:00:00. > 3:59:59even at lower levels of light dusting to come as well. Winter not
:00:00. > :00:31.over yet. A ground-breaking victory for a
:00:32. > :00:37.Northern Ireland woman over the pension rights of unmarried couples.
:00:38. > :00:42.I know Lenny will be looking down on me and saying well done Denise.
:00:43. > :00:45.the renewable heat scandal - the Attorney-General says he may
:00:46. > :00:47.challenge the entire legality of the scheme.
:00:48. > :00:50.A woman abused as a child by her brother tells us
:00:51. > :00:51.why she's finally decided to speak out:
:00:52. > :00:59.I had my wee girl and I remember looking into her eyes and saying if
:01:00. > :01:03.anything happened to you I will protect you with all my life.
:01:04. > :01:06.The inquest into the death of James Fenton hears conflicting
:01:07. > :01:08.medical evidence about his care at a mental health unit.
:01:09. > :01:10.The woman scammed out of thousands of pounds
:01:11. > :01:15.by a man using a fake Northern Ireland identity.
:01:16. > :01:17.And another chilly one tonight though not as frosty.
:01:18. > :01:23.A Northern Ireland woman has won a landmark legal case over
:01:24. > :01:27.the pension rights of unmarried couples in the public sector.
:01:28. > :01:30.Denise Brewster from Coleraine was denied payments from her late
:01:31. > :01:34.partner's occupational pension after he died seven years ago.
:01:35. > :01:40.Denise Brewster had lived with her partner
:01:41. > :01:48.In the early hours of Boxing Day 2009, Lenny died suddenly, aged 43 -
:01:49. > :01:52.just two days after the couple had become engaged.
:01:53. > :01:55.Mr McMullan had paid into a pension scheme for 15 years
:01:56. > :02:01.But Denise was denied a survivor's pension as the couple
:02:02. > :02:08.were cohabiting and not married - but she didn't give up.
:02:09. > :02:18.This is what Lenny did want. We planned for our future, we planned
:02:19. > :02:25.for our death, we plan to grow old to gather and I think this case was
:02:26. > :02:27.about fighting for us and fighting for what we were to each other.
:02:28. > :02:29.The Local Government Pension scheme that Mr McMullan paid into allowed
:02:30. > :02:33.a surviving partner to be paid a pension in certain circumstances.
:02:34. > :02:36.One of those circumstances was that Mr McMullan would have filled in
:02:37. > :02:40.a nomination form indicating that Denise was to receive
:02:41. > :02:44.his pension if he died - but there was no trace of this form
:02:45. > :02:51.Denise argued against this and today the Supreme Court in London
:02:52. > :03:05.We decided that no justification for the interference was shown and
:03:06. > :03:11.therefore refusing this pension was unlawful discrimination. She is
:03:12. > :03:18.entitled to receive her pension and the nomination requirement should no
:03:19. > :03:23.longer apply. I was fighting for our relationship. As it went on you
:03:24. > :03:29.realise you are fighting for other families who have also been wrongly
:03:30. > :03:33.treated through these flawed pension schemes and I think when you know in
:03:34. > :03:37.your gut and your heart that you are making the right decision you have
:03:38. > :03:40.to just go with it and I know Lenny will be looking down on me and
:03:41. > :03:42.saying, well done, Denise. Denise Brewster will now
:03:43. > :03:44.receive her partner's pension and her lawyers say today's judgment
:03:45. > :03:47.will have significant implications for millions of cohabitees
:03:48. > :03:52.in relation to pension benefits. The Attorney General has said he may
:03:53. > :03:56.take a case which challenges the legality of the entire
:03:57. > :03:59.Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. John Larkin QC made
:04:00. > :04:02.the dramatic intervention Our agriculture and environment
:04:03. > :04:06.correspondent Conor Macauley So this is the Executive's top legal
:04:07. > :04:10.adviser potentially challenging the ministers he advises over this
:04:11. > :04:23.flawed energy scheme. Yes, it seems a little strange on
:04:24. > :04:29.the face of it. John Larkin's role is to advise on complex legal issues
:04:30. > :04:35.before the Executive. He turned up at the court where RHI boiler owners
:04:36. > :04:41.are challenging changes to their payments that were approved by the
:04:42. > :04:44.Assembly last month. They say the policy didn't have executive
:04:45. > :04:50.approval which they claim it should have had because of the controversy,
:04:51. > :04:56.so if something is controversial and cuts across ministries it is meant
:04:57. > :05:01.to have executive approval. At this point Mr Larkin said he was
:05:02. > :05:05.considering taking a case himself against the Department for the
:05:06. > :05:08.economy on the basis that the original 2012 scheme had not been
:05:09. > :05:09.brought to the Executive for that kind of approval.
