BREAKING | Off-duty police officer shot in Omagh

A senior police officer has been seriously injured after being shot while off duty in Omagh.

The LCC represents loyalist paramilitaries the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando who recently rejected the GFA and have been threatening violence over the NI Protocol. The PSNI/RUC have done nothing to queal the loyalist actions 

                  Today at 21:20

The officer was approached by two gunmen who opened fire near a sports complex on the Killyclogher Road at around 8pm.

Initial reports suggested the shooting happened in front of young people at football coaching session.

The scene of the shooting in Omagh (Pic: Kevin Scott) 

He was given first aid at the scene and rushed to hospital where he is understood to be in a critical condition. Initial reports suggest the officer was hit multiple times.

It happened close to the Youth Sports Omagh complex.

There is significant police activity at the scene tonight.

PSNI/RUC vehicles at the scene of the shooting in Omagh (Pic: Kevin Scott) 

A large number of PSNI vehicles and officers are visible in the vicinity of the shooting with an area around the sports complex sealed off by forensic tape.

There were also reports of a car found burning a short distance from the scene.

The Police Federation of NI, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “We totally condemn this appalling and barbaric act of violence on an off-duty officer in Omagh. Our thoughts are with our colleague and his family.

"These gunmen offer nothing to society.”

Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said it was a “shocking incident”.

"My immediate thoughts are with the PSNI officer and his family. Those responsible for such horror must be brought to justice,” he said.

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott indicated the police officer attacked in Omagh was shot in front of young people at a football coaching session.

"Despicable, cowardly action. No place in society for this," he tweeted.

While dissident republicans from the New IRA would have a small base in Co Tyrone, the detective targeted would also have been involved in investigating organised crime gangs.

Read more

▪️THREAD🧵👇🏼 I interviewed LCC chair David Campbell earlier this month. I asked him what an EU/UK agreement has to look like to win LCC backing.

The NI Ambulance Service (NIAS) said it received a 999 call at 8.02pm following reports of an incident in the Slievard area of Killyclogher.

“NIAS despatched a Rapid Response Paramedic, an emergency crew and an ambulance officer to the incident,” a spokesman said.

"Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was taken by ambulance to Altnagelvin Area Hospital.”

There was a significant police presence in and around the area of the shooting (Pic: Kevin Scott) 

He is the first police officer to be shot in a gun attack in Northern Ireland since 2017 when a uniform officer was injured coming out of a garage on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.

On that occasion dissident republican gunmen opened fire with an AK 47 causing serious hand injuries to the officer.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O’Neill posted on Facebook: “Terrible news this evening of an off-duty police officer being shot in Kilyclogher, Omagh. This is an outrageous and shameful attack.

"My immediate thoughts are with the officer and his family.

"I unreservedly condemn this reprehensible attempt to murder a police officer.”

Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said he is shocked and concerned at the news of the attack.

The party’s policing spokesperson said: “I unreservedly condemn this murderous attack on an off-duty police officer.

"My immediate thoughts are with the officer injured in the shooting and his family who will be traumatised by this attack.”

He added: “I have spoken to senior police officers on a number of occasions tonight to put on record my concern and my absolute disgust at this attack.

“I am also calling on the public to co-operate with the ongoing police investigation in the area and anyone with any information on this attack should bring it forward to the police.”

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson MP tweeted: “Terrible news from Omagh tonight. Our heart goes out to the family of this courageous police officer and to his colleagues.

"We condemn outright the cowards responsible for this. These terrorists have nothing to offer and they must be brought to justice. We stand with the PSNI.”

Alliance leader Naomi Long tweeted: “Disturbing news of unfolding events in Omagh this evening. My thoughts and those of my Alliance Party colleagues are with the officer, his family, colleagues, and all those affected by this evil act of cowardice.”

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MP said the attack on the officer in Omagh is “a chilling attack on an individual serving his community and must be treated as an attack on the people of Ireland who have long rejected this kind of senseless violence”.

The Foyle MP added: “The brutal attack on a police officer in Omagh this evening is a chilling reminder of the horrifying violence that criminal gangs are willing to visit on the people of the North of Ireland.

“My thoughts and the thoughts of my SDLP colleagues are with the man and with the paramedics, doctors, nurses and police colleagues looking after him at this time.

"In the face of appalling violence that has no place in modern Ireland, their bravery and selfless dedication to service is an enduring reminder that for every individual determined to tear us apart, there are hundreds more committed to defending our peace and all those who live under it.

“Those behind this attack are committed to the fallacy that they are at war with the British establishment. Let me say very clearly to them that they are not. As I have said before, their fight is not with the British Government or the PSNI. Their fight is with the people of Ireland who have chosen peace. And it is a fight that they will never, never win.”

Forensic officers at the scene of the shooting on the Killyclougher Road in Omagh (Pic: Kevin Scott) 

The PSNI have confirmed that they are currently at the scene of a shooting in the Killyclogher Road area of Omagh.

