:00:00. > :00:07.Hello and welcome to BBC Newsline. for us with the latest
:00:08. > :00:18.A paediatric pathologist has resigned over interventions
:00:19. > :00:20.by Northern Ireland's Attorney General on abortion laws surrounding
:00:21. > :00:23.Dr Caroline Gannon investigated the deaths of babies -
:00:24. > :00:25.including those in the womb or stillbirths.
:00:26. > :00:28.She said the final straw was having to advise a couple to use a picnic
:00:29. > :00:31.cooler bag to return their baby's remains here following
:00:32. > :00:35.Here's our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly.
:00:36. > :00:36.Doctor Caroline Gannon's job involves investigating
:00:37. > :00:50.She can also carry out postmortem examinations after an abortion.
:00:51. > :00:54.However, abortion on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormality
:00:55. > :00:56.She says some couples who have travelled
:00:57. > :00:59.to England for termination after a diagnosis can face problems
:01:00. > :01:09.bringing remains home for a postmortem.
:01:10. > :01:13.One K is involved in advising a couple to use a cooler bag stuffed
:01:14. > :01:16.with ice packs. If this has happened
:01:17. > :01:18.in Northern Ireland, there would be hospital processes
:01:19. > :01:20.in place, where someone else would be able to bring the body
:01:21. > :01:23.to the mortuary to ensure But they were on their own,
:01:24. > :01:27.they had to transport their own baby's body back in a picnic cooler
:01:28. > :01:30.in the boot of the car I can't see how that
:01:31. > :01:42.is compassionate care. Doctor Gannon says she feels
:01:43. > :01:49.the role of the pathologist is under greater scrutiny because of legal
:01:50. > :01:51.interventions by the I think he was the tipping point,
:01:52. > :02:20.the Attorney General, he has made my professional life
:02:21. > :02:24.here untenable and I do not consider that I can work under those
:02:25. > :02:31.guidelines and rulings any longer. In a statement to the BBC, the
:02:32. > :02:48.Attorney General said... He added
:02:49. > :02:50.there is no clinical definition of the term fatal
:02:51. > :02:57.foetal abnormality. Dr Gannon says parents never should
:02:58. > :03:00.have been placed in a position a cooler to transport
:03:01. > :03:03.the remains of their baby Imagine, we were talking
:03:04. > :03:15.about places to buy a cooler from. The father of the young woman who
:03:16. > :03:30.had the abortion broke his silence. I see nothing wrong
:03:31. > :03:37.at all with what we did. It's the most humane thing one
:03:38. > :03:39.could do for one's daughter, to try and end the type of pain
:03:40. > :03:42.she is suffering. We pray everyday she will have
:03:43. > :03:57.the child she longs for. The last thing she would ever do
:03:58. > :03:59.would be end the life of the child if there was any other alternative.
:04:00. > :04:01.The BBC understands other couples have used various modes
:04:02. > :04:03.of transport, including a parcel courier company to carry
:04:04. > :04:07.Prison officers at Maghaberry have been criticised for not intervening
:04:08. > :04:16.as they watched a young mentally-ill prisoner blind himself in his cell.
:04:17. > :04:18.The family of Sean Lynch have spoken of their devastation
:04:19. > :04:20.about the incident, which happened two years ago.
:04:21. > :04:22.An investigation by the Prisoner Ombudsman recommended sixty-three
:04:23. > :04:24.changes to ensure a similar incident never happens again.
:04:25. > :04:31.Sean Lynch was a promising young footballer but his career was ruined
:04:32. > :04:39.He's now blind after self harming in Maghaberry jail.
:04:40. > :04:47.On the night he blinded himself, several prison officers
:04:48. > :04:51.were checking on him but didn't take any immediate action.
:04:52. > :04:54.The family of Sean Lynch said he has paid the price
:04:55. > :05:02.It is heart-wrenching to think these people could watch Sean for that
:05:03. > :05:08.length of time and let him do that to himself and not intervene.