:05:10. > :05:13.What might the implications of all this be?
:05:14. > :05:20.If he takes the case and wins it, it could mean the entire scheme would
:05:21. > :05:26.be deemed unlawful. The question is where that leaves us and nobody is
:05:27. > :05:33.sure what the outworking of that might be, but we are some way of
:05:34. > :05:38.that yet. He said today he was contemplating this, not that he was
:05:39. > :05:43.formally taking it, but you think if you went to the trouble of getting
:05:44. > :05:45.down to the Royal Courts of Justice to make this intervention, he is
:05:46. > :05:47.giving it serious consideration. When might we know
:05:48. > :05:56.what he has decided? It could be a matter of weeks. We
:05:57. > :06:02.heard that the case today with the boiler owners is listed for two days
:06:03. > :06:04.in March and if Mr Larkin takes a case, that will be heard at the same
:06:05. > :06:04.time. A South Armagh woman who was abused
:06:05. > :06:08.by her brother from the age of nine has waived her right to anonymity
:06:09. > :06:10.to encourage other people who've Her abuser, Gavin Paul Ferguson
:06:11. > :06:16.from Forkhill, was given a two-year Linda gets a hug from her
:06:17. > :06:24.three-year-old daughter. Her own childhood
:06:25. > :06:26.was initially happy. Linda was fostered and then adopted
:06:27. > :06:43.when she was 14 months old. I remember being this wee half
:06:44. > :06:49.Indian baby with big brown eyes and I was put into Little Miss
:06:50. > :06:56.competitions and I won them all and then I suppose that childhood was
:06:57. > :07:01.short lived and everybody from the outside thought I was the happiest
:07:02. > :07:05.girl with this big beautiful smile and deep down it wasn't the case.
:07:06. > :07:07.From the age of nine she was abused by her brother,
:07:08. > :07:21.It happened for a few years. I never told anybody and that is my biggest
:07:22. > :07:27.regret in life, never sharing that with anybody. The abuse continued
:07:28. > :07:30.and then I met my partner and he asked me one day if something
:07:31. > :07:32.happened and I told him. A life-changing event
:07:33. > :07:43.was the key to her reporting I had my wee girl and something
:07:44. > :07:49.changed, I remember looking into her eyes and thinking, if anyone ever
:07:50. > :07:54.hurt you, I will protect you with all my life and I suppose that is
:07:55. > :07:59.the reason I went forward because my daughter gave me the courage and
:08:00. > :08:03.it's the best thing I ever did. I will thank some day when she reads
:08:04. > :08:05.the paper for watches this back, it's because of her.
:08:06. > :08:07.Linda has waived her right to anonymity to encourage others
:08:08. > :08:09.who are being abused to come forward.
:08:10. > :08:19.I knew that my face and my name would be out there about being this
:08:20. > :08:26.victim or survivor of sexual abuse but I felt it was so important
:08:27. > :08:31.because to move on for me and for other women and men and two river
:08:32. > :08:40.has been a victim of abuse to feel brave to come forward. Messages of
:08:41. > :08:45.support are a comfort to Linda, whose adoptive family has sided with
:08:46. > :08:51.the abuser. The last couple of years have been tough and I am so thankful
:08:52. > :08:53.to my partner and my kids and my partner's family because they have
:08:54. > :08:57.stuck by me and that's what they family is, and I have my wee family
:08:58. > :08:59.now. Details of organisations offering
:09:00. > :09:00.information and support with sexual abuse are available
:09:01. > :09:02.at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free at any time
:09:03. > :09:05.to hear recorded information The inquest into the death
:09:06. > :09:13.of a 22-year-old man who was found in the grounds
:09:14. > :09:15.of the Ulster Hospital has heard conflicting evidence
:09:16. > :09:19.about the way he was cared for. James Fenton's body lay undiscovered
:09:20. > :09:23.for ten weeks after he climbed over the fence of a mental
:09:24. > :09:26.health unit in July 2010. How was 22-year-old James Fenton
:09:27. > :09:33.cared for at the Ulster Hospital? And how was he able to leave
:09:34. > :09:36.the smoking area The inquest heard that
:09:37. > :09:40.Professor Seena Fazel of Oxford University wrote a report
:09:41. > :09:44.suggesting the South Eastern Trust's He thought James should have been
:09:45. > :09:51.diagnosed as clinically depressed, and put on a high state
:09:52. > :09:54.of observation so he was always accompanied -
:09:55. > :09:56.and probably could Professor Fazel gives
:09:57. > :10:01.evidence tomorrow. But two other senior
:10:02. > :10:04.psychiatrists giving evidence Dr Neta Chada from the nearby
:10:05. > :10:10.Southern Trust agreed with the diagnosis made
:10:11. > :10:12.by the junior doctor who spoke with James
:10:13. > :10:14.at length, and with the level Another psychiatrist
:10:15. > :10:21.had the same opinion. That was the South Eastern Trust's