A spokesperson said “One man, a serving police officer, has been taken to hospital for treatment after being injured in a shooting incident at a sports complex just before 8pm this evening.”

FOLLOW the link below for an update on the latest..... 

With many thanks to the: Belfast Telegraph and Allison Morris and Emma Montgomery for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: UVF Godfathers threatening sick Nazi-style Kristallnacht.

ECHR is major key element of the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement and cannot be renegotiated. The majority of citizens in Ireland North and South signed up and agreed to the GFA. The majority of the electorate in the North voted against #Brexit

LATEST | Off-duty PSNI officer ‘critical but stable' after Omagh shooting

No 10 defends handling of NI Protocol talks.

No 10 has insisted it is engaging with DUP and Conservative MPs as the prime minister seeks agreement with the EU on post-Brexit rules in the North of Ireland.

Rishi Sunak is trying to resolve issues with the NI Protocol, introduced after the UK left the EU. IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS 

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said further EU concessions were needed before a new deal could be agreed.

Ex-minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said agreement was doomed without approval from unionist parties and Brexit MPs.

Sir Jeffrey said a new deal "is possible" within the "next few days".

But the EU would need to accept that goods traded within the North of Ireland were subject to UK laws and standards for the unDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) to agree, he added.

▪️Johnson warns Sunak not to drop NI Protocol Bill 

▪️What is going on with getting a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland? 

▪️A simple guide to the Northern Ireland Protocol

Hopes that changes can be made this week have faded somewhat, although Downing Street suggest a deal could still happen soon.

Earlier, the prime minister told his cabinet ministers that attempts to reach a deal were focused on safeguarding Northern Ireland's place in the UK, protecting the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement and ensuring the free flow of trade in the UK internal market.

The current rules, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, were negotiated by Boris Johnson and came into force in 2021.

They introduced checks on goods sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, to get round the need for checks at the UK's border with the Republic of Ireland.

The rules have proved highly unpopular among unionists in Northern Ireland, and soured relations between the UK and EU.

In protest at the rules, the DUP boycotted power-sharing in Northern Ireland, meaning it has been without a functioning devolved government since February of last year.

A majority of members of the Stormont assembly are in favour of the protocol in some form remaining in place.

Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) have said improvements to the protocol are needed to ease its implementation.

British and European negotiators have been locked in talks for over a year to secure changes that will satisfy business groups and politicians.

On his Conservative Home podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg argued there was "no point" agreeing a deal which does not have the support of the DUP.

"I don't know why so much political capital has been spent on something without getting the DUP and the ERG (European Research Group of Conservative MPs) onside first," he said.

He likened Mr Sunak's approach to that of former-Prime Minister Theresa May who, he said, had presented a policy in the hope that people would "conveniently fall in behind" it, he said.

"Life doesn't work like that. It's important to get support for it first before you finalise the details and that doesn't seem to have been done here."

Both the DUP and some Conservative MPs think Mr Sunak made a mistake to travel to Belfast at the end of last week, unannounced, to try, as some saw it, to "bounce" the Democratic Unionists into agreement, the BBC's Chris Mason and Jess Parker report. 

"He jumped the gun," said one Tory MP, privately.

"There isn't a deal to be done. It is back to the drawing board," said another Conservative backbencher.

In his podcast, Mr Rees-Mogg urged Mr Sunak to pass the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would give the UK government the power to rip up parts of the current arrangement with the EU.

His comments echo those of former-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who over the weekend urged his successor not to ditch the proposed law.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman also appeared to indicate her support, describing the legislation as one of the "biggest tools" to solving issues over trade in the Irish Sea.

But former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland has argued that the since the bill was introduced in 2022, the situation had changed.

Writing in the House magazine, he said: "The [bill] has outlived its political usefulness and no longer has any legal justification. It is the proverbial dead letter."

A deal which the prime minister said was within touching distance could yet slip through his fingers.

Rishi Sunak has been feeling the heat on two front - the DUP and his own backbench Tory MPs.

It is a formidable force for a prime minister desperate to avoid confrontation within a deeply divided Tory party.

But he doesn't need DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to say yes to a deal - he just needs him not to say no.

That would allow the UK and EU to publish their protocol deal and begin the job of selling it beyond the DUP to businesses in Northern Ireland.

But as every day passes without a deal being struck Rishi Sunak will start feeling the heat from Brussels.

On Tuesday, the prime minister's spokesman told reporters "intensive negotiations continue" between the UK and EU but added that unresolved issues and "long-lasting challenges" needed to be addressed.

READ MORE: 

▪️ECHR is major key element of the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement and cannot be renegotiated. The majority of citizens in Ireland North and South signed up and agreed to the GFA. The majority of the electorate in the North voted against #Brexit

He rejected suggestions the DUP and Conservative Brexiter MPs had not been sufficiently involved.

