03/08/2016 BBC Newsline

The Justice Minister says an inquiry into undercover policing units

should be extended to Northern Ireland.

Silage is thought to be responsible for a major fish kill

A man who's HIV positive welcomes political support

for the introduction of a preventative drug.

The summer scheme with a difference for children in foster care.

A transgender woman talks about her past membership of the Orange Order

Join me at the Olympics in Rio where we will be talking to the three

rowers from Northern Ireland who are going for gold. And as low pressure

moves away, the rain goes with it to give a better day tomorrow.

The Justice Minister has backed calls for an inquiry

into controversial undercover police units from Scotland Yard

It's been revealed that the Metropolitan Police has

contacted the family of at least one Troubles murder victim to say

an undercover officer infiltrated a protest about the killing.

Claire Sugden says the unit's activities could have implications

Our home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.

Mark Kennedy is one of the former undercover officers

He was one of a number who infiltrated environmental

pressure groups by tricking women into sexual relationships.

The Metropolitan Police has apologised for their activities.

We have accepted those relationships should not have happened and we have

been through a process and agreed settlement with the woman and part

of that settlement was a desire on our part to be very public about our

apology. Prime Minister Theresa May visited

Northern Ireland last month. But there are no plans

for a judge leading a public inquiry into the activities

of the undercover units to do so. In her previous role as Minister

for the Home Office, Theresa May set up the inquiry -

and limited its scope That's despite the fact that

Mark Kennedy, seen here on the left, and a number of the other undercover

officers worked in Northern Ireland, and did so without the knowledge

of the RUC or PSNI. Stormont Justice Minister Claire

Sugden has now added her voice to calls for the inquiry

to be extended. In a letter sent in June

when Theresa May was still at the Home Office,

she said the PSNI has examined thousands of Scotland Yard documents

after being told there may be material relevant

to Northern Ireland. The letter said the Metropolitan

Police has contacted the family of at least one murder victim

here to inform them that their officers were present

at protest activity relating to the murder, and that it plans

to contact another family Claire Sugden said it's possible

that operations conducted by the undercover units -

or any material they gathered - could have implications for police

investigations and inquests Because of those potential

implications, she said it was imperative for the inquiry

to follow the evidence trail While in Northern Ireland,

Mark Kennedy is known to have attended meetings of environmental

activists at the Menagerie bar on Belfast's University Street,

and the City Church Activists and campaigners

here who claim they may have been spied on by the undercover units

also want the terms of reference Lawyers acting for a number of them

have written to Theresa May, claiming a failure to do so would be

a breach of their human rights. The lawyers said it wouldn't be

rational for the government to conclude that there was a need

for a judge led inquiry into these allegations in England and Wales,

but no need for an inquiry into the same allegations, involving

the same undercover officers, A man has died after he was injured

in a car crash in Claudy yesterday. The 60-year-old was a passenger

in a car that was involved in a collision with a van

on the Foreglen Road. The man's name hasn't

yet been released. A man and woman have been arrested

in connection with the murder Michael McGibbon died

after being shot several times in the leg in Butler Place

not far from his home. Dissident republicans were blamed

for the murder. A major fish kill in

a County Londonderry river is believed to have been caused

by silage effluent. Several thousand fish have died

since the pollution spill Here's our northwest

reporter Keiron Tourish. Amateur photographer Lucan Newland

was back on this stretch of the River Faughan today,

collecting yet more dead fish. He came across a large amount

of different kinds of fish He was horrified and recorded

what he witnessed. Its pollution on a mass scale. I was

walking here with a friend yesterday and he stumbled upon a fish and I

looked at it myself, and I noticed another one and another one and as

we went along the river it escalated quickly, we started to realise a

considerable amount of damage was done. It's pretty shocking. We

sought 20 or 30 dead fish in the spot, then we started to see big

salmon floating side-by-side, and the whole weight of that river it is

poisoned, thousands of Fry lying everywhere. The whole place was

wiped out. The Loughs Agency says

a range of fish have been killed or left distressed,

including salmon, sea trout and eel - virtually

everything that lives here. The Northern Ireland Environment

Agency said the pollution It's a fairly serious Fishkill. Were

talking several thousand dead fish over a couple of miles of river. At

the moment we are following a definite line of inquiry but we

believe it is agriculture. In Claudy there's concern among

local people about the pollution The mood is sombre, people like

