Publication
Murder trial over US road crash that killed NI student
A man is to face a murder charge in the United States over a horror road crash that killed four students, including a Northern Ireland-born woman. Asha Weir (21) died after a car struck her and fellow students Deslyn Williams (21), Niamh Rolston (20)...
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EX-PSNI man quits as chief constable hours before hearing on misconduct
A former senior PSNI officer has dramatically resigned as chief constable of an English police force just hours before a hearing in which he faced allegations of serious misconduct. Chris Noble (right) made the decision on the eve of a public...
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‘At 19, I was advised by health care professionals to get pregnant in order to alleviate the symptoms...’
A west Belfast woman who was told her debilitating symptoms of endometriosis were just an excuse to get time off school has opened her own clinic to support others suffering from the condition. Clíodhna Hughes (27) suffered for 10 years before she got...
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Four in 10 SF voters believe party is failing on Casement
Four in 10 Sinn Féin voters believe the reported significant downscaling of Casement Park’s redevelopment is a major political failure for the party. In a new Lucidtalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph, two-thirds of all voters say the revision of the...
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DUP drops to five-year low in wake of Donaldson scandal as SF support is also on slide
The DUP has seen its support drop in the wake of the Jeffrey Donaldson sex abuse scandal, plummeting to its lowest level in five years, a new poll shows. It has fallen three points to 15pc, with the UUP now the most popular unionist party in Northern...
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Four in 10 DUP voters believe party hasn’t told full truth on Donaldson
Four in 10 DUP voters don’t believe the party has been fully honest about what it knows of Jeffrey Donaldson’s double life, a Lucidtalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph shows. It also found the DUP is the party in Northern Ireland least trusted by its...
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NI hotel offered luxury stay as prize at hard-right dinner
A top hotel offered a prize worth well over £1,000 to a hard-right gathering which included conspiracy theorists and a ‘pro-infection’ anti-vaccine speaker. The Galgorm Resort near Ballymena put up a luxury stay for attendees at CPAC GB, an...
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Orangemen and DUP want Dublin cash to help pay for King William Trail
A top Orangeman and two senior DUP politicians have discussed accessing Irish Government funding for a new ‘William of Orange Trail’. DUP leader Gavin Robinson and Orange Order Grand Secretary Mervyn Gibson met with DUP Communities Minister Gordon...
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Staff ’s fury after jail is locked down to allow for Donaldson legal visits
Officers in Maghaberry Prison have complained at what they say is the ongoing special treatment for Jeffrey Donaldson. Sources at the jail say the disgraced former DUP leader has been receiving “dog’s abuse” from fellow inmates since being remanded in...
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Threat from dissidents ‘a likely factor’ why officers are quitting the PSNI
The level of dissident republican threat and violent assaults are high on the list of reasons some police officers in the north west are quitting the PSNI, it has been claimed. Ten officers have left the Derry City and Strabane (DCS) policing district...
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‘I believe in karma and Madison Allen has it coming her way...’
The widow of a man who died after the car they were in was hit by a BMW driven by Madison Allen (right) has said the the Newtownabbey woman will get what she deserves in court. Deborah and John Darby had been just five weeks into retirement and...
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Donaldson to appeal child sex abuse convictions
Jeffrey Donaldson is appealing his convictions for the rape of a primary school child and a series of other sexual assaults. The former DUP leader’s solicitor, John Mcburney, said in a statement the appeal papers had been lodged at the Royal Courts of...
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22 children convicted of sex offences but none were jailed
Twenty-two children found guilty of serious sexual offences in Northern Ireland — including rape — did not receive an immediate custodial sentence. Of those 22 teenagers, convicted from 2021 to 2025, 10 were aged 17, six were aged 16, and six were...
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Heartache as Ballymena falls silent in tribute to murder-suicide victims
A community united in heartache yesterday, as hundreds of people gathered in Ballymena to call for an end to violence against women and children in the aftermath of what is believed to have been a double murder and suicide. Around 200 people gathered...
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‘Any concerns about further Donaldson crimes will be reported to police, not the DUP’
A review of what the DUP knew about paedophile former leader Jeffrey Donaldson’s activities will report any potential criminal offences that emerge to police first, not the party. Safeguarding expert Jim Gamble is leading the review, which starts...
