Publication
Bodybuilder died after taking drug bought from dark web
A bodybuilder died after taking a drug bought on the dark web which was estimated to be 50 times stronger than morphine, an inquest has found. Joshua Mcgovern (21) had been preparing for a deadlifting competition and his death on April 13, 2023...
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Archibald U-turn on business forum after Chinese pressure
The Economy Minister U-turned on a decision not to attend an economic forum hosted by China following lobbying from the country’s consulate in Belfast, internal emails have revealed. After learning Caoimhe Archibald would be absent, consul general Li...
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Middleton to step down as an MLA ...with wife favourite to replace him
DUP MLA Gary Middleton is stepping down from Stormont as a result of mental health challenges that have “significantly limited” his ability to represent his constituents. Mr Middleton is resigning today, with the Foyle politician’s wife Julie — a...
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Notorious NI paedophile Billyadams will soon be back on the streets
A notorious sex offender from Co Down is set to be released from prison in England on parole, with concerns he may ask for a transfer to Northern Ireland. Billy Adams — regarded as one of the country’s worst paedophiles — has convictions for child sex...
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Girl (15) ‘dragged to Victoria Square car park to be raped’
A 15-year-old girl was taken to the boiler room of an underground car park in a central Belfast shopping centre to be raped, a court has been told. The “predatory” attack is alleged to have been carried out by Jamie Donald (28) at Victoria Square at...
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Adams WAS a member of IRA Army Council: government file
Gerry Adams was on the IRA Army Council in 1996 — and then was re-elected to that post, a high-level government file claims. Weeks after Mr Adams denied on oath that he was a member of the IRA, a declassified document discovered by the Belfast...
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Echoes of Massereene as dissidents target pizza delivery man New IRA claim responsibility for police station attack
Fears are growing for the safety of anyone providing services to the PSNI after a food delivery driver’s car was hijacked in a proxy bomb attack. The New IRA yesterday claimed responsibility for targeting Lurgan police station — saying they...
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Music tutor charged with drugging teen boy for sex
A music tutor who worked in Belfast schools has been charged with drugging a teenage boy for sexual purposes. Robert James Briscoe appeared for the first time at Belfast Magistrates Court yesterday accused of eight separate offences. The 48-year-old,...
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Shops may close for the day over protest disorder fears
Some businesses in Coleraine are planning to close this Easter Saturday due to fears over an anti-immigration protest set to hit the town. Others are considering changing opening hours, despite Saturday being a key trading day for businesses in the...
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Paisley working as director of US lobbying company
Former DUP MP Ian Paisley is now a lobbyist for a US firm that played a key role in Brexit and has former Prime Minister Liz Truss among its clients. The ex-north Antrim MP (right )isworking alongside Leave.eu spin doctor Andy Wigmore and Kwasi...
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Man jailed over plot to kill Adair charged with Donaldson murder
A man jailed for conspiracy to murder Johnny Adair has been charged with the murder of former MI5 spy Denis Donaldson. Antoin Duffy (49) appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin yesterday — just days before the 20th anniversary of...
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Mum (82) of man killed by UDA told she could be shot
The 82-year-old mother of a terminally ill man beaten to death by loyalists six years ago has been warned she could be shot. Glenn Quinn (47) was the innocent victim of a fatal attack in his groundfloor flat in Carrickfergus carried out by members of...
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‘Natalie’s murderer should never be released... he’ll always be a danger’
Killer Stephen Mccullagh should never be released from prison, as “he’ll always be a danger”, the father of murdered Natalie Mcnally has said. Speaking for the first time since Mccullagh was convicted of the murder of the pregnant 32-year-old Lurgan...
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The online world of Youtube killer
Content creator turned killer Stephen Mccullagh is likely to have made many thousands of pounds from his sideline career on Youtube. The Lisburn man tried to use a ‘live stream’ on Youtube as an alibi for why he couldn’t have killed his pregnant...
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Pure evil
Natalie Mcnally was the “greatest joy” her family will ever have, one of her brothers said after her killer was finally convicted of her murder. A jury took just over two hours to unanimously find Lisburn man Stephen Mccullagh (36) guilty of killing...
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Man arrested by police over mum of two’s murder had fallen from 100ft bridge
A 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the murder of Amy Doherty in Londonderry is understood to have been detained by police after falling from the Foyle Bridge. The mother-of-two was described as “the essence of humanity — kind, compassionate...
