Latest news with #PeterRobinson
ABC News
05-06-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Frosty start for southern Queenslanders as winter temperatures fall
Queenslanders in the southern part of the state will be waking up to another frosty morning on Friday, but warmer temperatures are on the horizon. Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) Daniel Hayes said cooler temperatures were possible for Friday across the south and south-west, including the Darling Downs and parts of the Maranoa and the Warrego. Mr Hayes said it would be "another fairly cool start to the day" as the minimum temperatures were forecast to reach 2 degrees Celsius or less on Friday. He said temperatures were to be only slightly warmer as the weekend rolled through. "At this stage, the cooler temperatures will be easing as we head into the weekend, and the winds will be dropping off," he said. "It will be generally warmer over the weekend, but we're not talking by large amounts, mostly around about 2, maybe 3 degrees warmer for the maximums and minimums."' Brisbane is set to reach a top of 23 degrees on Friday, while it will be cooler inland with 18 degrees forecast for Toowoomba and 17 degrees expected in Stanthorpe. Townsville will hit a top of 26 degrees, while Mount Isa will reach 27 degrees on Friday. Gold Coast residents Peter and Lauraine Robinson have been travelling in their van across south-west Queensland, stopping at Warwick on Wednesday night. Sporting a pair of shorts on Thursday, Mr Robinson said it was a cold start, but he enjoyed the lower temperatures, unlike his wife. "She doesn't like the cold as much as I do, but we put the diesel heater on in the van, so it wasn't as cold," Mr Robinson said. "We've got the gear, so we should be right." Mr Hayes said a high-pressure system that was shifting through coastal areas could bring a few showers, but nothing significant enough to bring snow. "We're really not expecting to see anything significant into the [Darling] Downs and so forth, maybe a few little showers in the far east and around that Granite Belt area, but if they occur, they are likely to be very light and those showers would occur after we see the temperatures being a bit warmer," he said. "Even though we've got some cold temperatures around over the next couple of days, it won't be quite as cold when we have that chance of some showers, so no chance of any snow or anything through Queensland." Mr Hayes said the cooler weather would return next week from Tuesday through to Thursday. A gale warning remains in place for the Gold Coast, while a strong wind warning has been issued for the Capricornia to the Sunshine Coast.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
‘Who would ever have thought it, me and SF working together': Court hears messages allegedly sent by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson
A series of Twitter messages allegedly exchanged between loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and the account of a Sinn Féin member in advance of a Northern Assembly committee meeting were aired in court on Tuesday. The evidence included a message allegedly sent by Mr Bryson which said 'Who would ever have thought it, me and SF working together as the DUP squirm! Unreal!' Mr Bryson is one of three men currently on trial at Belfast Crown Court on charges arising from a meeting of the Assembly's Finance and Personnel Committee. In September 2015, the committee was investigating how Northern Ireland property loans were handled by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and on September 23rd of that year, Mr Bryson gave evidence at the meeting. READ MORE During the session, he named a number of people, including the DUP's Peter Robinson, who he claimed would benefit financially from the Nama deal. [ Stormont rules were subverted to cause 'political embarrassment' to Peter Robinson, Nama trial hears Opens in new window ] It is the crown's case that the rules of this committee – chaired by Sinn Féin's Daithi McKay – were subverted to cause political embarrassment to Mr Robinson who, in September 2015, had occupied the position of first minister. The crown also alleges that due to messages exchanged between Mr Bryson and the two Sinn Féin members Mr McKay and Thomas Gerard O'Hara prior to the meeting, there was manipulation of how this evidence was presented. Mr Bryson (35), of Rosepark, Donaghadee, Co Down, and Mr O'Hara (41), of Lisnahunshin Road, Cullybackey, Co Antrim, have both been charged that on dates between September 1st and 24th, 2015, they 'conspired together and with Daithí McKay to commit an offence of misconduct in a public office'. Mr McKay (43), of Loughan Road, Dunnamanagh, Co Tyrone, has been charged with misconduct in a public office on September 23rd, 2015. All three defendants have denied the charges levelled against them. During today's hearing, a series of messages which the crown say were exchanged between Mr Bryson and Mr McKay, and also between Mr Bryson and the Twitter account of Mr O'Hara, were aired. The messages were presented in court as screenshots from Twitter that were sent and received before the committee session was held. In the alleged messages between Mr Bryson and Mr McKay, Mr Bryson talked of the need for 'transparency' when giving his evidence, with Mr McKay reminding Mr Bryson to keep within the committee's terms of reference. The non-jury trial, now in its second week, also heard of a series of messages allegedly exchanged between Mr Bryson and the Twitter account of Mr O'Hara the day before the committee meeting was held. Messages from Mr O'Hara's account to Mr Bryson include 'A wee suggestion for you ... when talking about Robinson, refer to him as Person A. Say what you have to say about him, referring to him as Person A, then in your final line say Person A is Peter Robinson, MLA. It means the committee cannot interrupt you and it means that you don't have to say Robbo's name until the very last second then it's job done.' In a further exchange, a message sent from Mr O'Hara's account told Mr Bryson, 'Read the top table and don't snap back at the DUP. Kill then with kindness. Be professional and courteous.' Mr Bryson is alleged to have replied, 'Who would ever have thought it, me and SF working together as the DUP squirm! Unreal' to which the account of Mr O'Hara replied, 'You will be trending by teatime, lol.' The non-jury trial heard evidence from a digital expert who was asked to examine the screenshots. This expert ruled that while there was no evidence to suggest they were not genuine, he could not rule out that they had been fabricated or modified. Also called to give evidence was high-profile solicitor Paul Tweed. Under cross-examination by Mr Bryson's barrister, John Larkin KC, Mr Tweed was questioned about a book written by Mr Bryson on the sale of Nama's property portfolio. Entitled Cerberus The Three-Headed Dog and sold on Amazon, Mr Tweed was asked about legal correspondence regarding the book and its contents and whether any legal action was ultimately taken. Declining to answer, Mr Tweed said to do so would breach 'client confidentiality'.