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Shock as three members of same family are found dead
A murder investigation has been launched following the deaths of three members of the same family, including a child, in Ballymena. Their bodies — believed to be a man, a woman and a girl — were found at a house on the Old Cullybackey Road in the Co...
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Civil service launches probe into Donaldson’s behaviour
The head of the civil service in Northern Ireland has tasked officials with a ‘scoping exercise’ t o find out if any staff were affected by Jeffrey Donaldson’s behaviour during his time as a Stormont junior minister. The former DUP leader was...
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Donaldson signs house to lawyers as £500k bill looms
Jeffrey Donaldson has signed over his half of the family home to his lawyers, it can be revealed, as his legal bills continue to mount. Sources have told the Belfast Telegraph that the former DUP leader and his wife Eleanor face having to pay their...
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Do not dress like you’d be standing on street corners, DUP man tells women
A DUP councillor who implied there was a link betwee n how women dress and an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena last summer stands by what he said. While a party spokesman said Reuben Glover“apologises for any offence caused”, he told the Belfast...
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Donaldson sex shame ‘has not damaged the Orange institution’
The conviction of Jeffrey Donaldson for child sex abuse “hurt” members of the Orange Order “greatly” — but the institution has not been damaged, one of its most senior members has said. The former Lagan Valley MP’S (right) membership of the Order was...
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Sex abuse victim’s horror at stepdad’s release from jail
A Belfast woman whose twisted stepfather sexually abused her from the age of eight has expressed her disgust and shock after he was released just seven years into a 14-year sentence. Newtownabbey man Arthur Ingram was convicted in 2019 of seven rapes,...
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‘Donaldson sexually assaulted me in DUP offices at Westminster’
A woman has alleged that Jeffrey Donaldson sexually assaulted her in a DUP office at Westminster. The woman claimed the former Lagan Valley MP (right) put his hand up her skirt and tried to kiss her during a tour of the building. The woman from...
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‘We are so in love...’ The reformed gangster and his GB News fiancée
Belfast-raised reformed gangster Stephen Gillen is set to host a star-studded wedding in Northern Ireland next year when he weds his fiancée, GB News presenter Nana Akua. The couple spoke exclusively to the Belfast Telegraph while they were touring...
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‘This isn’t over... Lyra said if you’re going to go down, go down fighting’
Lyra Mckee’s sister has vowed her family’s fight for justice will go on after three men were acquitted of the 29-year-old’s murder following a long-running New IRA trial. The family described the grief and frustration as they were forced to relive the...
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Donaldson’s security was removed before his arrest
Jeffrey Donaldson’s police protection was suddenly removed just weeks before his arrest for child abuse, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. Last week the former DUP leader was found guilty of 18 sex offences against two women when they were children,...
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EX-RUC chief asked to lead DUP’S Donaldson probe
Former RUC Special Branch chief Jim Gamble has been asked to lead the DUP’S internal investigation into the Jeffrey Donaldson scandal. The DUP said it would order an independent review into issues raised since the party’s former leader was convicted...
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Police saw Donaldson gay sauna visit while on Real IRA operation
Jeffrey Donaldson was not under police surveillance when he was seen entering a gay sauna in London, the officer who spotted him has said. Tim Hanley told the Belfast Telegraph that he had actually been working on a major PSNIMI5 sting operation which...
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Pressure on DUP after revelation party figures knew about Donaldson
Gavin Robinson has said “it is clear” there are former and current DUP members who had information about Jeffrey Donaldson’s behaviour they did not share. The DUP leader was speaking after further revelations about Donaldson (right), who was convicted...
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Donaldson is expected to appeal against his rape and child abuse convictions
Convicted child abuser Jeffrey Donaldson is expected to launch an appeal against his convictions, which include rape. The disgraced former DUP leader has 28 days to seek leave to appeal. It is likely to centre around the decision not to run his trial...
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As net closed, Donaldson tried to keep sex abuser law
Jeffrey Donaldson quietly helped thwart efforts to overturn a law which had the potential to help him evade scrutiny of his own crimes, it can be revealed. The law passed by Stormont made it a criminal offence to name sex offence suspects who hadn’t...