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Ex-radio Ulster star convicted over water pollution
A former BBC Radio Ulster presenter has been convicted of a water pollution incident that led to more than 100 fish being killed. Karen Patterson (right) admitted the charge at Newtownards Magistrates Court yesterday. The 54-year-old left the BBC six...
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Official suspended from top sports body as police investigate sex offences claims
An official has been suspended from his role at a top Northern Irish sports body following an investigation into historical sexual allegations. The Belfast Telegraph understands the allegations made against the man date back to the early...
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NI public should not panic over outbreak of meningitis, says top GP
A leading doctor has urged people in Northern Ireland not to panic after a teenager was hospitalised with suspected meningitis. Dr Alan Stout is chair of the British Medical Association’s Northern Ireland Council and a GP based in east Belfast, where...
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Girl from NI being treated in hospital for suspected meningitis
Parents of girls at a school in Belfast have been urged to get them vaccinated after a pupil was hospitalised with suspected meningococcal disease, which can cause both meningitis and septicaemia. The Public Health Agency said the child was from...
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Adams gave green light for IRA’S La Mon atrocity, armyveteran tells court
Army intelligence suggested Gerry Adams had authorised the IRA’S La Mon House hotel bombing in 1978 in which 12 people died, a former officer has told the High Court in London. And a veteran BBC investigative journalist claimed he was told the former...
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I’ll help NI households cope with cost of living, vows PM
The Prime Minister is expected to announce help today for households struggling with the soaring cost of home heating oil caused by the war in the Middle East. At a No.10 press conference, Sir Keir Starmer will say that helping families with living...
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£136k in a year spent on sending Stormont ministers across globe
Ministers at Stormont racked up a £136,000 bill for trips around the world in the last year, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. The spending includes visits for politicians and their entourages to the likes of Washington DC, Miami and Beijing. In one...
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As PM tries to reassure NI public struggling with the cost of living, our MLAS pocket a £14k pay rise
Sir Keir Starmer pledged to stop people getting ripped off by soaring fuel bills on a visit to Northern Ireland yesterday — just as a £14,200 pay rise for MLAS was confirmed. The Prime Minister sought to reassure the public that help for rising energy...
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Gerryadams was ‘one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers’, trial hears
Gerry Adams was “one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers”, a court has heard. Former IRA member Shane Paul O’doherty yesterday told the High Court in London he believed the former Sinn Fein leader had been a leading member of the terror...
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Chancellor rejects call to ease oil price spikes in NI
There will be no direct financial support for home heating oil customers in Northern Ireland, the Chancellor has indicated. Rachel Reeves (right) was speaking ahead of a key meeting between a Treasury minister and Northern Ireland MPS today to discuss...
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Natalie’s ex boyfriend arrested on suspicion of threat to kill woman
An ex-boyfriend of Natalie Mcnally was arrested last week on suspicion of making threats to kill another woman he was with at the time of the pregnant woman’s death, a court has heard. The witness was giving evidence in the trial of Lisburn man...
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Car crash leads police to scene of woman’s death
A 45-year-old man was being questioned by police last night on suspicion of murder after the discovery of a woman’s body in Co Fermanagh. The victim has been named as Ellie Flanagan. She was aged in her 20s. Her body was discovered at an address at...
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Man accused of Natalie’s murder beat ex-partner, court is told
A former partner of the man accused of killing Natalie Mcnally told a court how he hit her and secretly recorded counselling sessions about a stillbirth. The woman said she later withdrew a police statement relating to the alleged assault by Stephen...
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‘The net is closing on killers of Lisa Dorrian’
Police are closing in on the killers of Lisa Dorrian, a senior source has said after the fourth recent arrest linked to the 25-year-old’s disappearance more than two decades ago. Lisa went missing from a caravan park in Co Down in February 2005, and...
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Hitman is linked to killing of suspect in George murder
A Liverpool hitman is one of the main suspects for the murder of a Czech man who was being investigated for the fatal shooting of Belfast man John George. Michael Maly (33) was shot dead in the Spanish town of Torrevieja, near Alicante, at the...
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Alert after NI pupil is groomed by predator posing as child online
Parents have been warned to be on their guard after a predator posing as a child groomed a Belfast primary school pupil on Snapchat. Police are investigating after it’s understood the adult tried to get their young victim to send inappropriate...
