TUV asks Equality Commission to rethink ‘neutral' Irish language signs stance after poll results
The TUV has written to the Equality Commission expressing 'deep concern' about Irish language signs in public spaces following an opinion poll showing unionist unease with the signage.
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Edinburgh Live
an hour ago
- Edinburgh Live
Gangland feud whistleblower believes the 'cancer of organised crime' has been allowed to fester
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The whistleblower who first exposed the criminal activities of the Lyons family 25 years ago has slammed both police and politicians for ignoring his warnings. Billy McAllister, a former SNP councillor, said that the current murderous feud with the Daniel crime clan could have been avoided had the authorities listened to him at the time. It comes after detectives in Spain stepped up their hunt for the killers of Lyons gang members Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons jnr. The gangsters were shot dead in an Irish bar owned by Monaghan in the Spanish holiday resort of Fuengirola by a lone gunman who escaped in a waiting car. Back in 2000, Billy first exposed the Lyons family's involvement in the running of the public funded Chirnsyde Community Initiative in Milton, Glasgow. His complaints that the community centre was a cover for organised crime were dismissed for years by both the police and Glasgow City Council. However that all changed in 2006 when Lyons family member Michael Lyons was shot dead in a Glasgow garage by two associates of the Daniel family, Raymond Anderson and James McDonald. The victim's cousin Steven Lyons was seriously injured by the gunmen as was Lyons associate Robert Pickett. Glasgow City Council finally shut down Chirnsyde and evicted members of the Lyons family from the community centre a few days later. At the time a young Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were both members of the Club Boys - a group of young aspiring criminals attached to the centre. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Billy, who is a former SNP councillor, said the latest bloodshed which saw both men murdered in cold blood on Saturday night was avoidable and preventable had the authorities taken action much sooner. He added: "It's shocking that two young men have lost their lives, but what is more shocking is the fact that the assassination was in a public bar where members of the public were going about their lawful business, having a good night out and their lives where put in danger. "Surely given all the intelligence and information they (the police) have on these criminals how was this allowed to happen? "It was wrong for the police and politicians to ignore us. If they had done an early intervention then maybe a lot of people might just be still living. Now 25 years later the feud is still ongoing and they (the police) are losing the war." It's estimated that the Lyons run community centre received more than £1.4 million in taxpayers money before it was finally closed down. By this time the Lyons had established themselves as a major organised crime group, at war with their Daniel rivals. Billy added: "The origins of the feud was all drug related, and control of that market. "The Lyons along with the Daniel's were determined to control the north of the city at that time. "They always hated each other going away back to when they where petty criminals. We kept on complaining but they just ignored it, but low and behold it all came out at the end." Billy won election to Glasgow City Council in 2006 as a local councillor in Milton by vowing to evict the Lyons crime gang from Chirnsyde. He continued: "A top policeman told me that the police and politicians had left the cancer of serious and organised crime too long without addressing the problem head on. "That's why criminality is a growth industry, the risks are very low of getting caught. "The Lyons could have been taken out when they where petty criminals but they have been allowed to go undetected and look where we are now." The long running feud was reignited in March this year when the Daniel family and associates were targeted in a series of fire bombings and other attacks. The man alleged to have orchestrated the most recent violence is former Rangers ultra 31 year old Ross McGill who is based in Dubai and said to have close links to the Lyons. His gang Tamo Junto have laid the blame for the double murder on a major gangland figure, said to be a key associate of the Daniel family. It's claimed the Lyons had been feeding McGill information to help his gang track their Daniel targets in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The deaths of Monaghan and Lyons Jnr is the most dramatic escalation of the feud to date which has largely been played out in public. In 2010 feared Daniel enforcer and family member Kevin Carroll was shot dead by two men in the car park of an ASDA store in Robroyston, Glasgow. Two years later Ross Monaghan stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow for the murder but walked free after a judge ruled there was no case to answer. In 2017 Monaghan was shot while dropping off his daughter at her primary school in Penilee, Glasgow but escaped with minor injuries. He then relocated to Spain where he opened Monaghan's Bar. Police Scotland has so far arrested 41 people over the most recent incidents in Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of Operation Portaledge. In a statement they said they did not believe they were linked to the weekend fatal shootings in Spain. However there are fears that both murders have taken the Lyons-Daniel feud to a whole new level with the prospect of further violence and retribution.