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Paisley spoke to ‘victim’ of Donaldson three years before arrest
Ian Paisley said he had spoken to a “victim” of Jeffrey Donaldson and tried to use that information for political ends three years before the former Lagan Valley MP was arrested, it can be revealed. It involves an individual who was not part of the...
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Hypocrite Donaldson prayed for victims of abuse
Jeffrey Donaldson prayed with survivors of sex abuse who sought his aid in their search for justice, it can be revealed. Victims campaigner Marty Adams branded the former MP’S show of fake concern “disgusting and depraved”. “We sat with this man,...
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‘People in DUP knew Donaldson was sex pest’
Two DUP figures were told Jeffrey Donaldson was a sex pest but they continued to support him, it’s been claimed. A party insider has told the Belfast Telegraph that the Lagan Valley MP “made a nuisance of himself” by “chasing a 19-year-old girl when...
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Filthy, vile & depraved
Jeffrey Donaldson has spent his first night in Maghaberry Prison as a convicted child rapist after he was found guilty of 18 sex offences. Jurors at Newry Crown Court unanimously found the former Lagan Valley MP and DUP leader guilty of a single count...
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Budget chaos ‘could reduce NI public spending by £1bn’
Stormont deadlock over the Budget could see public spending in Northern Ireland slashed by almost £1bn — with serious consequences for public services, the SDLP has warned. An SDLP research paper claims the ongoing failure to agree the Budget could...
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Ciara: ‘I won’t take for granted the good things that I have’
Two-time Olympian Ciara Mageean has opened up about the toughest battle of her life following her stage four cancer diagnosis last year. The Co Down athlete spoke to the Belfast Telegraph ahead of this week’s publication of her memoir, My Greatest...
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‘I always ask my late son to forgive me for him having to set foot in Muckamore’
The father of a boy who was a patient in a Co Antrim facility for vulnerable adults has said he has asked his late son “to forgive me for him having to put a foot in Muckamore”. Danny Diamond, whose son Eoin had a number of spells in the facility,...
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BBC NI ready to axe 50 jobs as it seeks to save £500m
Up to 50 jobs at BBC Northern Ireland are under threat after the corporation announced it would be slashing costs in a desperate bid to save £500m over the next three years. Staff have been told that voluntary redundancy will be available, but...
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Donaldson’s wife aware of his sexual interest in younger girls, trial jury told
Jeffrey Donaldson’s wife “was aware her husband had a sexual interest in pre-pubescent girls”, the former MP’S trial heard yesterday. With all evidence now heard, the prosecution presented its closing arguments to the jury who will decide whether...
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Thousands of homes at greater risk of flooding as £100m plan fails
A damning report has revealed thousands of properties across Northern Ireland are at greater risk of flooding than ever — but Stormont is failing to do enough to protect them, despite spending almost £100m. The Audit Office review examined how the...
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‘My voice will tell sex abuse survivors they are not alone’
A Belfast woman who tried to take her own life after years of sexual abuse by a well-known Orangeman has waived her right to anonymity to encourage others to speak out. Nikki Mctaggart was abused from the age of 14 to 18 by Bill Patterson, a prominent...
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Anti-migrant protest chief Steven Baker charged over Belfast riot
Anti-immigration protester Steven Baker was among four men remanded in custody in connection with public disorder which followed the north Belfast stabbing. They were all brought before Belfast Magistrates Court yesterday, where the charges were...
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‘I cheated on my wife but I am not a child abuser’
Jeffrey Donaldson admitted having an affair with a divorcee as he took to the stand yesterday on day 13 of his trial for alleged sex offences. The former MP denies rape, and several counts of gross indecency and indecent assault between 1985 and 2008...
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Loyalist paramilitaries deny orchestrating riots but won’t help stop them
Loyalist paramilitaries have denied organising race hate riots that saw violence erupt across Northern Ireland in the wake of a horrific knife attack. However, they said they would not be helping stop any future violence. Yesterday, Sudanese refugee...
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Donaldson: ‘Only person I’d kiss on the mouth is my wife’
The court where Jeffrey Donaldson is being tried for 18 alleged sex offences has heard him say that the only person he would kiss on the mouth is his wife. The former Lagan Valley MP (63) denies rape and several counts of gross indecency and indecent...
