
HIA compensation dead in a ditch
HIA abuse compensation dead in a ditch Boris Johnson made a commitment in the Queen's Speech to introduce legislation to provide compensation for Northern Ireland's Historical Institutional Abuse victims. Now Jacob Rees-Mogg says there may not be time before Parliament is dissolved on Monday. Kincora victims were recently told they would have to wait 66 years before secret government files on the hidden story behind their abuse is revealed. Do the math. None of them will be a

Smack and Snowflakes #2
Ultra violet lit public toilets, designed to prevent drug users clearly seeing the veins in their arms to inject into, don't work. Last Friday I went to a blinding and dazzling public 'comfort station' to find it locked. I left. I was worried that someone might need help so I returned. As I knocked on the door, the latch turned. It was a large toilet, adapted specifically for disabled use. A woman came out. I apologised, saying I was worried that someone was unwell since they

Peace should never be taken for granted
No Deal Doesn’t Mean a Clean Break Last Saturday, Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), brought a stark message about Brexit to the crowded Factory Room in Belfast’s Metropolitan Arts Centre – the MAC. ‘No deal doesn’t mean a clean break. It’s not as if it’s going to be a short, sharp shock. The fall-out will poison our political life for years to come. We’ve seen what the neofascists are capable of – in Britain, the memory of the murder o