"We have been speaking to relative parties at the appropriate times throughout this process," he said adding that "engagement will continue as we continue to negotiate".

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris held fresh talks with European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking ahead of that meeting, Mr Sefcovic told reporters that the "finishing line" on the talks could "clearly" be seen but added "being close doesn't mean being done".

Last week, Mr Sunak went to Belfast to meet politicians in Northern Ireland and then Germany, where he met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, raising speculation that an agreement was imminent.

With many thanks to: BBC News (London) and Kate Whannel (Political reporter) for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: THREAD🧵👇🏼 I interviewed LCC chair David Campbell earlier this month.

If you want to understand mainstream unionism, have a listen to Jim Allister, the DUP & loyalist paramilitary groups’ ally in the war on reality.

The Times veiw on agreeing a Brexit deal for Northern Ireland: Wise Up

Suella Braverman urges Sunak not to ditch NI Protocol Bill

👎Shocking analysis from ERG

No 10 defends handling of Northern Ireland Protocol talks.

Suella Braverman urges Sunak not to ditch NI Protocol Bill

First sign of cabinet tensions emerges as Downing Street plays down hopes that deal with EU will be clinched on Tuesday. 

          Monday 20th February, 2023. 

Rishi Sunak has been urged not to drop potential powers to unilaterally override the NI Protocol, as the first sign of cabinet tensions emerged over the prime minister’s proposed deal with the EU.

Imagine a high-ranking British Govt. politician liking this no surrender bluster?! @pritipatel @SuellaBraverman

@LeoVaradkar @MichealMartinTD

 #NIProtocol #EU #Ireland #BrexitSeaBorder

The call from Suella Braverman not to abandon the bill echoes the same message from Boris Johnson. Sources close to the former prime minister over the weekend urged Sunak to keep the legislation as leverage.

The home secretary’s intervention came as Downing Street insiders played down hopes of a deal being struck by Tuesday, despite heightened expectations prompted by Sunak’s discussions with the NI political parties last week.

I wonder if Priti Patel would agree with this Tweet seeing she liked his last one?

@pritipatel @SuellaBraverman 

#Racism  #Sectarian #Sectarianism 

Senior Conservatives have questioned whether any deal that does not have the backing of the Democratic Unionist party would secure its ultimate objective, but government sources have stressed that the DUP will not be shown the text of the agreement before it is struck or granted a veto on the contents.

Secretary of State for Bullshit James Cleverly 

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, who held talks by video link with Maroš Šefčovič on Monday, said "intensive work" continued between the two sides and he would hold a further 7with the Brussels official later this week, again underlying that a deal was not imminent. 

Braverman, a former chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of hard Brexiters in the Conservatives, struck a note of caution about plans to drop the bill, understood to be part of the deal package. One senior member of the ERG said her intervention was “heartening”.

Stressing the importance of the bill, she told the BBC: “We’ve been aware for some time now of challenges relating to trade, customs and sovereignty when it comes to North of Ireland and the NI protocol.

“The legislation that the government introduced is one of the biggest tools we have in solving the problem on the Irish Sea. It’s clear and it’s right that the PM is committed to finding a pragmatic solution to resolve these issues which are affecting the people of North of Ireland, and that we find a solution that’s pragmatic and workable both for the EU and the UK.”

ECHR is major key element of the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement and cannot be renegotiated. The majority of citizens in Ireland North and South signed up and agreed to the GFA. The majority of the electorate in the North voted against #Brexit #GFA #BA #ECHR 

Downing Street insiders said Sunak would continue conversations with the ERG and the DUP but hope they will be able to move quickly once the final negotiations have concluded. Sunak has been meeting restive MPs in the Commons throughout Monday and Cleverly is expected to address the backbench 1922 Committee this week.

The 1922 Committee: 'men in gray suits' behind 100 years of Conservative leaders 

The 1922 Committee is the parliamentary group that sets the rules for how Conservative Party leaders are be chosen. David Thackeray, Associate Professor of History at the University of Exeter, explains how this influential group has shaped British politics over the last century…

The NI minister Steve Baker attended an ERG meeting on Monday. Sources say there was “a lot of fear of a sell out” but that there was also discussion of the damage a potential reopening of divisions would do to the future of the Tory party at the polls.

There is mounting concern that the longer the two sides leave it to strike a deal, the greater the risk of unravelling, with the knottier issues often left to the end of such negotiations.

Once a deal is agreed on the NI Protocol, the government is expected to announce it swiftly, with hopes that the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, could come to London to shake on it.

Ministers still hope to put the deal to a vote in the House of Commons, as it would bind in MPs politically, but No 10 has so far refused to commit to a vote.

The DUP MP Sammy Wilson reiterated his party’s pledge that Sunak agreeing a deal with the EU without the consent of the party would mean a continued boycott of NI’s devolved assembly. Asked if he expected a consensus to emerge this week, Wilson told Sky News: “No, I don’t.”