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Sinn Féin’s ‘copy and paste’ opposing of centenary stone
Figures within Sinn Féin have opposed planning permission for a Stormont stone to commemorate Northern Ireland’s centenary — despite the party recently defending a statue of Bobby Sands that was erected without even a request for official...
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Donaldson: ‘I’m sorry, and can you please forgive me’
Jeffrey Donaldson apologised to a woman he is accused of abusing and asked for forgiveness, a court has heard. The founders of a Christian centre stated that the former DUP leader (right) had said “sorry” to the alleged victim in their home in the...
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Donaldson ‘sent a text to minister saying that he wanted to repent’, trial hears
Jeffrey Donaldson sent a Whatsapp message to a minister saying that he wanted to repent, a court has heard. The Presbyterian cleric had been supporting one of two women who allege they were sexually abused by the former DUP leader. The minister said...
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‘Eleanordonaldsondid nothing to stop abuse’
One of Jeffrey Donaldson’s alleged victims said Eleanor Donaldson saw her being sexually assaulted by the former DUP leader and “did nothing”, a court heard yesterday. Complainant B, one of the two alleged victims in the case, was back in the stand...
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Donaldson rape accuser: ‘That night will live with me forever’
A woman who claims she was raped as a child by Jeffrey Donaldson has told a jury the alleged assault will stay with her “forever”. Jurors heard from Witness B, the older of two women who claim they were sexually abused by the former DUP leader. The...
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Katie murder detective takes legal action over allegations
A former detective who helped put Katie Simpson’s killer in the dock is taking legal action over online allegations made by a volunteer who worked in a charity he founded. James Brannigan’s lawyer is threatening to issue defamation proceedings against...
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Beattie quit UUP before being suspended by party
Doug Beattie was due to be suspended from the UUP over “abusive language to Jon Burrows, the failure to remove grossly misogynistic tweets, and other issues”, senior sources have said. The disciplinary action against him was unanimously agreed at a...
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Donaldson’s wife ‘bugged his car after suspecting an affair’
Jeffrey Donaldson’s wife bugged his car after becoming suspicious about an affair with a constituent, a court has heard. A defence barrister referenced a breakdown in the marriage on the third day of evidence at the former MP’S trial at Newry Crown...
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Donaldson sent a letter to alleged victim admitting he was a ‘sinner’, court is told
Jeffrey Donaldson asked a woman he allegedly sexually abused as a child for her forgiveness “for the hurt and pain I have caused” in a letter, a court has heard. The woman told the court she had thought the letter, in which Donaldson referred to...
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Court hears of ‘apology Donaldson made to accuser’ at a church retreat
Jeffrey Donaldson apologised to one of his two alleged victims at a church retreat in the mid-1990s, his trial heard yesterday. The EX-DUP leader (63) has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged sex offences, including rape, between 1985 and 2008. Newry...
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Beattie aide resigns after rowover promoting ‘rival’
More turmoil inside the UUP has been exposed after it emerged that a staff member in Doug Beattie’s constituency office quit his job after a row with the MLA over a social media post. The news came after Mr Beattie’s personal assistant, Kate Evans,...
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First search for remains of Disappeared victim to begin
Investigators will today start the first search operation for one of the last four bodies of people who were ‘disappeared’ during the Troubles. Seamus Maguire (29), from Aghagallon near Lurgan, is believed to have been killed and secretly buried by...
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South Belfast is NI ‘house in multiple occupation’ hotspot
Parts of south Belfast exceed the threshold for multiple household homes by two or even three times, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. According to the latest figures from Belfast City Council, six housing management areas (HMAS) in the south of the...
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Leading local sports official is charged with serious sexual offence against a child
A former sports chief and PR guru has been charged with a sex offence against a child. Gerry Carson (right), ex-president of Athletics Northern Ireland, will appear in court next month accused of abusing a position of trust by causing or inciting a...
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Beattie given a stay of execution by the UUP
Doug Beattie is set to be reselected by his local Ulster Unionist association when it meets to choose its Stormont election candidates next month. The Belfast Telegraph previously reported that the Upper Bann association wanted to field only one...