walking up the river and to see dead fish floating is not the nicest of

things. No one from NI Water was available for interview but in a

statement that organisation said the water here was of the highest

quality and safe to drink. NI Water said it shut down a water

treatment works in Eglinton as a precaution and will continue

to monitor the Faughan. The police are investigating an

attack on an Orange Hall in Crumlin. It's believed sectarian graffiti

was spraypainted onto the building on the Antrim Road sometime

between midnight The police say the target of a bomb

found in Lisburn at the weekend was most likely a person,

rather than a location. It's believed the device may have

fallen from a vehicle in the city A controlled explosion

was carried out in Market Place The security alert caused

considerable disruption in Lisburn. The police particularly want to hear

from people who were driving in the area at around two

o'clock on Saturday. A 22-year-old Portadown man has been

charged with sexually grooming Christopher Davison,

from Granville Gardens, faces two charges of sexual

communication with a child and two of meeting a child

after sexual grooming. He was released on bail and ordered

not to contact anyone connected with the Irish Football Association

or anyone under 18 via social media. The chair of the Assembly's health

committee has said she would not be against the introduction of a drug

that can prevent HIV. The DUP's Paula Bradley

made her comments after a court told the health service in England

that it can fund provision A local man who is HIV positive says

it's all about prevention. Our health correspondent

Marie-Louise Connolly reports. Greg Owen was diagnosed

with HIV in 2015. Since then, he's been campaigning

for the drug PREP to be made available on the

National Health Service. A UK trial has shown that the pill

provides more than 80% protection against HIV, so it's only those

who don't already carry In Belfast they had 800 people

living with HIV but 200 who don't know they have it. If you blitz this

with education and prevention and treatment, you will not have an HIV

situation here, when we look elsewhere, we a chance here.

Yesterday's High Court decision in London, which ruled that NHS

England should fund the drug, could mean an annual bill of around

Attending the opening of this new charity shop,

the DUP's health spokesperson, perhaps in a surprise

move, said her party backed funding the drug.

It may be is seen as not our party's stance when it comes to gay men but

I know as someone who has chaired the sexual health committee in the

Assembly that it is something I have had an interest in, and I know 41%

of our population who have an HIV diagnosis are heterosexual.

That reaction got this one from Greg.

I came back to Belfast bracing myself and when I heard that, I was

like, this is what we need to do. A change in attitude

and potentially policy, according to Greg's mum,

is a sign of changing times. I think people's point of view are

changing. How important is that? It's very important for them if they

won the vote, to go along with what is happening in the current

situations, especially HIV. Over 800 men and women here have

been diagnosed with HIV. Northern Ireland has the highest

proportion of new HIV diagnoses each year of anywhere else in the UK, and

that is a concern, a quarter of people living with HIV do not have a

diagnosis yet. This HIV drug ruling presents

a modern dilemma for the public But with an appeal likely,

its availability is hardly imminent. A brick has been thrown through the

window of a coach carrying Chinese tourists in West Belfast. It

happened this afternoon in Divis Street. The passengers were said to

be shaken but not injured. Still to come, the new trails that

give the public access to previously Even though it's holiday time many

children go to summer schemes to keep them occupied while they're

not at school. But some children in foster care

are actually spending some of their holidays back

in the classroom. Our education correspondent

Robbie Meredith has Their interests are no

different to thousands My favourite sport is football. I

play for two teams, Holywood and Bangor, and I like climbing. I like

playing my police station. But ten-year-old Jolene

and nine-year-old Matthew are at a different kind

of summer scheme this week - one of only five in Northern Ireland

for children, like them, There are over 2000 children in

foster care across Northern Ireland that these schemes are for small

groups. Just 12 here at Victoria primary in Newtownards and while

they have fun and go on trips, they also get extra help with education.

These children's educational outcomes tend to be poorer than

those in the general population, so we are about helping to improve

those outcomes through play, through coming together in an environment

where they can learn in a positive place.

They may be the only child in their class who was care experienced, and

they come here and see that other children have experiences similar to

them and they aren't that different. Some teachers give up

a week of their own summer Some of the things we do our mast

tournament 's and looking at maths skills and games to incorporate that

into, like dominoes and literacy, we also have outdoor play with the

climbing frame and we have been to the local library and W five and are

using all those things to enhance children's learning.