:10:22. > :10:24.own Director of Mental Health, But he went on to describe
:10:25. > :10:29.Ward 27 at the Ulster, and the eight attempts by patients
:10:30. > :10:32.to leave it via the smoking area in the year before
:10:33. > :10:37.James' disappearance. Dr Quigley agreed that
:10:38. > :10:39.Ward 27 is Dr Chada called the smoking
:10:40. > :10:45.area "grim" and "not appropriate at all",
:10:46. > :10:47.but added, "We're not building In fact, it's five years
:10:48. > :10:52.since the Trust presented the Department of Health
:10:53. > :10:56.with a business case for a much But then, it's almost seven years
:10:57. > :11:01.since James went missing, and his family still knows neither
:11:02. > :11:05.the cause nor Still to come on BBC
:11:06. > :11:15.Newsline: Still tearing up the fairway
:11:16. > :11:17.at the age of 86 - the City of Derry golfer
:11:18. > :11:26.with plenty of drive. A woman from Germany has been
:11:27. > :11:30.scammed out of more than ?100,000 after she was duped into paying
:11:31. > :11:33.the money to a man from It's prompted a warning
:11:34. > :11:38.from the head of a UK-wide trading standards scam team for people
:11:39. > :11:41.here to be vigilant This woman has come to Belfast
:11:42. > :11:50.from Munich on a mission. She's looking for a man
:11:51. > :11:53.she met on the internet But there were more
:11:54. > :12:00.than heartstrings attached He claimed he needed
:12:01. > :12:11.a life-saving operation - I need my money back for my car,
:12:12. > :12:15.my home, everything. Some people might think
:12:16. > :12:23.you were very naive to send that amount of money to someone
:12:24. > :12:25.you have never met. Pissama says she thought she'd get
:12:26. > :12:32.the money back and was given a contract drawn up by a law firm
:12:33. > :12:36.based here on Belfast's But the law company named
:12:37. > :12:45.on the document doesn't exist. There is nothing here except a
:12:46. > :12:47.restaurant and a cafe. I've also been to the house
:12:48. > :12:52.in Newtownabbey where she was told the man lived but no-one there has
:12:53. > :12:55.ever heard of a man calling She saw a photograph of man
:12:56. > :13:06.on an internet dating site She then received scores
:13:07. > :13:11.of photographs of this man The person then claimed
:13:12. > :13:16.he was a widower and asks for a loan to finance a "life-saving
:13:17. > :13:21.operation" in Dubai. She obliges, sends the money
:13:22. > :13:23.to locations abroad, So who is this man
:13:24. > :13:26.in the photographs? We managed to track him down
:13:27. > :13:39.to a small town in Missouri His images were copied from Facebook
:13:40. > :13:42.without his knowledge and then used by the scammers.
:13:43. > :13:45.The photos were on Facebook but they were of my life.
:13:46. > :13:47.I was probably a victim for two reasons.
:13:48. > :13:49.One, I have children and that story probably helped supplement
:13:50. > :13:56.And also my Facebook settings, as far as security was concerned,
:13:57. > :14:02.Today the head of the UK's Trading Standards anti-scam team
:14:03. > :14:04.warned romance scams are on the increase.
:14:05. > :14:13.Lots of people fall victim to romance scams.
:14:14. > :14:19.There was an increase in reporting this year of people reporting
:14:20. > :14:24.romance scams, with more men reporting it but we find that is
:14:25. > :14:27.only the tip of the iceberg because not many people report it, so this
:14:28. > :14:29.is a very common scam. The PSNI confirmed that a woman
:14:30. > :14:31.reported an international scam Sources say a report has been
:14:32. > :14:35.made to German police, The Irish Ambassador to the UK has
:14:36. > :14:39.admitted it will be impossible to monitor all the border
:14:40. > :14:42.crossings after Brexit. Dan Mulhall was giving evidence
:14:43. > :14:45.to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster,
:14:46. > :14:48.which is investigating the future of the border
:14:49. > :14:52.after the UK leaves the EU. So how many roads now cross
:14:53. > :14:55.the border and how might they Our political correspondent Enda
:14:56. > :15:01.McClafferty has been finding out. It may not look like much but this
:15:02. > :15:05.line in the road is set to dominate Brexit negotiations in Brussels
:15:06. > :15:09.for the next two years. That's because this will soon
:15:10. > :15:12.be the new frontier And make no mistake about it -
:15:13. > :15:18.the big challenge will be controlling the movement of people
:15:19. > :15:22.across this line. Hundreds of border roads
:15:23. > :15:28.which were blocked and bombed by the Army during the Troubles
:15:29. > :15:32.and closed for decades They were all reopened
:15:33. > :15:47.in the early '90s. If they think for one moment what it
:15:48. > :15:53.will cost to try and police this quarter, its mission impossible. It
:15:54. > :15:55.would cost billions. Donald Trump's wall will go up easier.
