13/09/2016 BBC Newsline

The widow of the murdered police officer Stephen Carroll has

expressed her anger at a jail visit by Sinn Fein politicians

Three members of the Assembly's justice committee went to Maghaberry

last week and met Brendan McConville and another Republican prisoner.

Sinn Fein says doubts have been raised over the convictions

of the two men jailed for killing Constable Carroll.

Our Political Correspondent Enda McClafferty reports.

Constable Stephen Carroll was the first PSNI officer to be

He was shot dead when his patrol was ambushed when responding

Three years later, these two men, Brendan McConville

and John Paul Wootton, were convicted of his murder.

Two years ago, they failed in a legal bid to have their

At the time, the Lord Chief Justice said he and his fellow appeal judges

were satisfied the guilty verdicts were correct.

But McConville and Wooten have continued to protest innocence.

Last week, a Sinn Fein delegation met the men in Maghaberry Prison.

It was led by Declan Kearney on the Justice Committee.

This is how he revealed details of the visit,

putting a video on his Twitter account.

We discussed the very serious concerns that relate

to the conviction of both of those prisoners.

Today's visit represents an opportunity for our party

to become increasingly informed as to the overall

But the visit has angered Stephen Carroll's widow.

I would ask any one of them who was sat on the court for 13

weeks that I sat in each and every day for 13 weeks,

at the original trial, I heard how my husband's brain

I saw the actual gun that killed him.

I saw the reactions of the perpetrators,

Today, Pat Sheehan, a former prisoner and was part

of the delegation, defended the decision to meet Brendan

I can understand that Kate Carroll is hurt and that the suffering

she has had to deal with has been made worse by this.

However, to go back to the point, everyone is entitled to the highest

No matter who they are or where they are.

The DUP have dismissed the visit as a stunt,

which they say will only cause more hurt for the Carroll family.

They are convicted murderers, they have gone through the Court

of Appeal and the appeal was thrown out.

In fact, one of their sentences was increased.

So I think we have to be mindful that these individuals

Whatever the political fallout from the visit, Brendan McConville

and John Paul Wootton are still fighting to

They have taken their challenge to the criminal cases review

commission in the hope that it will refer their case back

There's a security alert in North Belfast.

Homes have been evacuated following the discovery

of a suspicious object in the Mount Vernon area.

Traffic is being diverted away from the Shore Road,

and Army technical officers are at the scene.