There were, he said, “barriers and hills to climb” for Sunak. The government had “gone into these negotiations with an attitude of defeat, almost”, Wilson added.

Senior Conservatives, including those supportive of Sunak, suggested there was little point in progressing without the support of the unionists. “The purpose of the negotiations was to get a deal that would allow DUP to go back into government in Stormont,” one former cabinet minister said. “So DUP support for a deal is the key. Without DUP support, it is pointless.”

David Jones, the deputy chair of the ERG, said: “The problem is that DUP has told No 10 that whatever they agree needs to meet the ‘seven tests’.

“One of those is that the people of the North of Ireland have to have a say in the laws that govern them, but it is hard to see how they do that without an entirely new agreement. What they are talking about now is some sort of new interpretation of the existing agreement, not a completely new one.”

Jones said he understood the DUP had asked to see the text of the full agreement – rather than the political framework – in order to move forward. That request is unlikely to be accepted.

Braverman’s intervention on the protocol bill took a similar tone to that of Johnson, as well as other former Brexit-backing cabinet ministers such as Simon Clarke and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Johnson warned at the weekend it would be a “great mistake” to ditch the bill rather than retain it as a backup option.

READ MORE:

What stage are Brexit negotiations at between Rishi Sunak and the EU

The protocol bill, the brainchild of Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary, would allow the UK to unilaterally override parts of the Brexit treaty, and discarding the bill is seen as a gesture of goodwill when agreement is reached on application of the protocol.

The bill is awaiting report stage in the House of Lords, but its progress has been frozen. Senior sources have also indicated there are now doubts about whether the bill is legally sound because of progress on the negotiations.

Clarke said it was vital to retain the bill as an option for the government. “We need to make sure that if a deal is struck here, this is genuinely a better one than that which we can achieve through our own legislation to fix the protocol,” he said.

“And I think that is quite a high bar because it is going to involve the EU accepting that the North of Ireland cannot be subjected either to EU law or in the single market and that would be a big move on their part.”

With many thanks to: The Guardian and Jessica Elgot (Deputy political editor), Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey for the original publication. 

Additional reporting by Peter Walker and Lisa O’Carroll. 

Follow this link to to find out more on this story: Call to back Rishi Sunak on NI Protocol deal amid fears ministers may quit

What stage are Brexit negotiations at between Rishi Sunak and the EU

Suella Braverman urges Sunak not to ditch Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

THREAD🧵👇🏼 I interviewed LCC chair David Campbell earlier this month. I asked him what an EU/UK agreement has to look like to win LCC backing.

He said: "The LCC has been pretty clear that we are supporting the DUP’s seven tests. 

TWITTER THREAD:

Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) represents loyalist paramilitaries the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando 

(1) What happens if Rishi Sunak agrees to a deal that unionism in NI can’t accept?

Then "he is clearly choosing the protocol over the agreement and the devolution settlement. My sense is that unionist grassroots are firmly behind Donaldson".

(2) David Campbell: 'People who have tried to be restraining influence on orgs would be ignored/replaced. You say this & it’s perceived as threats. They've kept the line against violence resuming because Donaldson is maintaining the position given at #AE22 & violence would undermine'

(3) LCC chair David Campbell added: 'This isn’t anything we want to see but we have to let governments know how precarious the situation is in areas in Northern Ireland. The priority is to get this resolved. Let's hope common sense prevails'.

(4) Another election be seen as distortion of democracy? There is that potential, yes. Another election could well place DUP back on top. It would present a real presentational problem for unionism. I am absolutey sure JD would enter an Exec as dFM but not if protocol isn’t resolved'

(5) Is Stormont in the last chance saloon? "If things aren’t resolved in the next few months we could be looking at years without devolution. That doesn’t help NI because direct rule annoys nationlists & republicans. Any move toward any sort of joint authority destabilises unionism'

(6) LCC David C: ‘The answer is found in the agreement. It provides guarantees 4 both communities. It is iniquitous the protocol has disrupted that. The constitutional position of NI was firmly settled. I wld b concerned progress developed over 20yrs could disappear overnight' ENDS

With many thanks to: Amanda Ferguson for the EXCLUSIVE original story with the LCC Chairman. 

Follow this link to to read the original Twitter Thread

The Times veiw on agreeing a Brexit deal for Northern Ireland: Wise Up

Constitutional purism cannot be allowed to fail the North of Ireland again. The DUP should ignore Boris Johnson, put the Union first, and agree to a deal on the protocol

The Times Leading Articles

The United Kingdom and European Union are close to settling the NI Protocol, but nothing is guaranteed. PAUL FAITH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES 

Monday February 20th 2023, The Times.

No prize is more elusive in Northern Irish politics than a negotiated settlement. Nearly 25 years on from the Good Friday agreement, a people divided by history but united in exasperation deserve to know that good government in their corner of these islands is not dead, nor the hope of compromise for the common good. In the coming days Rishi Sunak will present to parliament the deal on the NI protocol many thought impossible: proof, as if it were still needed, of the redemptive power of dialogue over dogma.

