Since 1737
Price: 72p (IR 1.05 EURO) Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Poots backs
new cancer
unit SEE PAGE 8
Obama
extends
hand of
friendship
US president Barack
Obama, with First Lady
Michelle, waves to the
crowds after his historic
speech at College
Green in Dublin during
yesterday’s visit to the
Republic at the start of a
week-long tour of Europe.
See pages 3, 4 and 5
PICTURE: Paul Faith/PA Wire
No police link to
Nelson murder
BY MaRK RAINEY
mark.rainey@newsletter.co.uk
THE public inquiry into the
murder of Lurgan solicitor
Rosemary Nelson has found
no evidence of security force
collusion.
After a six-year investigation
into the 1999 booby trap bomb
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attack, the inquiry team
concluded “there is no evidence
of any act, by or within any of the
state agencies we have examined,
which directly facilitated
Rosemary Nelson’s murder”.
The report, which was made
public yesterday afternoon, goes
on to say that the possibility of a
“rogue member or members” of
The pride of Northern Ireland
Chaos as high
winds batter
Ulster SEE PAGE 9
the security forces assisting the
murderers to target Mrs Nelson
could not be excluded.
However, the Northern
Ireland Retired Police Officers
Association says the unending
list of “possibilities” makes such
speculation meaningless.
Welcoming what he called the
“key finding” of no direct RUC
involvement in the murder, a
spokesman for the association
said: “The reference to being
unable to exclude the possibility
of a rogue or rogue officers in
some way assisting the murders
is rejected, however, as judicially
valueless and unsubstantiated
conjecture.”
Turn to page 7
www.newsletter.co.uk
Teen killed
by golf ball
A TEENAGER died after
being struck by a golf ball
hit by his elder brother on
a north Down course, an
inquest heard yesterday.
Craig Woods, 16, from
Newtownards, had been left
on a life support machine
following the incident in July
last year in which he was hit
directly on the head.
Craig was practising
his swing with his sibling,
Connor, on the driving range
at Blackwood golf centre
in Clandeboye when the
incident occurred.
Dr Brian Herron, of the
Royal Victoria Hospital,
described Craig’s tragic death
as a “completely exceptional
case”.
See page 10
Woman dies
after stabbing
POLICE have launched a
murder inquiry after a 50-
year-old woman was stabbed
to death in north Belfast.
Anne-Marie O’Kane’s body
was found at her home in the
Northview Apartments on
the Antrim Road yesterday
morning.
A 51-year-old man handed
himself in to police in
Glengormley at around 10am
yesterday.
As a result of the
information he told officers,
they were able to locate Ms
O’Kane’s body.
Turn to page 12
Volcanic ash
halts flights
US President Barack Obama
cut short his visit to the
Republic last night after
an ash cloud from Iceland
threatened serious air
disruption.
His change of plans came
amid fears that Air Force
One could fall victim to the
massive plume.
Mr Obama was due to arrive
in Britain today but instead
travelled last night.
Turn to page 12