There was a suspicious device left on the windscreen of a car at Mount

Vernon house at the facts behind us. In doing so, the perpetrator has had

the whole front section of the fact evacuated, caused disruption to

citizens in this area. In what's been described

as a devastating blow for the North West, Ryanair

is stopping its flights from the City of Derry Airport

to London Stansted from the end The local council which runs

the airport says it will also lose its summer flight

to Faro in Portugal. Here's our North West

reporter Keiron Tourish. Since 1999, Ryanair has carried

4 million passengers through the City of Derry Airport,

the most popular route to London Stansted with 120,000

passengers annually. But it is ending that

service next March. Liverpool flights will also be

reduced, although Glasgow will continue operating

at current levels. The council admits the loss

of the London route is a major blow. It is devastating losing

a connection to London. Obviously, Ryanair have been at this

airport for some time and I'm pleased to say they will

remain a major player, operating next summer

to Glasgow and Liverpool. But in terms of the

London connection, The plans that are in place

are to replace the London Stansted route with a much more frequent -

double if not triple - daily service to one

of the London airports. It costs rate payers

?2 million annually. We are going to be involved

in the process of securing an alternative carrier

for the London route through a public service obligation

mechanism with the Department We are working on that

at the moment. The council says the airport

is of critical importance Generating as it does

?16 million each year. The council is currently in talks

with the Stormont Executive and hopes to secure funding

of more than ?2 million The police ombudsman has made

a new appeal for information about a man who died

after he was arrested by police Gerard McMahon died after police

used CS spray to detain him following a disturbance

near the Grand Opera House The Police Ombudsman's office says

Mr McMahon left a nightclub in Pattersons Place shortly

after 2am, going to Howard Street and on to the Markets area,

before making his way The Ombudsman wants to hear

from anyone who saw him A man who was almost 2.5 times over

the alcohol limit and drove away from police at up to 90 mph has

admitted causing the death of a passenger

by dangerous driving. A car driven by 20-year-old Connor

Jeremia Briody was carrying five passengers when it crashed

into a roundabout at Johnston Bridge He had driven off at speed

when approached by police Briody, from Ferney Rise

in the town, will be The East Belfast MP, Gavin Robinson,

has claimed police officers have been asked to stop bail checks

on a man accused of murdering the prison officer

Adrian Ismay in March. The DUP politician was speaking

during a Westminster debate Here's our political

correspondent, Stephen Walker. Libya has compensated US victims

of terrorism, but UK victims Gavin Robinson used the debate

to highlight the car bomb attack on prison officer Adrian Ismay,

in which Semtex was believed The MP claimed the PSNI

were stopping bail checks on the man I received information that PSNI

chiefs sent an e-mail to the officers not to conduct bail

checks because there were far too Offending the sensitivities of a man

who is alleged to be the murder Tonight, the PSNI

responded, saying... In today's debate, Tom Elliott calls

on Martin McGuinness to help. Indeed, I believe the Deputy First

Minister could give support and help and assistance,

but he is not prepared to do If we are to deal with the past

and deal with these aspects of Libya, Martin McGuinness

and his colleagues need to come out and be absolutely

clear where they stood. In response, Sinn Fein said victims

have a right to the truth and described Tom Elliott's remarks

as a stunt. Ian Paisley said those

seeking compensation They are sick and tired

of the dilly-dallying and delays. Many of them are coming to,

let's face it, the latter The Southdown MP Margaret Ritchie

said victims' rights What happened by

Colonel Gaddafi and the Libyan government in supplying those

weapons to the IRA was both immoral, The Foreign Office Minister Tobias

Ellwood said he wants to see compensation paid and he is to raise

the matter when he meets 100 years ago today, the great

writer Roald Dahl was born. And as many schools remember him

on this special day, one in County Tyrone has

a particular reason to celebrate. Primate Dixon Primary School

in Coalisland has a poem penned by Roald Dahl for children

at that very school. It is the poem that was lost

for almost 30 years. Tucked away in a dusty drawer,

this previously-unpublished rhyme by Roald Dahl was written

for primary five pupils Now this letter from the man behind

Matilda, the BFG and the Witches No-one had any idea of the replies

since that time, and four years ago, one of our teachers were squaring up

a desk when she came We couldn't believe

the find that it was. Roald Dahl has links around

the world, from Norway And his works have also had

a lasting impact on pupils at Primate Dixon Primary

School in Coalisland. What is your favourite

Roald Dahl book? Here, it is just another way

for the author's magical There's no whacks on the bum

when you can't do a sum, instead Football, and in the Danske Bank

Premiership, the match between Glentoran and Glenavon ended

in a 2-2 draw. The weather outlook

now with Barra Best. We get some clear skies tonight, but

chilly in the countryside. Towards the EEC, cloud might bring wet

weather. But it will be 11 are 30 degrees for most of us. Tomorrow, it

will be mainly try. Scattered showers here and there, hit and

miss, not for everyone. If you are travelling tomorrow, the best of the

heat will be towards the south west of England. The further north and

west you are, cooler feeling. Scattered showers coming into some

Western areas of Ireland. We will get the sunnier gaps coming in of

the Irish Sea, temperatures 19 or 20 degrees in County Durham and... If

air out of dry weather expected, the rain sitting in the Atlantic could

snatch in for a time. A bit of a cooler day on Thursday, temperatures

between 16 and 18 degrees. Some rain in the forecast, but not a wash-out.

Sunny spells expected. The odd scattered shower on Friday, Saturday

is a cooler feeling day.