Yet as the shape of an accord between the United Kingdom and European Union emerges from Westminster, Belfast and Brussels, familiar suspects ready themselves to wreck it. Motivated by cynicism and the certainties of old, they ignore what negotiations have achieved. Unfashionable though it may be to admit the Democratic Unionist Party has a point, Mr Sunak was right to listen to concerns that were dismissed even as devolution buckled. So, if only belatedly, were the European Commission, whose intransigence on doctrine even Ian Paisley might have admired.

That the transportation of sandwiches and prescription medicines from Liverpool to Larne was ever considered an existential threat to the sanctity of the European single market is absurd. That Brussels would ever admit as much, however, was not inevitable. Nor were recent significant EU reconcessions: the abolition of checks on goods travelling within the United Kingdom alone, the sharing of data to prevent cross-border smuggling, and the recognition that the European Court of Justice may rule on the operation of the protocol only in rare cases referred by Belfast judges.

Disagreements remain. But the fundamentals of Mr Sunak’s deal will free the North from EU interference while recognising, as every constitutional bargain since the days of Edward Carson has, its singularity. The attention of Westminster now turns once more to the DUP and its leader, Jeffrey Donaldson MP. For over a year his party has withdrawn from government in Stormont. Mr Sunak is set to give them much of what they asked for. They should respond in kind.

Sir Jeffrey may find this difficult. He is assailed by Paisleyite hardliners with whom he has little in common and Conservative opportunists who ought to know better. Having already earned a place in history as the man whose opposition to the Good Friday agreement hastened the demise of his old party, David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists, his DUP may yet face the same fate. Then, however, the price of compromise was the early release of murderers into the communities they had ruled by terror. Now it is the remote prospect of judges in Strasbourg adjudicating on the contents of a lorry bound from Belfast to Cork.

Does Sir Jeffrey really think that reason enough to deny NI a government? To Ulster’s impatient young such dogmatism seems baffling. He knows this. Grandstanding opposition may spare him the ire of East Belfast’s hard men but cannot save Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom. Nor, for that matter, will Boris Johnson, whose friends warn that Mr Sunak’s compromise unlikely to pass muster. His briefing is not, as the ambitious cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt suggested yesterday, a constructive intervention. Like Randolph Churchill, Mr Johnson has concluded that the “Orange card” of unionist discontent trumps all else in pursuit of power. Yet having agreed the 2019 deal that cut the North of Ireland adrift, Mr Johnson alone bears responsibility for the constitutional crisis Mr Sunak may soon resolve. He is the last person to whom anyone, especially Sir Jeffrey, should be listening.

As the endgame approaches, Downing Street must now hold its nerve. Mr Johnson should keep his counsel. And Sir Jeffrey and the DUP, as his constituents would put it, should wise up.

With many thanks to: The Times for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: If you want to understand mainstream unionism, have a listen to Jim Allister, the DUP & loyalist paramilitary groups’ ally in the war on reality.

The Times veiw on agreeing a Brexit deal for Northern Ireland: Wise Up

If you want to understand mainstream unionism, have a listen to Jim Allister, the DUP & loyalist paramilitary groups’ ally in the war on reality.

This supremacy, sectarianism & scorn of others is what Doug Beattie & the handful of progressive voices in unionism are up against.

🧵High Conflict Personality: "Those with narcissistic, borderline, antisocial, paranoid, and histrionic personality disorders or traits. This helps us understand why they stay stuck in conflict. They don’t reflect on their part of the problem and they don’t change.

Watch the full video here: 

Well well well. Jim Alister finally admits the real reason there is no path back to the Executive. 

Follow this link to see the original Tweet:

'VIOLATION' | Man receives six-pack after being shot in both legs, feet and elbows in brutal Belfast gun attack

A man has received a six-pack after being shot in both legs and elbows and also feet in west Belfast.

THE 34-year-old man was shot in both legs and elbows and feet in Divismore Park in west Belfast 

 

        Tuesday 14 February, 2023. 

A man has been shot in both legs and elbows and feet in west Belfast.

It happened at Divismore Park on Tuesday evening shortly before 8:10pm.

Forensic officers at the scene on Tuesday evening. Pic: Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph.

He has been taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries.

Police said they have closed Divismore Way and Glenalina Road as they continue their investigations.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Our investigation is at an early stage, and we are appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time, and may have any information which could assist us, to get in touch.

Irish News article concerning the punishment attack which was published on Thursday 16th February, 2023. 

"The injuries inflicted on the victim are a stark violation of his basic human rights.

"There is no justification for this type of violence. Attacks like these not only place the victim at risk, but also the local community.

Police at the scene of a shooting incident in the Divismore Way area of west Belfast on February 14th, 2023 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) — © Kevin Scott

Alliance Leader Naomi Long has described the attack as ‘inexcusable’.