A transgender woman who was a member of the Orange Order

and the Free Presbyterian Church in Belfast says

she tried to suppress her gender dysphoria by throwing

45-year-old Adrianne Elson says she never felt comfortable

living as a man. Peter Coulter reports.

Adrianne move to Northern Ireland from Merseyside 11 years ago and am

immersed herself in evangelical Christianity to try to curb her

gender dysphoria. Adrianne, who was born a man, joined the Free

Presbyterian church and the Orange Order before realising she could not

hide her feelings any longer. I was so unhappy pretending to be

someone I wasn't. I felt like I was an actress playing

a male role, a part. Although I had actually come

to like the person I was playing, it was still, you know,

acting, it was still falsehood. Adrianne has married her couple, who

is also trance, but it has not been easy for the couple and they have

experienced abuse. Anything that stands out,

anything that makes you different from the crowd will draw attention

to you and people will look and do a double-take and then the adverse

comments and the catcalls And at times it can be

extremely hurtful, some very, very vulgar and nasty

and threatening things can be said. And what sort of things have

they been saying? Sexual things and threatening

things, very, very hurtful things. You know, you pervert or, you know,

that you want raping Adrianne resigned as a member of the

Orange Order when she began to transition. She still classes

herself as a unionist and would like to rejoin.

Once again, I don't know if it would really ever be possible.

Maybe in the future it would be nice if it was possible,

maybe that is something for another generation.

The Orange Order said all applications are considered on

individual merit. Adrianne was invited to meet Northern Ireland's

Deputy Lord Mayor, in openly gay Deputy Mayor hosting a transgender

unionist at City Hall. Years ago, you know,

it would have been inconceivable to have a gay Deputy Lord Mayor

and obviously things have changed so what are your own

thoughts about that? This council is running from 1906,

in this building, and I'm the first out LGBT person that's held

a civic office. It would have been unthinkable

probably even ten years ago. I'm thankful for the people

who elected me and I'm thankful to my party

for selecting me for this role. It's a big role, it's a big role

for me personally but I see it as a big role for the community,

for the LGBT community in the city. Belfast is a very welcoming city

for all our visitors I think if you are LGBT,

Belfast is a fantastic We are a progressive city

and we are open for business. Hundreds of acres of what used to be

private land has been opened up to visitors at one

of Northern Ireland's top Walkers can now enjoy a huge area

of the estate at Mount Stewart house The National Trust,

which owns the property, says it's all about reconnecting

people to the countryside. Here's our agriculture

and environment 800 private acres of the estate were

bought by The National Trust a couple of years ago as part of a

wider restoration project. Before that visitors to Mount Stuart were

restricted to the house and the formal gardens. For the last six

months to trust has been spending tens of thousands of pounds

reopening old bridleways to make them accessible. If you had been

here six months ago you would have been up to your knees in muck. What

is on offer from today is three miles of pass through farmland and

forest. This network of pass is really just the start. It opens up

about 130 acres of the 800 acres that The National Trust bought. The

plan for the next decade is to open more pass and allow access to the

rest of it. Talking to the family, they would have used a trail is

historically for horse riding, it would have been their playground, so

talking to Lady Rose, she remembers her childhood very much running

around the estate and galloping around on horses and a fantastic way

to grow up. And Divis another link to the children of the estate, and

natural play area being developed and populated with wooden animals.