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Scaleofcivilserviceproblem has got worse, admits boss
The head of the civil service has admitted that her organisation has got even worse in at least one key area since a damning Audit Office report in January. Appearing before the Assembly’s Finance Committee yesterday, Jayne Brady faced two and a half...
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Man murdered in Belfast flat was ex-heroin dealer
A man who died after a violent attack in east Belfast was previously convicted after a high-profile crackdown on heroin dealing in Northern Ireland. Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Gordon (51) died of injuries he sustained in an attack in an apartment block in the...
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Church of Ireland worker arrested after rape claim
A member of staff in the Church of Ireland is being investigated by police after an allegation of rape was made against the man last week. In a statement, a church spokesperson said a worker had been suspended following the allegation. “The Church of...
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Shock as PSNI officer’s body discovered in beach tragedy
A body found on a popular north coast beach yesterday is believed to be that of a police officer. The beach was sealed off after the man’s remains were found at Whiterocks Beach outside Portrush, Co Antrim. Richard Brown-stewart, the Deputy Mayor of...
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Liquidator’s probe into controversial brand builder could last for twomoreyears
A probe into a controversial Northern Ireland “brand-building” company could take another two years to conclude, financial documents have revealed. The FBA Brand Builder, run by Darren Campbell (right), previously charged clients thousands for...
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Anger after Irish signs get backing without the approval of residents
Unionists have expressed fury at a bid by Sinn Féin to ensure the Irish language appears on Belfast street signs in areas where fewer than one in 10 residents supported the move. The backing of 15pc of a street’s residents is all that is required for...
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NI passengers told they can leave norovirus cruise ship
Cheering erupted in the dining hall of Europe’s largest cruise liner last night as passengers — including many from Northern Ireland — were told their lockdown in France would be over by this morning. “We were all so relieved to hear that. There were...
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UUP leave Beattie fighting to save his political career
Former UUP leader Doug Beattie is fighting for his political life after reports that he would not be selected as a candidate in his home constituency for the next Assembly election. The army veteran said his name is still going forward to stand in...
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I am sorry you lost your beautiful child, driver tells family of girl (7)
The family of a seven-year-old girl who died after she was struck by a car in Belfast has received an apology in court from the driver. However, Deirdre Crawford, who was behind the wheel of the Renault Captur that struck young Kaitlin Rose...
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NI murder and suicide ‘house of horrors’ is up for sale
A Co Fermanagh house where a 43-year-old man shot his wife and two children dead before turning the gun on himself is up for sale. The Drummeer Road property is listed online with an asking price of £195,000. The bodies of Vanessa Whyte (45), James...
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Ex-election candidate is remanded over police station bomb
A former republican election candidate has been remanded in custody, accused of attempting to bomb a Northern Ireland police station. Barry Anthony Toman (right) previously stood in the 2007 Assembly election for Republican Sinn Fein in the Upper Bann...
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‘He was a different person when hehada child in a storeroom’
Two women who were abused as children by paedophile teacher William Lloyd-lavery have called for changes to the law to prevent sex offenders using character references in court. Nicola Bannon and Lynne D’arcy gave evidence against the former Richmond...
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Probe urged into death of the man who tried to warn police about Katie’s killer
Questions have been raised about the death of a man recorded as suicide after police ignored his pleas to look deeper into the Katie Simpson case. Paul Lusby was a friend of the 21-year-old showjumper, who died at the hands of horse trainer Jonathan...
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Killed by a serial abuser, failed by the PSNI
Almost 40 more potential abuse victims of killer jockey Jonathan Creswell (right) have been identified in a review which exposed shocking PSNI failings in the Katie Simpson murder investigation. The damning review highlighted “misogyny and...
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Ex-officers withdraw from Omagh inquiry over trauma concerns
Police officers called to the scene of the Omagh bomb have said they will withdraw from the public inquiry into the atrocity until proper “traumainformed” support is in place. The 1998 Real IRA car bomb attack killed 29 people, including the mother of...
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Ulster fans face being ripped off by flight and hotel hikes
Ulster Rugby fans travelling to Spain for their first European final in 14 years are being hit hard in the pocket. Supporters heading to Bilbao for the EPCR Challenge Cup Final on May 22 face rocketing hotel and flight prices. Ulster are taking on...
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