"This brutality is utterly inexcusable and needs to stop,” she said.

“The number to call is 101, quoting reference number 1883 of 14/02/23.”

Information can also be given anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

With many thanks to: UTV News and the Sunday World for the original storys.

Follow these links to find out more on this story: Man taken to hospital after being shot in both legs and elbows in west Belfast. 

'VIOLATION' | Man shot in legs and feet in brutal Belfast gun attack.

DUP 'will be final arbiters' on whether any protocol deal between EU and UK meets party’s tests.

The DUP "will be the final arbiters as to whether or not" any UK-EU deal on the NI Protocol meets their seven tests, the party has said.

The DUP said it will decide whether or not any protocol deal between the UK and EU meets the seven tests which it has set

     Wednesday 15th February, 2023. 

IT Follows reports in The Daily Telegraph that Downing Street is soon set to announce a deal which meets the unionist party's seven demands.

On Wednesday, the DUP outlined that it had currently "not seen any details regarding the deal".

READ MORE: 

▪️Man attacked in Newtownabbey suffers 'potentially life threatening injuries'

▪️Murder accused mother told police she 'was not suicidal' days before stabbing

The DUP removed its first minister Paul Givan from the Stormont Executive in 2022 due to its concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The post-Brexit trade deal has resulted in checks being carried out on certain goods entering NI from GB.

               THE DUP'S SEVEN TESTS  

The DUP insists only they will decide whether any deal between the UK and EU on the protocol meets the party's seven tests.

More on UTV Live at 6.

itv.com/news/utv/2023-…

The DUP has laid out seven tests which it said it would require to be fulfilled before considering re-entering the power-sharing institutions.

On Tuesday, The Telegraph reported that one "well-place source" said the new deal "meets all seven tests".

In response to the report, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said: "There is much speculation about the deal with the Prime Minister is concluding with the EU, with the accompanying spin that it meets the DUPs seven tests.

"The DUP have not seen any details regarding the deal but the DUP will be the final arbiters as to whether or not it meets our seven tests," he added.

"Of course, it must also meet the government's own tests and promises made in the NI Protocol Bill.

"The fundamental issue to be dealt with is the democratic deficit and the constitutional damage done by the imposition of EU law.

"If this is not dealt with then the deal will fall short of what is required to restore the political institutions."

With many thanks to: UTV Live for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: THE NORTH of Ireland's largest unionist party faces a historic dilemma if EU and British negotiators clinch a post-Brexit trade deal: redraw their red lines or risk signing a death warrant for decades of power-sharing with Irish nationalists.

Following the Stormont recall and again no speaker being elected in the North of Ireland it is now deemed unworkable it is now time to look at alternatives either:

The DUP insists only they will decide whether any deal between the UK and EU on the protocol meets the party's seven tests.

DUP 'will be final arbiters' on whether any protocol deal between EU and UK meets party’s tests.

NI Unionists face historic choice as EU, UK near protocol deal.

THE NORTH of Ireland's largest unionist party faces a historic dilemma if EU and British negotiators clinch a post-Brexit trade deal: redraw their red lines or risk signing a death warrant for decades of power-sharing with Irish nationalists.

THE Butchers Apron hangs on railings near the infamous UVF mural reading "Prepared For Peace, Ready For War" is seen on the side of a building in the Mount Vernon estate of Belfast in June 21st 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

February 10th, 2023. 

Summary 

▪️EU, Britain make progress in talks on Protocol

▪️Deal unlikely to meet unionist demands

▪️If DUP accepts compromise, rivals may pounce

▪️Rejection could sink devolution, power-sharing

▪️Polls suggest most in N.Ireland back Protocol

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) could take a chance and endorse a NI Protocol deal that is all but certain to fall short of its stringent demands but that would open the door for more radical rivals to outflank the party.

The alternative: reject the deal, double down on its boycott of NI's devolved parliament and potentially call into question key planks of the Good Friday Agreement just as world leaders prepare to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian violence.

#unDemocraticUnionistParty #DáithísLaw #DUPLies #NeverTrustTheDUP #DUPMovingTheGoalposts #NIProtocol #BrexitSeaBorder #ConservativeAndUnionistParty 

David Kerr, former adviser to David Trimble, the principal unionist signatory to the peace accord in the British province, said the deal could be in "real difficulty" if the protocol and power-sharing fail.

"A positive resolution to the protocol issue is not just very beneficial for everyone living in North of Ireland, it is strategically vital for the future of NI's place within the United Kingdom," Kerr said.

With London and Brussels keen to put their post-Brexit spat over NI behind them, the European Union said on Monday progress was being made in talks on reworking the trade rules, which kept the province in the EU's single market for goods to avoid a hard border with EU member state Ireland.