Powys County Times
12 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Crew hired for ship with largest cocaine seizure were under ‘financial pressure'
Several men hired by an international organised crime group in Dubai to crew a ship with the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history were under financial pressure and succumbed to the temptation to earn thousands, a court has heard. The Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard the circumstances of how the men became involved in the massive drug trafficking operation on the MV Matthew, which was found to be carrying more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine in September 2023. Eight men admitted their roles in trying to smuggle cocaine worth over 157 million euros (£132 million). The ship was intercepted and seized following a massive joint Defence Forces, garda and customs operation. The Irish Army Ranger Wing has been praised in court for putting their lives at risk when they boarded the vessel in severe weather conditions while the crew attempted to steer the ship to high seas. Six of the men arrested on board the MV Matthew had ignored repeated warnings from the LE William Butler Yeats naval vessel. Two other men were rescued from a boat that was bought in Castletownbere, which had been purchased to collect drugs from the main vessel. Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk and Vitaliy Vlasoi, both 32; Iranians Soheil Jelveh and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, all pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Mathew between 24 and 26 September 2023. Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023. Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, also pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21 and September 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Colman Cody SC, counsel for Lapa, told the sentence hearing that his client was not aware of the full scale of the operation and did not have full knowledge of the operation or the structures of the criminal organisation. The married father-of-two was told he would be paid 5,000 euros for his involvement in the operation. Lapa had been in the merchant navy and had previously worked on fishing boats. He had recently retired and was a pensioner in Ukraine. Detective Superintendent Keith Halley agreed that Lapa was at the lower end of the structure. Estoesta was the second officer on board the vessel, who said he had met some of the crew in Venezuela. The court heard how some members of the hired crew were distracted at night while those from the criminal enterprise had loaded some of the cargo containing drugs on to the vessel. They claimed that they had been entertained with alcohol while the so-called spare parts were being transferred on to the ship. Estoesta admitted he was concerned it was more than spare parts, as he saw armed men on the other ship, which was offloading the large cargo. He said he didn't argue as he was terrified and was alone in the ocean. He thought the cargo may have contained contraband, like weapons or cigarettes. His barrister, Michael Hourigan, said that he had a genuine fear of the consequences if he did not follow orders. Vlasoi, a 33-year-old sailor, became involved in the operation after he was contacted when he posted his sailing credentials online. The court heard that he is married with a five-year-old child, who is now living in Ireland with the accused's mother. Paul O'Higgins SC for Vlasoi told the court that his client's 'realisation' of the situation came too late when he discovered that the enterprise was being run at a higher level by people not on the ship. He told gardai that there were outside forces in control. He was told he would be paid 5,000 euros for his part in the operation. Mr O'Higgins said that his client found himself in a vulnerable financial position as he tried to provide for his family during the war in Ukraine. Hassani, a third officer on board the vessel, qualified from maritime college in 2009 and had been at sea constantly for over a decade. Mark Lyam SC, for the 40-year-old, told the court he is married with a six-year-old daughter, and that he had financial responsibility to provide for his family, including medical care. Mr Lyam said he succumbed to temptation because of that financial pressure and wanting to spend more time with his family. The court was also told that he sent a text to someone in Dubai thanking them for the opportunity. Hassani, who was airlifted from the boat, was described as being the lowest rank in terms of officers. Meanwhile, Michael O'Higgins SC, counsel for Harbron, described his client as a drug abuser who was 'induced' into the operation to clear a drug debt. Described as being a last-minute entry into the enterprise, he was offered a 10,000 euro reduction on his drug debt of 20,000 euros. From Scotland, the court heard how Harbron, who was on board the second ship, the Castlemor, had no sailing experience, was not able to operate the radio and was not able to locate the life vest on board. Mr O'Higgins said he had no role in organising, financing or giving directions. Harbron suspected the cargo on board the larger vessel was drugs, but he said he was shocked when he saw the size of it. Brendan Grehan SC, counsel for Dutch national Ozgen, admitted to having loaded three crates of drugs onto the vessel and also played a part in trying to burn drugs by getting paint thinners. He said he expected to earn a bonus of between 50,000 euros and 100,000 euros. Mr Grehan said that Ozgen, who had no sailing experience, has a son with a serious health issue following an operation on a brain tumour. 