For inspiration they have drawn on a book written by another resident of

the house in the 20s. It is from a book that Edith, Lady Londonderry,

wrote for her children, and it is a mythical adventure, children going

on an adventure and these are some of the animals they meet. It is a

mixture of farmland and woodland. The three miles of trails have

mostly been drained and stones but the trust is advising a good pair of

walking boots. The Olympic flame, which began

with a ceremonial lighting on April on April 21 in Greece,

arrived in Rio today - so the countdown to Fridays opening

ceremony is officially under way - BBC Newsline's Stephen Watson has

the latest on how our local This is the impressive rowing venue

in runaway, where three athletes from Northern Ireland will compete

at the Olympics. At the games in London, Alan Campbell and brothers

Richard and Peter Chambers won three medals, two silver and a bronze, but

here they are hoping to do even better. Last-minute preparations at

one of the Olympics' most spectacular arenas, even on an

overcast day. I came out in the evening. Not even veteran Alan

Campbell has seen anything like it. The last three Olympics were

man-made lakes, this is a naturally occurring late in Rio and one of the

most iconic venues, Christ the Redeemer is up to my right and we

couldn't ask for a better location. A bit of wind which will make it

tricky that nothing that asked boys from Coleraine cannot cope with. It

was an emotional in 2012 when Campbell picked up his bronze medal

and the Chambers Brothers came within a whisker of gold. This time

they hope their unwavering commitment and dedication to their

sport can deliver a lifelong ambition. I started rowing at

Coleraine in state at 15 years old, all those years of training have

built up the physiological base, the mental stability and technical

prowess and it all comes together on this track, and to cross first would

be an amazing feeling, to be Olympic champion representing Northern

Ireland makes it even more special. Richard's third Olympics, my second,

it is Alan's fourth. Going to the Olympics by itself is pretty

incredible but to come away with something is even better. All three

trying to become Northern Ireland's first gold medallist since 1988.

Borrowers will compete for Team GB at the right to athletes in team

Ireland who also hope to win medals on the water. That may govern and

Ryan Seaton finished 14th in London but they have improved since then

with notable victories around the world and in the latest of our

profiles of athletes, we feature the crew going for gold. Nigel Ringland

reports. They qualified their boat in the 49er class two years ago so

Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have had plenty of time to prepare for

these games. We've been out doing a lot of training because there's a

lot of environmental aspects to get on top of so we have been doing a

lot, so it is may made it feel not real until now. I'm looking forward

to seeing how we can perform under the pressure and there has been a

lot of hard work over the years that has gone into getting ready for this

and we're in a good place, we have a great team around us and Matt and I

comfortable. They have been crewmates for eight years and remain

close friends on land and sea. Our way from the boat he makes it so

easy because we spend a lot of time to gather and he's a great

character, he always has a joke and is singing or mucking around, we get

on well and it takes the seriousness away because it is very hard work at

times so it's nice to have someone there who relaxes you. We get on

well, he's easy-going and determined and hard-working and to have a

partner like Matt, you know he will turn up to training and put the

hours in, that is what we look for. But Rio will present its challenges,

not least concern about the water quality in the bay. Things come up

unexpected and problems and whether the water quality is good or bad,

whether there are issues elsewhere, you have to put it all in the back

of your mind and deal with that. A lot of Olympic sport is dealing with

problems as they come along and to ever deals with them best moves on,

so it would be nice to see their water quality get better but time

will tell. Matt and I have been able to adapt and we are good in all

conditions, I think in Rio we could get strong winds or a light, and

having the ability to perform through the different wind rages

also brings us confidence. And this likeable duo could well be team

Ireland's surprise package in the quest for medals. Ireland has not

won a sailing medal in 36 years at the Olympics. Let's hope that

changes here. We will have more from Rio tomorrow. Now let's get the

weather. We will not get weather like Rio. For early August it is not

too bad, today it was not always the case, we had heavy downpours and

gusty winds, and if we look at the chart for today it was looking quite

autumnal, quite an impressive low moving towards the north and west

and we have those isobars packed in, indicative of freshening winds and

this is how it looked along the County Down coast, we had some

choppy seas and that charge seems to have jumped all by itself but this

is how it looked with the cloudy skies swirling around that low,

there you can see the waves as those winds picked up. This evening we

still have gusty winds and we will still have some downpours which

could be quite heavy, some already have been through the afternoon,

especially across parts of the South. Tonight the wind will ease

down but will still be quite breezy, showers will carry on for a time

before they start to taper our way later in the night. It will not be

too chilly, still that mild feel to the car, temperatures around 12 or

13. Tomorrow we have the promise of a better day, more dry weather and

mostly a brighter day as well. To begin with it will still be breezy,

still some showers around, heavy in the south, but they will ease away

and by the afternoon they will become lighter, they will push away

to the south, a little breezy along the North Coast making it feel fresh

but other than that it is pleasant, more sunshine and towards the south

with a bit of shelter a few spots could hit 19 degrees. We hold onto

that dry weather tomorrow night, clear spells but we still have that

north-westerly wind so we will still have some clear spells and

temperatures falling back to single figures and we start Friday on a

drying out. There will be sunshine around, we get showers moving into

the day. The weekend at this point looks warmer temperature wise but a

fair amount of cloud, some rain especially on Saturday but hopefully

some dry weather as well. From everyone on the BBC Newsline

via Facebook and Twitter. From everyone on the BBC Newsline

team, have a good evening. Bye-bye. I think I love you. I love you too.

Let's move in together.