The renegotiation was triggered by anger among unionists and supporters in London of Britain's exit from the EU about the imposition of checks on some goods arriving in North of Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Opinion polls, however, have consistently shown a majority of Northern Irish voters back the protocol, with 54% in favour of the rules with their current lighter touch application and 34% opposed, according to a regular Queen's University Belfast survey last conducted in October.

While the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, Northern Ireland voted 56% to 44% to remain.

'NOT INCAPABLE OF COMPROMISE'

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told Reuters the talks were "very much being held in secret" from unionists but said he was not "paranoid about betrayal" from the British government.

The DUP, he added, is not incapable of compromise. "We don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the possible," he said.

But if there is no agreement unionists can support, NI will continue to have no functioning political institutions, he said, "and I don't think that is an outcome that anybody really wants".

Peering over the DUP's shoulder, however, is a party that says it is comfortable with the collapse of power-sharing with Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the end of devolved power if necessary: the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).

"If the choice is Sinn Fein rule or even imperfect British rule I would certainly take British rule before I would take Sinn Fein rule," said TUV leader Jim Allister.

He warned that opposition to the protocol could "heavily feature" in local elections in May.

While Allister is the only TUV lawmaker elected to the 90-seat devolved assembly, his party's support trebled to 7.6% at elections to it last year when the DUP sank seven points to 21%, leaving Sinn Fein, the ex-political wing of the guerrilla Irish Republican Army, to become the largest party for the first time.

The compromise that the protocol represents to British sovereignty "should be anathema to any democrat. But apparently there is a new breed of colonialists in our midst," Allister said, in reference to the EU.

Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) "Prepared For Peace but Ready For War" UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando 

Further to the unionist extreme lies the Loyalist Communities Council, which claims to represent loyalist paramilitary groups, the sectarian opposite of the old IRA.

"I would certainly be concerned about violence," said council chairman David Campbell. "My worry would be a new generation coming forward that have a much more malign intent, and would be looking at targets in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. People will look where they feel the blame lies."

Completing the intense pressure Donaldson is under from all sides as the defining moment of his leadership nears is the more liberal Ulster Unionist Party, ready to cast itself as the unionist party of pragmatism if the DUP's boycott escalates.

"We may say that's a bad deal ... But at least if we were in government... we have the ability to question, amend, change, block all of these things," UUP leader Doug Beattie said.

"If we're not in government, we can do nothing. What will ultimately protect NI's place in the United Kingdom is if NI works."

With many thanks to: Reuters and Amanda Fergusion and Conor Humphries for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: Northern Ireland Unionists face historic choice as EU, UK near protocol deal.

Following the Stormont recall and again no speaker being elected in the North of Ireland it is now deemed unworkable it is now time to look at alternatives either:

   📢📢NationalistandRepublicians   

    4 points to be met before entering

        back into the Assembly📢📢

1. A revised governance structure preventing vetos

2. Joint Authority

3. Border poll

4. Irish Taoiseach to implement all strands of the GFA 

5. All 4

There has to be change.. 📢📢

#DáithísLaw #EnoughisEnough 

@chhcalling @J_Donaldson_MP @paulgivan @duponline 

https://twitter.com/MrRCain2/status/1625480653008412674?s=20&t=qXy3GpSqN9axTyQ4QE3CJw

BBC chair Richard Sharp should 'fall on his sword', says Jonathan Dimbleby.

Broadcaster says row over Boris Johnson loan is causing ‘great deal of damage for the BBC’

BBC Chairman Richard Sharp along with BBC Director General Tim Davies corruption at its highest standards 

         Tuesday 14th February, 2023. 

The broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby has said the BBC chair, Richard Sharp, should “fall on his sword” over criticism of him for helping Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan, saying the row was causing a “great deal of damage for the BBC”.

Patience Wheatcroft, the former journalist who now sits in the House of Lords, also said she believed Sharp should resign, saying the BBC needed a chair with “impeccable judgment”.

Sharp has apologised for introducing his friend Sam Blyth to the Cabinet Office’s Simon Case. Blyth is a cousin of Johnson who was offering to help the then prime minister with his financial troubles, including as a guarantor of the loan.

Dimbleby said the BBC needed this “like it needs a hole in the head” and said Sharp should go for the good of the corporation after a highly critical select committee report that found he had made “significant errors of judgment”.

Richard Sharp along with the then London Lord Mayor Boris Johnson stands accused of securing a loan in exchange for a very locative job as 'Head of the BBC' #YouCouldntMakeItUp 

The veteran broadcaster told BBC Newsnight: “I have no doubt he is an honourable man, no reason do I have to doubt that. But what he should do honourably is to fall on his sword and say ‘in the interest of the BBC which I care about I don’t want this to go on and on and on, I shall stand aside’.”

Follow this link to watch the video from Jonathan Dimbleby:

Jonathan Dimbleby says BBC chair should 'fall on his sword' over Boris Johnson loan - video 

Wheatcroft, who sits on the Lords communications and digital committee, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Mr Sharp may be a very honourable man but there’s no getting away from the fact he helped to organise an £800,000 loan that would get the prime minister out of financial trouble, he did him a favour just when he wanted the prime minister to give him the top job at the BBC.