:15:56. > :15:57.The border runs for 300 miles and during the Troubles
:15:58. > :16:03.No wonder the Irish Ambasssador to the UK made this
:16:04. > :16:19.It is simply not possible, even if someone wanted to, the effort
:16:20. > :16:24.involved, I just don't think it is remotely possible to think in terms
:16:25. > :16:25.of having a border that would really control every movement of goods and
:16:26. > :16:26.people. This man spent 40 years
:16:27. > :16:28.as a customs officer He's in no doubt of the task now
:16:29. > :16:42.facing his former colleagues. I've been told that there were three
:16:43. > :16:47.uniformed customs officers left in Donegal. That will not be
:16:48. > :16:52.satisfactory in the future and people talk about putting cameras on
:16:53. > :16:57.roads, how long do you think a camera would last around some of the
:16:58. > :16:58.border roads? I reckon 15 minutes after dark there will be no more
:16:59. > :17:00.camera. He lives on the border and believes
:17:01. > :17:14.we are being fed propaganda. I think we're getting a bit ahead of
:17:15. > :17:18.ourselves. We haven't actually told the European Unions were leaving
:17:19. > :17:22.yet. We haven't a clue what we will be doing and there is all this
:17:23. > :17:24.scaremongering which I don't think is helpful to anybody.
:17:25. > :17:27.It took a big effort to re-open the border but the next obstacle
:17:28. > :17:31.post-Brexit may not be as easy to clear.
:17:32. > :17:33.A High Court judge is considering a case brought against
:17:34. > :17:36.the Northern Ireland Executive over its failure to adopt
:17:37. > :17:42.Supporters of the language protested outside the court this morning
:17:43. > :17:44.as the Judicial Review got under way.
:17:45. > :17:50.A High Court action is being brought by the Irish-language group Conradh
:17:51. > :17:52.na Gaeilge over what it claims is the Northern Ireland
:17:53. > :17:56.Executive's failure to adopt an Irish-language strategy.
:17:57. > :17:58.Supporters argue that this was agreed at St Andrews
:17:59. > :18:02.in 2006 and included in the programme for government.
:18:03. > :18:05.The court was told that more than ten years later there's
:18:06. > :18:07.still no strategy in place for the Irish language
:18:08. > :18:11.Only once during that time has the minister responsible
:18:12. > :18:14.at the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure placed a strategy
:18:15. > :18:18.before the Executive committee and that was rejected.
:18:19. > :18:23.A lawyer for the Executive stressed that between 2012 and and 2016
:18:24. > :18:26.there had been a detailed process of drafting and consultation
:18:27. > :18:30.involving active engagement, although he agreed there had been
:18:31. > :18:44.It will be helpful what happens today in court, we were very taken
:18:45. > :18:49.that the judge looked at the main point that this has been dragging on
:18:50. > :18:53.for nearly ten years with no strategy agreed by the Executive and
:18:54. > :19:00.that is what they are legally obliged to do, so we are confident
:19:01. > :19:04.that he took that on board. The government's lawyer denied there had
:19:05. > :19:11.been any inertia or sham process by the Executive. The legal
:19:12. > :19:15.representatives for the Irish language group countered that the
:19:16. > :19:21.Executive had a duty to adopt and not just debate that strategy. The
:19:22. > :19:24.judge, Mr Justice Maguire, reserved his judgment as he wanted to
:19:25. > :19:31.consider all the points put before him.
:19:32. > :19:37.A European arrest warrant has been obtained for a suspect in the murder
:19:38. > :19:41.of David Black. Damian McLauchlan from Ardboe in County Tyrone was due
:19:42. > :19:47.to stand trial this month but fled while on bail. He was facing charges
:19:48. > :19:51.including aiding and abetting in the murder of the prison officer, who
:19:52. > :19:52.was shot while on his way to work in 2012.