:05:09. > :05:12.He cried for help, they watched him, they went to the door,
:05:13. > :05:15.they looked through it and not one of them thought
:05:16. > :05:23.Today's report by the Prison Ombudsman criticises the prison
:05:24. > :05:29.The reports says "It seems remarkable that several experienced
:05:30. > :05:32.officers felt it was neither necessary nor appropriate
:05:33. > :05:37.to enter his cell to prevent Mr Lynch from self-harming further."
:05:38. > :05:42.The report says they didn't not realise the seriousness
:05:43. > :05:49.And they feared he would attack them and take the prison keys off them.
:05:50. > :05:51.He had attacked a prison officer two days previously.
:05:52. > :05:54.But the Prisoner Ombudsman wasn't convinced.
:05:55. > :05:58.He said the officers' "duty of care was trumped by security concerns
:05:59. > :06:03.that appear to have had little basis in reality."
:06:04. > :06:10.The report lists a series of changes that are needed
:06:11. > :06:20.There are 63 recommendations for improvement.
:06:21. > :06:23.He's never going to see his niece and nephew again.
:06:24. > :06:25.It has been two years since he's seen them and they've grown
:06:26. > :06:31.Every time I look at him, my heart breaks.
:06:32. > :06:34.The family say that lessons must be learned from this case.
:06:35. > :06:37.The family of 25-year-old Sean Lynch say his life will never be
:06:38. > :06:39.the same again and for that, they blame the prison service.
:06:40. > :06:41.Well, earlier I spoke to the director general
:06:42. > :06:44.of the prison service, Sue McAllister, and I asked her why
:06:45. > :06:50.prison staff had not intervened to stop Sean Lynch harming himself.
:06:51. > :06:54.None of us were there on that day, on that landing at the end
:06:55. > :06:56.of a period of days in which Sean Lynch had behaved
:06:57. > :06:59.violently and threatened staff, demonstrated an intention to run out
:07:00. > :07:04.What I would say is that our staff exercise their judgment at that time
:07:05. > :07:14.on that day and it is easy for us with the benefit of hindsight to say
:07:15. > :07:16.what they could or should have done was different to
:07:17. > :07:20.But they found those security concerns had little basis
:07:21. > :07:22.in reality and his condition was beyond what officers
:07:23. > :07:30.That is absolutely not something for me to comment on,
:07:31. > :07:37.whether someone should be in prison or not is not a matter for me.
:07:38. > :07:41.Is he not the perfect example of somebody, a mentally-ill
:07:42. > :07:46.prisoner who should not be in prison and at the very least
:07:47. > :07:49.if the only thing at your disposal there is the hospital prison, why
:07:50. > :07:55.It didn't come out of the blue, he was behaving erratically.
:07:56. > :08:01.Why was he not in the hospital in the prison?
:08:02. > :08:03.You mention two things, should he have been
:08:04. > :08:14.But you are the chief executive, your institutional responsibility
:08:15. > :08:20.If you were the parent, wife or mother of this young man
:08:21. > :08:23.would you not have wanted the prison service to keep him safe and prevent
:08:24. > :08:30.We have no control over who comes to our gates,
:08:31. > :08:38.There are no prison hospitals nowadays, health care in
:08:39. > :08:40.prison is provided by the Southeastern Health
:08:41. > :08:46.and their ability to provide inpatient care inside
:08:47. > :08:53.They do not have the resources to do that.
:08:54. > :08:56.They actually give prisoners as patients the equivalent level
:08:57. > :09:05.of health care they would receive in the community.
:09:06. > :09:07.The Irish government is to order an inquiry
:09:08. > :09:09.into the controversial ?1.2 billion sale of Northern Ireland
:09:10. > :09:13.The deal is already being investigated by the Uk's
:09:14. > :09:15.National Crime Agency, amid a series of allegations
:09:16. > :09:20.The announcement came as the Republic's public spending
:09:21. > :09:21.watchdog, the Controller and Auditor General,
:09:22. > :09:24.found that NAMA failed to get proper value for the Northern
:09:25. > :09:31.It said this may have resulted in a loss to the Irish
:09:32. > :09:39.NAMA has said that it categorically rejects the Auditor's findings.
