Other News In Brief

Woman Convicted Of Benefit Fraud

A woman has been convicted for claiming benefits she was not entitled to at Newtownards Magistrates’ Court.

Mandy Nelson (50) of Cranley Grove, Bangor claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance totalling £4,264 while failing to declare employment. She was given a 12 month conditional discharge.

She is also required to repay any money wrongfully obtained to the Department for Communities.

NI Electricity Firm Enters Administration

An electricity supplier in Northern Ireland has gone into administration.

Open Electric had around 1,100 customers and they have now been moved to Power NI.

Customers who pay by direct debit or pay when they receive a bill do not need to do anything further.

However they will need to contact Power NI to set-up payment options.

Pay as you go customers will need to contact Power NI to receive a new keypad number.

Jenny Pyper, Chief Executive of the Utility Regulator said: "Customers of Open Electric do not need to worry, particularly over the Christmas period, and they will not experience any disruption to their electricity supply. All of Open Electric's customers have now been switched to Power NI, which is the nominated supplier under the contingency arrangements established for this kind of situation by the Utility Regulator, Power NI and NIE Networks.

"We have been carefully watching market developments in general, particularly over the last few weeks, and have been speaking with suppliers. As soon as we decided that Open Electric's licence should be revoked, we activated established arrangements to ensure that affected customers did not lose their electricity supply, and were transferred seamlessly to Power NI.

"Open Electric's customers have now all been transferred to Power NI on the same tariff basis as Power NI's existing customers. We regulate Power NI's tariff so customers can be assured that the price they pay, reflects the actual cost of delivering electricity to their home or business."

Concerns Raised At Direction Legacy Investigations Are Taking

Doug Beattie MC MLA, the Ulster Unionist Party’s Justice spokesperson, has expressed his concern at the direction Legacy Investigations are taking.

Mr Beattie said: "Recent public comments with regard to the role played by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in directing the PSNI as to what cases the Legacy Investigations Branch (LIB) should be looking at, have caused a great deal of concern, both in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.

"On the PSNI website it statesm "All Troubles related deaths will be reviewed by LIB using the Case Sequencing Model which does not prioritise military cases".

"Yet last week the Chief Constable told victims of the Troubles "there are some circumstances where the director of public prosecutions can direct me to effectively conduct an investigation and it is in those cases that the majority of my LIB are occupied at the moment".

"Last week I asked for a meeting with the Chief Constable to discuss paramilitary activity and I have subsequently asked to expand this meeting to cover legacy investigations. I have also asked repeatedly what action the PSNI intends to take in the case of Kieran Conway, who confessed on television to either the murder, assisting the murder, or attempted murder, of British soldiers when he was in the IRA.

"As my Party colleague Danny Kinahan MP said on Friday, there has been a totally disproportionate focus on the actions of State forces when compared to the actions of terrorist groups and I genuinely fear this is bringing the entire judicial process into disrepute in the eyes of the public and affecting their confidence in the system itself."

(CD)