'It was partly the attraction in terms of getting involved in that he would get money to help (his son) out,' Mr Grehan added. He told the court that his client was involved in a misguided attempt to get money for his family. Keivon Sotoodeh, junior counsel for Jelveh, told the court that his client is a 51-year-old with two adult children. Mr Sotoodeh said Jelveh was simply following orders and accepts he got himself involved in this, however, he 'wasn't at the top of the food chain'. The matter has been put back to July 4.
Belfast Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Trinity College Dublin to divest from links with Israeli universities and firms
The board of the prestigious Dublin university, home to over 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, made the decision to divest from Israeli links on Wednesday. Pro-Palestinian activists have called on other Irish universities to follow suit. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Last May, students formed an encampment at Trinity in protest against a 214,285 euro fine imposed on the students' union after a series of demonstrations about fees and rent, and the university's ties to Israel. Following engagement with the protesters, the college dropped the fine and said it would complete a divestment from Israeli companies that have activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist. The students dismantled the camp after Trinity said it would 'endeavour' to divest in other Israeli companies, noting that its supplier list contains just one Israeli company which remained in place until March this year for contractual reasons. On Wednesday, Trinity's board received a report from a taskforce set up last October to examine academic and institutional links, including with Israel. Although the report is to return to the board later this year for its final consideration, based on 'the strength of the evidence shared', the board accepted the report's recommendations in relation to links with Israel. This included recommendations that the college enter into no Erasmus, collaborative research or supply agreements with Israeli universities, institutions or firms. The college has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements, on an inbound basis only since September 2023, with Israeli universities: the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, and Bar Ilan University, which ends in July 2026. The taskforce also found that the college is engaged in a number of EU-funded research consortia which include Israeli partners, and – although none of these were found to be breaching international humanitarian law or human rights – the taskforce said Trinity should not seek to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation. It also said that Trinity should look to 'align itself' with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations. The taskforce noted that Trinity had divested from Israeli companies on the UN blacklist and has no current supply contracts with Israeli companies. But it recommended that the college should fully divest from all companies headquartered in Israel and that it should not enter into any future supply contracts with Israeli firms. The taskforce accepted that the college's existing intellectual property-related contracts are acceptable as they are not collaborative, but said no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities should be set up. Chairwoman of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) Zoe Lawlor said the decision by Trinity was a 'landmark step in academic rejection of apartheid Israel's regime'. She called on more Irish universities to do the same and paid tribute to students, academics and staff who campaigned for this outcome. 'Trinity will now stand on the right side of history, as it did with South African apartheid in the past, but it is nevertheless disappointing that it took so long to get to this position,' she said. 'We echo the view of TCD Students' Union that it remains disappointing that Trinity has not withdrawn from ongoing projects involving Israeli partners who provide military technology and training that will run until 2029. 'Nonetheless, we celebrate each and every step towards de-normalising relations with the genocidal, apartheid state of Israel. We call on the Irish Government and the EU to pay heed to the changing climate, and to act to bring an end to all Irish state complicity with the apartheid regime.' The taskforce, chaired by former president of the High Court Mary Irvine, met on 14 occasions and received 77 submissions in total.