:09:40. > :09:41.Several people here have been diagnosed
:09:42. > :09:44.The infection - which is spread primarily by mosquito -
:09:45. > :09:46.has been linked to thousands of babies being born
:09:47. > :09:51.It's understood one person was treated as recently
:09:52. > :09:54.Those infected are believed to have travelled outside
:09:55. > :10:05.The Department for Infrastructure has revealed details of a major plan
:10:06. > :10:07.for new greenways and towpaths across Northern Ireland.
:10:08. > :10:10.Over 1,000 kilometres could be developed for leisure activities
:10:11. > :10:11.such as cycling, walking, and jogging.
:10:12. > :10:24.Greenways and tow path thorough feature of daily life in some areas
:10:25. > :10:29.will stop their popularity growing. From early morning until late in the
:10:30. > :10:34.evening the roots are busy. If you still on splendid days of sunshine
:10:35. > :10:39.like this will stop there are ongoing problems, supply and demand.
:10:40. > :10:44.In Belfast, tow path and greenways are only found in part of the city
:10:45. > :10:51.and across Northern Ireland, they are very scarce. There is new a new
:10:52. > :10:57.plan from Stormont. The plan is about joining these bits together
:10:58. > :11:01.into a primary network of around 450 kilometres. The plan also will
:11:02. > :11:05.propose a secondary network of about 600: it is bringing greenways close
:11:06. > :11:11.to all areas of Northern Ireland. The campaign group leaves that plan
:11:12. > :11:20.Mitch is its vision to change the landscape of greenways. -- matches.
:11:21. > :11:23.There's about 600 miles off this use ways and canals and it is a great
:11:24. > :11:29.opportunity to open these others greenways. Those who use the
:11:30. > :11:38.existing greenways are enthusiastic. It keeps people off the road,. The
:11:39. > :11:43.more the merrier. The full details will be released in a few weeks and
:11:44. > :11:46.then we will know how long it will take and how much of a cost.
:11:47. > :11:52.The weather forecast now, with Geoff Maskell.
:11:53. > :11:59.Hello, good evening. It has been a beautiful day today and another day
:12:00. > :12:04.of mild temperatures to come tomorrow. Although with a different
:12:05. > :12:09.feel. Tonight, guys cladding over and that will hold the temperatures
:12:10. > :12:15.well into mid-teens as we go through the night. -- the clouding over.
:12:16. > :12:19.Tomorrow, that cloud stays with us. While temperatures are similar to
:12:20. > :12:24.today, the feel of the day will be quite different. Cloud sitting over
:12:25. > :12:28.us in a bit of a blanket, a grave feel and with it comes the risk of
:12:29. > :12:33.some patchy and light rain. Rain won't amount to much in terms of
:12:34. > :12:39.rain hitting the ground but certainly giving a damp fields of
:12:40. > :12:43.the day. It will eventually clear out and we move into some cooler air
:12:44. > :12:47.on Thursday night and into Friday morning. There are a couple of
:12:48. > :12:52.weather fronts sitting over Ireland as we go through the day tomorrow,
:12:53. > :12:56.that will hold the cloud above us. In front of it, we have warm
:12:57. > :13:00.temperatures across parts of Great Britain, up to 30 degrees. That will
:13:01. > :13:06.be enough to set off some sharp showers. Weather warnings in place
:13:07. > :13:16.because of potential heavy thundery downpours. Then we have brighter,
:13:17. > :13:20.cooler air, temperatures down on the values we have been used to. Still
:13:21. > :13:21.very respectable for the time of year and staying pretty good all the
:13:22. > :13:24.way through to the weekend. Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25am
:13:25. > :13:27.during Breakfast here on BBC One. You can also keep updated with
:13:28. > :13:30.News Online.