Belfast Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Nama trial: Court hears recording of Jamie Bryson's allegations about Peter Robinson
A recording of an Assembly committee meeting during which loyalist activist Jamie Bryson claimed the then First Minister Peter Robinson was set to benefit from the Nama deal has been played in court. The finance and personnel committee meeting – which took place in Stormont in September 2015 – is at the heart of a trial currently being held at Belfast Crown Court.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Peter Robinson claims denied in Bryson 'Nama trial'
Controversial claims about Peter Robinson by the loyalist activist Jamie Bryson at a Stormont committee 10 years ago were replayed in court the time, Mr Robinson was First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).He described the allegations made in 2015 by Mr Bryson, about a so-called Nama property deal, as "scurrilous and unfounded" without "one iota of evidence".Mr Bryson, 35, from Rosepark, Donaghadee, is on trial at Belfast Crown Court where he denies a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, related to the Finance Committee meeting a decade ago. Video footage of the hearing, which took place in September 2015, was played in court on day three of the court was shown Mr Bryson's 47-minute appearance at the committee. He spoke about how Northern Ireland property loans were handled by the National Asset Management Agency, known as to follow
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Stormont rules were subverted to cause ‘political embarrassment' to Peter Robinson, Nama trial hears
The rules of a Stormont committee were subverted in 2015 to cause 'political embarrassment' to former first minister Peter Robinson , a court has heard. The trial of loyalist activist Jamie Bryson , former Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay and Thomas O'Hara on charges related to a committee hearing that examined the sale of the National Asset Management Agency's (Nama) Northern Ireland assets got under way on Tuesday. DUP chairman Lord Morrow was among the witnesses who gave evidence on the first day of the trial at Belfast Crown Court. Mr McKay (43) of Loughan Road, Dunnamanagh, denies committing misconduct in public office. READ MORE Mr Bryson (35) from Rosepark, Donaghadee, and Mr O'Hara (40) from Lisnahunshin Road, Cullybackey, both deny conspiring to commit misconduct in public office. The charges relate to Bryson's 2015 appearance before the Stormont committee, chaired by Mr McKay, which was investigating the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland assets to a US investment fund. A criminal investigation was launched after the publication of leaked Twitter messages between Mr Bryson, Mr McKay and the account of Mr O'Hara, who at the time was a Sinn Féin activist in north Antrim. Mr McKay quit as an MLA within hours of the Twitter messages being published in August 2016. The Stormont finance committee inquiry was set up in 2015 amid political controversy over the multimillion-euro sale of Nama's property portfolio north of the Border. Nama, the so-called bad bank created by the Irish government to deal with the toxic loans of bailed-out lenders during the economic crash, sold its 800 Northern Ireland-linked properties to investment fund Cerberus for £1.2 billion (€1.6 billion). Giving evidence to the committee in 2015, Mr Bryson used Assembly privilege to name former DUP leader Mr Robinson as a beneficiary of the sale. The then-first minister of Northern Ireland strongly rejected any suggestion he benefited from the deal. All other parties involved in the transaction also denied wrongdoing. Opening the case on Tuesday, prosecuting barrister Toby Hedworth KC said it concerned a 'successful attempt to subvert the rules of procedure of a Stormont committee'. He said the purpose of this had been to cause 'considerable political embarrassment' to Mr Robinson and others. 'It is the prosecution's case that by engaging in this subterfuge to allow Mr Bryson to make allegations that he well knew did not come within the terms of reference of the committee, Daithí McKay, as a public office holder, was wilfully misconducting himself to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public trust in the office holder's position and it was done without reasonable excuse or justification. 'Mr McKay had contrived how evidence would be given in public session when it should have been given in private session, and allowed it to happen when he had the knowledge of what was to be said. 'Via his agreement with Mr Bryson, there was a conspiracy to allow that to happen with Mr O'Hara being a vital and knowing cog in the wheel.' The first witness in the trial was the Sammy Morrison, who at the time was the PA to TUV leader Jim Allister . He told the court that in August 2016, he had received a phone call from Mr Bryson telling him he would forward emails containing Twitter messages between the loyalist activist and McKay which were going to be the basis of a story on the Nolan Show the following day. Mr Morrison said the messages were then sent to him by Mr Bryson via emails and after reading some of them, he forwarded the messages to Mr Allister. The witness said he had subsequently given permission for a PSNI officer to retrieve the emails from his computer. He was asked if it was widely known that Mr Robinson was going to be named by Mr Bryson during his committee appearance. Mr Morrison said: 'I think everybody knew that when Jamie was coming to give evidence before the committee that he intended to name Mr Robinson. 'I don't think that was limited to myself and Jim [Allister] because we had our meetings with Mr Bryson, I think that was common knowledge. 'Everybody was sitting watching the evidence waiting for that moment to arrive.' Lord Morrow told the trial that he had written to the PSNI chief constable in August 2016 after allegations relating to Mr Bryson and Mr McKay were reported in the media. He said he asked the police to consider if any criminal activity had taken place. Lord Morrow was later asked if it was fair to say Stormont committees were 'not too strict' on the application of terms of reference in its hearings. He said: 'Very often the strictness rests with the chairman … there were times I thought it could have been stricter.' The non-jury trial resumes on Wednesday. – PA
