Paratroopers acquitted over murder of Official leader Joe McCann after trial collapses

Sixty per-cent reduction in Covid -19 hospital admissions over the last seven days

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Subscribe              May 4, 2021           Dear reader Former defence minister Johnny Mercer has called on the government to introduce legislation to end prosecutions of veterans who served in Northern Ireland. Mr Mercer spoke out after the trial of two former soldiers over the death of Official IRA leader Joe McCann in 1972 collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors offered no further evidence at Belfast Crown Court. Mr Mercer said he was "delighted for the soldiers who can now hopefully go and live the rest of their lives in peace". However, he added it was time for the prime minister to deliver on "legislation to end the relentless pursuit of those who served their country in Northern Ireland". Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Michael Agnew said the decision to prosecute was taken in 2016 after the evidence received was subjected to a "very thorough and careful examination by a team of experienced lawyers". There was more good news in relation to the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland on Tuesday. No further Covid-19 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours while there has been a 60 per cent reduction in hospital admissions here over the last seven days.  Alistair Bushe Editor Want total access to all of our online content? You can subscribe to our website, newsletter.co.uk for just £1 a month for 3 months - and it couldn't be easier.   Signing up will get you faster-loading articles, fewer adverts and access to exclusive content and events when we run them. To learn more, visit our Subscriptions page here.             60% reduction in hospital admissions over last seven days - zero deaths and 83 new infections detected in last 24 hours           Hospital admissions concerning Covid-19 have reduced by approximately 60 per cent in Northern Ireland over the last seven days.                 Northern Ireland still on track for next step out of lockdown despite border area concerns, says Dr Tom Black   Northern Ireland remains on course for the next step out of lockdown in three weeks despite concerns about cross-border travel, the head of a leading medical body has said.           QUB researchers investigate impact of Covid-19 on older people   Researchers from Queen's University Belfast are studying how people aged 50 years and older across Northern Ireland have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of their health, psychological wellbeing, social activity, employment and financial circumstances.           NI student faces long road to recovery after coronavirus causes stroke   A 22-year-old student from Northern Ireland is on the long road to recovery having contracted coronavirus and a week later suffering a stroke.           Two former paratroopers acquitted over murder of Official leader Joe McCann after trial collapses   Two former paratroopers accused of the murder of Official IRA leader Joe McCann during the Northern Ireland Troubles have been formally acquitted after prosecutors offered no further evidence at Belfast Crown Court.           Man accused of firing shots said he was keeping 27 guns in his garage to keep them out of reach of UDA   A man accused of firing shots in north Belfast had 27 guns in his garage to keep them out of the reach of the UDA, a court heard on Tuesday.           Further searches in investigation into murder of Lisa Dorrian - 'I believe the answers to her murder remain local to Ballyhalbert and I remain convinced that a small number of people hold the key to Lisa's disappearance'   Further searches are being conducted by detectives investigating the murder of Lisa Dorrian in Ballyhalbert.           Ruth Dudley Edwards: I came to greatly admire Arlene Foster's decency, pluralism and courage   I'm writing this on May 3, Northern Ireland's hundredth birthday.           Sinn Fein man: NI state's law was the envy of racist apartheid regime   A senior Sinn Fein man has drawn parallels between the newly-created state of Northern Ireland in 1921 and the apartheid regime of South Africa.                 View more news

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