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Major NI fuel retailer hikes diesel price by 7% amid war in Middle East
One of Northern Ireland’s best-known fuel retailers hiked its diesel price by nearly 10p a litre yesterday as the war in the Middle East intensified. The Go chain of 20 petrol stations was charging 138.9p for a litre of diesel yesterday afternoon, up...
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Revealed: Kneecap emails the government tried to hide
Government departments co-operated to block funding to republican rappers Kneecap — with the NIO in full agreement. Emails that officials tried to hide for two years reveal how one even set their Whatsapp conversation about blocking funding for the...
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Notorious UVF mural to be taken down in east Belfast
An infamous east Belfast mural featuring two UVF gunmen will be removed as part of loyalist transitioning. The Belfast Telegraph understands its removal is part of a long-running project, and as a result of lengthy, behind-thescenes talks with...
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Stormont’s £218,000 disability benefit bill for people outside UK
A Stormont department has paid out nearly £220,000 in Personal Independence Payments to claimants in the Irish Republic or overseas over the past five years, it can be revealed. PIPS benefits are administered by the Department for Communities (DFC)...
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Live stream ‘peddled as an alibi’ shown to Natalie jury
A Youtube recording of Stephen Mccullagh playing a video game he claimed was broadcast live on the night of Natalie Mcnally’s murder was seen in court yesterday. The Lisburn man denies murdering Ms Mcnally (32), who was 15 weeks pregnant. The clip...
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‘Natalie died after suffering prolonged assaultand stabbings’
Natalie Mcnally suffered a “prolonged assault” before she died, a murder trial has been told. Dr James Lyness said the 32-year-old pregnant woman died as a result of stab wounds to her neck, compression of her neck and blunt force trauma to her...
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Natalie murder accused staged 999 call, trial told
A 999 call made by the man accused of murdering pregnant Natalie Mcnally in her Lurgan home was “a put on act”, a court has been told. Stephen Mccullagh (36) denies murdering the 32-year-old, who was 15 weeks pregnant when she died in December...
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UVF and the UDA ‘not going away any time soon’
Loyalist paramilitary groups “aren’t going anywhere” and will not be disbanding, it’s been warned. Instead, they will undergo “transformation” into peaceful groups, according to loyalist activist Jamie Bryson. “We need to move away from discussions...
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No April 1 joke as MLAS’ pay set to increase by 27%
Stormont has been slammed for being “out of touch” with ordinary people after a new body proposed awarding MLAS a 27% pay hike. The salary increase would see MLAS’ pay leap from £53,000 to £67,200 a year, pushing the Assembly’s total wage bill up by...
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Paramilitary shootings becoming a relic of the past, says ex-gunman
Paramilitary-style shootings — once common on the streets of Northern Ireland — are now a form of threat used to ‘tax’ suspected drug dealers, according to a former gunman. The number of people shot in the knees, elbows, feet, ankles or thighs by...
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Pupils’ miracle escape after bus crash horror
Around 40 children had a miracle escape after a school bus crashed near Newry yesterday afternoon. Pupils escaped through a hatch in the roof after the vehicle left the Tullyah Road near Belleeks and landed over a hedge close to an electric pole. A...
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Damning report slams ‘toxic’ workplace culture at Sport NI
The workplace culture at Sport NI is “toxic”, while “bullying, mistrust and fear of retaliation are recurring themes”, according to a damning staff survey. Sport NI is the leading public body for the development of sport here, but has been hit by a...
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PSNI refuses to apologise for arresting the innocent victim of a serial stalker
The PSNI has refused to apologise to a young woman who was the victim of a serial stalker after they arrested his distressed victim and held her in a cell for four hours in response to fabricated allegations he’d made about her. Co Tyrone man Ezra...
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DUP man hits out at bonfire builders as row splits community Council removes pallets gathered months ahead of Eleventh Night
A DUP councillor in east Belfast has slammed bonfire builders for collecting material for an Eleventh Night pyre months in advance, with the dispute now dividing the local community. Pallets were being gathered in the Cregagh area six months ahead of...
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More than 500 pubs have shut in last three decades
More than 500 pub owners have called time on their businesses over the past three decades in Northern Ireland — while the number of off-licences has more than doubled. Industry statistics reveal a shifting landscape for the hospitality sector here, as...
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Massive disparity in prosecutions for terror displays
Republican terror displays are around eight times more likely to be prosecuted than loyalist ones, new analysis has revealed. Between 2015 and 2025, there were 94 prosecutions of paramilitary displays under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act. But...