:19:53. > :19:55.The Prime Minister says she's sure whatever is necessary will be done
:19:56. > :19:57.to ensure the findings of the Historical Abuse Inquiry
:19:58. > :20:00.Theresa May spoke out during Prime Minister's Questions
:20:01. > :20:03.after she was asked by the Ulster Unionist MP
:20:04. > :20:05.Tom Elliott if the inquiry would be implemented if
:20:06. > :20:23.I encourage all parties to work very hard to ensure that.
:20:24. > :20:26.I do not want the benefits of progress to be undone,
:20:27. > :20:29.but I am sure, looking ahead, that whatever is necessary will be
:20:30. > :20:32.done to ensure that the findings of the report are taken into account
:20:33. > :20:40.But in the case of one popular Londonderry golfer
:20:41. > :20:44.Keiron Tourish reports on a man leaving those half his age
:20:45. > :20:50.86-year-old Bert Whoriskey took up golf 40 years ago
:20:51. > :20:53.and it's one of the best decisions he's ever made.
:20:54. > :20:56.He's still winning competitions with impressive results
:20:57. > :21:03.and says it's all down to a positive attitude.
:21:04. > :21:12.I never tire of the game. If you look at the game, I can hope
:21:13. > :21:15.tomorrow to beat what I'd have done today, so it's a challenge all the
:21:16. > :21:19.time, it's a challenge every day. There's great admiration
:21:20. > :21:29.of Bert Whoriskey at his club. Bert is an inspiration to us all. At
:21:30. > :21:34.his age to be out playing golf is amazing and to be able to play like
:21:35. > :21:36.he plays, all of us could learn something. He's a great inspiration
:21:37. > :21:39.and an example for us. As he strides the fairways, Bert
:21:40. > :21:49.Whoriskey offered his take on life. Never worry because Rory doesn't
:21:50. > :21:58.help anything, it doesn't cure anything, it's the same tomorrow as
:21:59. > :22:02.it was before so don't worry. Bert says his advice to anyone would be
:22:03. > :22:07.to get off the couch and get active. He says the golf course is his
:22:08. > :22:11.little piece of paradise and he always wants to get out here.
:22:12. > :22:16.Funnily enough, he says the wife agrees.
:22:17. > :22:25.Wise words! What a man. Cecilia is here. Good weather for golfing? It
:22:26. > :22:29.was today, the skies and sunshine, not much breeze and I saw that
:22:30. > :22:35.gentleman didn't have a coat on and so isn't too worried about the cold.
:22:36. > :22:39.A clear start to the night at clear skies last night led to frosty and
:22:40. > :22:45.slippery weather. This playground looks completely white, my car was
:22:46. > :22:53.like an ice box this morning and temperatures felt 2-5 at
:22:54. > :22:57.Katesbridge last night, so tonight, although it will be dry and clear to
:22:58. > :23:04.begin with it will not be as frosty, we have a little cloud edging in
:23:05. > :23:09.from the west, it should stay dry and we also have a breeze picking up
:23:10. > :23:12.from the east so it will not be as camp but there could be on pockets
:23:13. > :23:18.of frost through the night and first thing tomorrow but it will not be as
:23:19. > :23:22.frosty or slippery as this morning and it will feel cold tomorrow
:23:23. > :23:28.because of the breeze from the South East. To begin with temperatures in
:23:29. > :23:34.most places a little above freezing, old spots of frost here and there,
:23:35. > :23:39.it will be dry, not as clear and sunny but sunshine here and there
:23:40. > :23:45.and that sets us up for the day, largely dry but feeling cold in a
:23:46. > :23:48.bitter breeze from the south-east, some sunshine but also areas of
:23:49. > :23:54.cloud and temperatures slightly lower. With breaks arriving at times
:23:55. > :23:58.they will continue on and off tomorrow night so it will be cold
:23:59. > :24:02.with frost, maybe one or two wintry flurries which could lead to some
:24:03. > :24:08.ice on Friday morning and that cold weather continues. Today we saw
:24:09. > :24:13.temperatures up to seven or eight, by Friday we will have a breeze with
:24:14. > :24:19.one or two flurries so-called but not a lot of rain, it looks like it
:24:20. > :24:22.will stay mostly dry through the weekend, continue to be cold and
:24:23. > :24:28.although mostly dry, hot flurries here and there. Saturday looks like
:24:29. > :24:35.a bit of sunshine from time to time, most places dry, cold in the breeze
:24:36. > :24:40.at a day for getting out and walking but be careful because there will be
:24:41. > :24:43.some frost at night time and the morning which could mean slippery
:24:44. > :24:53.conditions, but with the breeze picking up we will not have to worry
:24:54. > :24:55.too much about fog. I'll be back with the late news at 10:30pm.
:24:56. > :24:59.You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.