The BelTel

After weeks of hints and speculation Carla Lockhart has finally quit the DUP. In a letter penned entitled ‘A renewed vision for unionism’, the Upper Bann MP said she wanted to “be a politician whose word means something”. Gavin Robinson says the only winner from further divisions within unionism is Sinn Féin. Is unionism really in ‘meltdown’, is now the time for unionist unity, and will Carla Lockhart eventually join the TUV? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph's Andrew Madden, former editor of the News Letter and unionist commentator Ben Lowry, and Alex Kane.

When Richard Moore was 10 years old a British Army captain shot him in the face with a rubber bullet. The Derry School boy lost his sight completely in an instant but twenty years ago Richard met Charles, the soldier who shot him, and forgave him. They have been friends ever since. Richard grew up to establish the charity Children in Crossfire in 1996 with the goal of supporting vulnerable children growing up in the crossfire of poverty and injustice. His work has brought him close the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dali Lama. Richard Moore joined Ciarán Dunbar to talk about his life and work.

Islandmagee is a quiet civil parish on the east coast of Northern Ireland. But in 1711, a newcomer to the area begins to have fits, regurgitates pins and buttons, and suddenly dies. In the weeks following her death, eight woman and one man are found guilty of witchcraft at a local Courthouse – one man is executed. It was the last witchcraft trial in Ireland. Olivia Peden speaks to Dr Andrew Sneddon of Ulster University, and Martina Devlin, the author of “The House where it happened” about this mysterious event.This podcast was originally published in October 2023.

On the 30th of October 30, 1976, two Belfast Telegraph delivery men Charles Corbett and John Maguire were shot dead in north Belfast. John Maguire's ten-year-old son witnessed his father's murder. The boy himself was wounded in the leg. The men were gunned down by very young members of the UVF. One of gunmen apologised – but fifty years later he couldn't even remember their names. Liam Tunney tells the story.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson says Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will quit joint engagements with First Minister Michelle O’Neill - but he won’t be pulling her out of the executive. The DUP's party officers met on Thursday to discuss their options. Before the meeting, Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart published a letter to the party making it clear – that if it didn't pull Emma Little-Pengelly out of the executive, she would take her "own course". Lockhart insists that Michelle O’Neill must be removed from office over Sinn Féin's part in the Drumcree protests, but the party leader has now stopped short of that. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph’s Political Editor Suzanne Breen.

Incidents of violent drug-debt intimidation are rising in Ireland – and the methods are becoming more concerning and elaborate. Brutal enforcers are now using 'disappearing' video technology on social media platforms to capture and distribute graphic footage of torture. The targeted aggression goes beyond those allegedly in arrears, with innocent friends and family members increasingly caught up in the cruel crossfire. What are the gardaí doing about it? Is there a class issue at play? And what about the incidents we're not hearing about? Fionnán Sheahan is joined by Irish Independent Southern Correspondent Ralph Riegel to examine a terrifying new trend in Ireland's underworld.

A judge has dismissed an Orange Order against the Secretary of State’s decision to ban the Drumcree parade from going down the Garvaghy Road. But Mr Justice Scoffield said those against the march should take “no particular joy in the outcome”. He said that a lawful decision-making process has established the lodge’s right to parade in law. He also told the court that Sir Chris Bryant’s decision was lawful but highly regrettable that it happened in the circumstances it did. And he threw some shade on nationalist protesters saying, “the law does not apply only when you agree with it”. Ciarán Dunbar was joined by Allison Morris.

The Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has been to the forefront of Northern Ireland's politics ever since the re-emergence of the Drumcree Parade issue. The DUP-woman has stridently defended the rights of Orangemen to march down the Garvaghy Road in the face of nationalist opposition. She has been clear - the DUP must get Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill out of power over her actions in the Garvaghy protest. The problem is, the party leader Gavin Robinson disagrees – so what happens next? Who is Carla Lockhart, what are her options, and how does this affect unionism? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Professor Jon Tonge and by Belfast Telegraph reporters Claire Dickson and Andrew Madden.

Jeffrey Donaldson was doing paid work for the ministry of defence in Africa even as acute political turmoil was engulfing his party at home in Northern Ireland. Why was the then DUP leader undertaking sensitive work in dictator-led Cameroon just a week after he himself collapsed Stormont in 2022? Why was he helping sell arms in Egypt alongside a British general? Why did a special forces officer say he’d worked with Donaldson before? Profound political questions remain over who all the now convicted paedophile was working for – alongside concerns about whether he had access to children in developing countries. Sam McBride joined Ciarán Dunbar.