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Nightclub murder hitman had £50k bounty on his head
A former INLA hitman jailed for murder three decades ago claims there was a £50,000 bounty on his head at the time. Frankie ‘Studs’ Lanigan (right) is serving a 20-year sentence for killing John Knocker (22) outside a Dungannon nightclub in 1998. He...
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Widow of murdered US activist to recruit students on NI visit
Leading US conservative Erika Kirk is expected to visit Northern Ireland as part of a tour to recruit young people to the organisation founded by her murdered husband. Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University in September while speaking...
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Embittered divorcee faces £15k payout after ‘affair’email court case
An embittered divorcee who emailed the employer of his ex-wife and her new partner to claim the pair had been engaged in a “lengthy extramarital affair” which had led to the break-up of both marriages has been ordered to pay them £15,000. Stephen...
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Epstein is not a paedophile, top NI lawyer told the media
Northern Ireland’s most famous libel lawyer threatened newspapers for calling Jeffrey Epstein a paedophile — and did so after he was a convicted sex offender, new files reveal. Documents published by the US Department of Justice set out how Paul Tweed...
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Man ‘drove car over little kids after drinking a dozen beers’
A motorist drank up to 12 tins of beer before he drove over three children in Belfast, the High Court has heard. Thomas Maughan (37) fled the scene after the two girls and a boy were trapped under his car at Black Ridge View in the west of the city,...
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Prolific sex offender is back behind bars after breaching court order
A notorious convict who trafficked vulnerable young women in Northern Ireland for sex is back behind bars — this time in Scotland. Martin Heaney — known as Mucky Marty — was the first man here to be handed a Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order...
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Mitchell’s NI legacy destroyed by links to paedophile Epstein
The legacy of Troubles peacemaker George Mitchell lies in tatters as institutions in Northern Ireland move to distance themselves from the ex-us senator due to his links with Jeffrey Epstein. Mr Mitchell — who was key to the success of the Good Friday...
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Katie and Creswell families locked in land row
The sister of murdered showjumper Katie Simpson and the mother of her killer Jonathan Creswell are currently locked in legal proceedings over the transfer of a piece of land, it can be revealed. The sudden deaths of both Ms Simpson and Creswell are...
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NIO minister was querying Epstein links to Andrew as far back as 2010: US files
A Northern Ireland Office minister raised questions about Andrew Mountbatten-windsor’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein two years after the wealthy financier was first convicted of sex crimes, new US government files reveal. Hugo Swire asked one of...
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Suspects behind unsolved killings linked to assault
Members of a notorious crime gang — linked to the unsolved killings of two Co Armagh friends — are suspects in a recent attack on a father-of-three prior to his sudden death. Stephen Smith, himself a convicted double killer, had been assaulted several...
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Haddock ‘dead man walking’ if he tries to come back to NI
A former UVF commander who was a high-ranking police informer has been warned he is a “dead man walking” if he returns to Northern Ireland. Mark Haddock is expected to be given a new identity following his release from prison in England this week...
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INLA linked to shooting of man cleared in connection to drugs haul
A faction of the INLA is being blamed for the paramilitary-style shooting of a man in both legs in north Belfast. The victim, who is in his late 30s, was recently cleared of drugs offences. He was shot once in each leg in an alleyway in Strathroy...
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Mum’s distress after ‘cowardly sectarian attack’ on her home
A family in Londonderry have said they will have to leave their home following a “cowardly sectarian attack”. The couple told how their three children, aged between one and five, were left screaming when the windows of their house in Ebrington Oaks in...
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Audit shows civil service is now more bloated and inefficient than ever
Northern Ireland’s civil service is too bloated and costly, and its leaders are failing taxpayers badly, a devastating report by auditors has revealed. Jayne Brady (right )was hand-picked by the DUP and Sinn Fein in order to reform the civil service...
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Support for TUV takes a hit as DUP’S shift to right helps win back voters
The Ulster Unionists have pulled in front of the TUV in the polls ahead of Jon Burrows’ inauguration as UUP leader this weekend. The UUP is up one percentage point to 13% to become the third most popular party here, while Jim Allister’s party is down...
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NI public’s damning verdict on Stormont
The public’s disillusionment with Stormont is laid bare in a new survey, with just one in four here saying the political institutions have improved their lives. As the second anniversary of the restoration of devolution approaches, a Lucidtalk poll...
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