“Even if Mr Sharp behaved absolutely correctly, it doesn’t look right, it doesn’t smell right, and it doesn’t feel right for the BBC to have a chairman who is now being questioned about his judgment. What the BBC needs in a chairman is impeccable judgment.”

READ MORE: 

Sunak rejects calls for BBC chair, Richard Sharp, to stand down

Rishi Sunak said on Monday he would await the outcome of the inquiry ordered by the commissioner for public appointments, William Shawcross, which is likely to be delayed after he recused himself because of a personal relationship with Sharp. Last week, Adam Heppinstall KC was announced as his replacement.

Sunak told reporters he did not want to prejudge an inquiry by the government appointments watchdog. The prime minister’s spokesperson added: “Ministers followed the correct process in terms of the appointment of Mr Sharp. He was someone who was selected appropriately following the appropriate process.”

At the weekend, a spokesperson for Sharp expressed regret that he had not made information available to the MPs who vetted his appointment and said they were awaiting the result of the investigation by Heppinstall.

They added: “Mr Sharp would like to apologise again to the BBC’s brilliant staff, given the distraction it has caused. He is proud of the work the board has done driving positive change at the BBC over the last two years and very much looks forward to continuing that work.”

With many thanks to: The Guardian and Jessica Elgot (Deputy political editor) @jessicaelgot for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: Richard Sharp: BBC chair was shareholder in firm awarded £600k while he was a No10 advisor

BBC offices in India raided by tax officials amid Modi documentary fallout.

BBC chair Richard Sharp should 'fall on his sword', says Jonathan Dimbleby.

Richard Sharp: BBC chair was shareholder in firm awarded £600k while he was a No10 advisor

Richard Sharp owns a multimillion pound stake in a healthcare company which was granted nearly £600,000 for Covid research while Sharp worked in No 10, it has emerged.

Man alleged to have helped organise loan for Boris Johnson has £3.4m stake in healthcare firm Oncimmune

     Wednesday 25th January, 2023. 

Sharp, the chair of the BBC, is the second-largest shareholder in Oncimmune, a cancer detection company which received funds in 2020 to help research Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. He was previously a director at the company.

Sharp, who has come under fire in recent days over allegations he helped organise an £800,000 loan facility for Boris Johnson, was working as an economic adviser in Downing Street at the time Oncimmune’s grant was approved by UK Research and Innovation, which is part of the business department.

Nicholas Wilson, the anti-corruption campaigner who uncovered the shareholding, said: “It is no surprise that a medical diagnostics company should have received a contract, but for Sharp to be a major shareholder just stinks.”

A spokesperson for Sharp said: “Richard Sharp has been a keen supporter of innovative approaches to tackling cancer and invested in Oncimmune, a leading cancer diagnostics company, when it spun out of Nottingham University.

“He was not involved in any way in the company’s response to the UKRI’s Medicines Catapult Covid awards tender [the scheme through which the company was granted the money], and his work at the Treasury did not have anything to do with UKRI or their medical and scientific research grants.”

A spokesperson for UKRI said: “UKRI has rigorous decision-making processes in place, and the funding decision on this was made on a competitive basis, by expert assessors against an openly published agreed criteria.”

Ron Kirschner, Oncimmune’s general counsel, said: “Richard was not on the board when the application for the grant was made, which was subject to scientific evaluation. We did not discuss our decision to apply with Richard Sharp, nor seek his assistance at any point in the process.”

The BBC chair insisted this week he was given the job on merit, though the circumstances of that appointment are now under investigation by William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments.

Sharp previously advised Johnson while he was London mayor, and was prime minister Rishi Sunak’s boss at the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

In May 2020, he left his job as a non-executive director at Oncimmune to take up a role in Downing Street advising Sunak, who was chancellor at the time. While working for the government, he oversaw a programme helping to arrange financing for strategically important companies which needed help through the pandemic but were too big for other pandemic support schemes.

He kept his shareholding in Oncimmune, which currently stands at 6.6% according to the company’s website – though he transferred his shares into a blind trust. The stake would have been worth about £3.8m at the time he left the company, and is now worth about £3.4m.

Just three months after Sharp left the company for government, Oncimmune announced it had won government funding to help adapt its technology to predict how people’s immune systems might respond to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments. UKRI said on Wednesday the company’s share of the contract was worth £598,984, and was not connected to the Treasury or the scheme Sharp oversaw.

Alok Sharma, who was business secretary at the time, said of the contract: “By backing this pioneering project, we are ensuring that the best therapeutic approaches can be offered to the right patients at the right time.”

With many thanks to: The Guardian and Kiran Stacey (Political Correspondent) for the original story. 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/25/richard-sharp-shareholder-in-firm-awarded-600k-while-he-was-no-10-adviser