed or injured. Week that it was
:10:10. > :10:16.important not only to remember those from the 36th Ulster Division. That
:10:17. > :10:21.is more than the 1500 who were killed on the Titanic to get some
:10:22. > :10:26.comparison. The men of the Tyneside Irish, nearly 1500 of them died as
:10:27. > :10:33.well. Among those gathered, relatives of some of the lost. My
:10:34. > :10:42.great uncle was a rifleman and was killed on the first day of the
:10:43. > :10:46.Somme. Just a young man. He has no known grave and he is on the
:10:47. > :10:51.Thiepval the Morrill. This overnight vigil will end at 7am tomorrow with
:10:52. > :10:55.another service and at approximately 7:30am, whistles will be blown here
:10:56. > :10:59.marking the exact time the men of the 36th Ulster Division went over
:11:00. > :11:03.the top and took part in one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
:11:04. > :11:07.And we will have a special programme live from Thiepval in France
:11:08. > :11:09.at a commemorative service at the Ulster Tower marking
:11:10. > :11:14.the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.
:11:15. > :11:19.That's at 1.15pm tomorrow here on BBC One.
:11:20. > :11:21.And on Sunday, we'll have another special programme to mark
:11:22. > :11:25.William Crawley will be looking back on her many visits
:11:26. > :11:28.to Northern Ireland over the last six decades.
:11:29. > :11:34.That's at 5.15pm this Sunday on BBC One.
:11:35. > :11:36.As the fallout from the EU referendum continues,
:11:37. > :11:38.our three local MEPs will be discussing what happens next
:11:39. > :11:45.on The View with Mark Carruthers immediately after this bulletin.
:11:46. > :11:56.Here's Geoff Maskell with the weather.
:11:57. > :12:02.July does not get off to a better start. Overnight tonight, the rain
:12:03. > :12:04.we had earlier will fizzle out