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Socialist vigilantes linked to pipe-bomb attacks on west Belfast far right
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Members of a vigilante group targeting far-right activists have been blamed for pipe bomb attacks in west Belfast. Sources say the group, which calls itself the Socialist Republican Front, is leaving viable devices close to the homes of people they claim are connected to far-right organisations.
Ciarán Dunbar joined by Belfast Telegraph security correspondent, Allison Morris.
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Jeffrey Donaldson’s victims in their own words
37:26|The PSNI has released the audio statements of Jeffrey Donaldson’s victims, Victim A and Victim B.Their voices have been artificially generated to protect the victims’ identity.On Thursday, the former DUP leader was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of 18 charges of child sex abuse.
Jeffrey Donaldson given 15 years - but will be out in seven
16:31|Jeffrey Donaldson received a 15 year sentence in prison for his crimes. He was given 11 years for rape against Victim B and four years for all offences against Victim A, to be served consecutively.The former MP and ex-DUP leader was sentenced in Newry Courthouse on Thursday morning.However, later on Thursday after the Lady Chief Justice confirmed Donaldson will actually walk free in seven-and-a-half years.That is because the crimes were committed before the law changed in 2008, so he will automatically be entitled to 50pc remission of his sentence.He was found guilty of 18 child sex abuse charges, including rape, in June.Donaldson is trying to win an appeal, and his denials were an aggravating factor in the sentencing.However, as it stands, the 63-year-old will emerge from prison as a 78-year-old pensioner.Ciarán Dunbar spoke to Allison Morris outside Newry Crown Court.
Missing for 34 years: Patsy O’Sullivan and the secret family no one knew about
29:06|It was in April 1992 when Patrick 'Patsy' O'Sullivan called into his brother Jerry's home like it was any other day, but it’s a day that will forever remain etched in Jerry’s memory. Patrick went missing from his home in Co Kerry that year, and despite extensive searches and emotional appeals, efforts to find him proved fruitless. It would take the O'Sullivan family 34 years to find out the truth.Tessa Fleming is joined by Kerryman journalist Sinead Kelleher and by Jerry O'Sullivan, Patsy’s brother, to discuss his disappearance and how they eventually found out what happened to him.This episode of The BelTel was produced by our sister podcast, The Indo Daily.
Drumcree: Garvaghy Residents’ challenge dismissed, dispute rumbles on despite parade ban
22:53|The parading crisis in Portadown seems over on the ground, but it is very much alive in the courts, on the airwaves, and in politics. The Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Bryant stepped in on Friday to ban the Portadown Orange lodge from marching down the Garvaghy Road, now the Orange Order is challenging that decision in the courts. On Monday afternoon, the Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge from Garvaghy residents to the Parades Commission’s decision to allow the parade. In Stormont, First Minister Michelle O’Neill will face a confidence motion after taking part in a protest backing the Garvaghy Road residents, while the TUV demands the DUP take Emma Little-Pengelly out of the Executive. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Allison Morris.
The St Andrews Agreement 20 years on: Paisley signs up to power-sharing
30:02|The St Andrews Agreement was signed twenty years ago on 13 October 2006.Officially. it just amended the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement, but it did bring about some profound changes in Northern Ireland’s politics.It saw the DUP and Ian Paisley signing up to the peace process.Sinn Féin bought into policing, agreeing to work with the PSNI; the DUP agreed to go into government with them.The two parties have dominated Stormont politics ever since.Ciarán Dunbar is joined by political commentator David McCann.
BONUS: From green fields to factory farms: How ‘catastrophic’ industrial agriculture policy is trashing environment
39:50|Northern Ireland’s Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir interviewed by Belfast Telegraph Northern Ireland Editor Sam McBride, discussing how what he says has been a ‘catastrophic’ agricultural policy went disastrously wrong in the race for cheap meat... and whether he is inadvertently embedding what he’s seeking to reverse.
Encrochat: Spy hack on gangster phones still decimating NI drug dealers’ ranks
30:44|In recent weeks, the 2020 French hack into the secret gangster phone network Encrochat has continued to see Northern Ireland drug dealers sent to Maghaberry.Multiple prison sentences have been handed down to some significant figures from Northern Ireland’s criminal world.Gangsters like ‘cute hur’, ‘mint wind’ and ‘ultra gold’ are just some of those who went down after the notorious platform spilled its secrets.Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Belfast Telegraph’s crime correspondent Allison Morris.
Drumcree: Suzanne Breen on how the impact Garvaghy dispute is having on politics
35:55|The stand-off between the Drumcree Orange men and the Garvaghy residents continues.In Belfast on Monday – a court reserved judgment on the residents’ renewed application to stop the march.The march – and the protest has sharply divided our politicians. Some fear real damage is being done to community relations.And in other news the SDLP in Armagh has seen fit to dump its siting MLA – Justin McNulty – why?Ciarán Dunbar joined by our political editor, Suzanne Breen.
Donaldson still in Maghaberry hospital as old home goes up for sale
21:40|He was once known as the Right Honourable Sir Jeffrey Donaldson but is now known as inmate number E5032. Donaldson once proudly walked the corridors of Westminster, ate in fancy restaurants, and commanded media attention. But now he spends his days behind bars in Maghaberry, reading, doing jigsaws and doing art. The home in Dromore, in which he lived in with wife Eleanor, who was found to have aided and abetting child sexual abuse, has appeared on the market for a modest £650,000. Donaldson was convicted of 18 charges concerning child sexual abuse in June. Prosecution lawyers want him to serve at least ten years in prison. To talk about Donaldson’s new life, Ciarán Dunbar is joined by the Belfast. Telegraph’s Kurtis Reid