BBC News
By Julian O Neill
Published
image copyrightDolan family
image captionThe proposal has been outlined by Justice Minister Naomi Long, after she met with the parents of Enda Dolan
The maximum jail term for causing death by dangerous driving in NI is set to increase from 14 to 20 years, Justice Minister Naomi Long is proposing.
She outlined the move in talks with the parents of teenagers Enda Dolan and Lesley-Ann McCarragher.
Mr Dolan was killed by dangerous driving in 2014, and Ms McCarragher in 2016.
However the legislative change, subject to assembly approval, is not likely until after the 2022 Stormont election.
Mrs Long s decision follows a review of sentencing policy started in 2016.
BBC News
By Julian O Neill
Published
image copyrightPacemaker
Twenty years ago policing was given a new beginning, one meant to be free of politics, but recent events have shown it has not escaped that space.
Confidence in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has been dented by its response to the pandemic.
Mistakes have been made, but policing a divided society has magnified them.
The realisation that a failure of policing is also a failure of politics was a factor in parties backing Simon Byrne remaining as chief constable.
Mr Byrne was hired in mid-2019 on a modernisation agenda and part of the task was making the PSNI more normal , more like any other UK police service.
BBC News
By Julian O Neill
Published
image captionJames McCann, 19, James Sloan, 19, Anthony Campbell, 19, Ambrose Hardy, 24, John Loughran, 34 and Brendan Maguire, 32 were all killed on 3 February 1973
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland has ordered a new inquest into the deaths of six men believed to have been killed by the army almost 50 years ago.
It follows an application, to Brenda King, by relatives including some fresh evidence.
None of the men were armed.
The Attorney General s decision has been communicated to the court unit currently dealing with a five-year programme of troubles legacy inquests.
It is too early to know when the new inquest will be heard.
BBC News
By Julian O Neill
Published
image copyrightPacemaker
Political rhetoric around the Irish Sea border has become increasingly febrile and needs to be de-escalated , Chief Constable Simon Byrne has said.
He also said claims that loyalists were ready to fight were inflammatory .
Speaking after a Policing Board meeting, Mr Byrne said there was no intelligence suggesting loyalist paramilitaries intended any protests or violence in the short term.
He appealed for calm, wise heads .
On Wednesday, David Campbell, the chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), which has the backing of paramilitary groups, said it may be necessary to fight physically to maintain our freedoms within the UK.
BBC News
By Julian O Neill
Published
image captionPolice could be seen monitoring the scene as the masked men walked in the area
A group of masked men pictured on the streets of east Belfast has been linked to an internal row within the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force.
The presence of police is thought to have prevented an intended attack on a house.
It is understood a number of properties have been targeted in recent days.
The group, comprising dozens of individuals, was filmed walking around Pitt Park, off the Newtownards Road, on Tuesday.
A PSNI investigation is under way into the incident.