Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph & Sunday Independent. Author of Burned: The Inside Story of the Cash-for-Ash Scandal. Any views mine alone.https://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3muqxukhrbs23Secret files reveal how politics overrode security advice about Queen's NI Silver Jubilee visit: Security assessment considered possibility of suicide bomber or IRA divers & fears Duke of Edinburgh young people could be shot, but visit judged politically imperative. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/secret-files-reveal-how-politics-overrode-security-advice-about-queens-ni-silver-jubilee-visit/a/160968582.html?=12305 Sep 2026 07:37 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3muqxukhrbs23https://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mugugivtt223Leading loyalist bandsman warns that re-opening the Drumcree dispute could be disastrous for parades across Northern Ireland - and reveals the NIO in 2023 rejected him for the Parades Commission in favour of Billy Gamble, who has just quit in controversy. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/drumcree-publicity-stunt-could-set-parading-back-a-decade-warns-prominent-loyalist-bandsman/a/160760542.html01 Sep 2026 07:09 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mugugivtt223https://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3muc25pvtlc2rThomas ‘Slab’ Murphy’s error was simple, but catastrophic. Unknown to the IRA gangster, the newspaper he was suing had all but abandoned hope of winning. A previously secret file reveals key elements of The Sunday Times' seminal libel victory in 1990. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/secret-file-reveals-ira-gangster-was-on-cusp-of-1m-newspaper-payout-before-one-legal-slip-pulled-house-down-on-his-criminal-empire/a/160644205.html30 Aug 2026 09:08 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3muc25pvtlc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mu7fidve5k2r‘It seems unjust’: How the NIO helped self-confessed paedophile evade justice in 1997, with child victim blamed for their own abuse and one of the NIO's most senior officials joking about the abuser. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/it-seems-unjust-how-ni-office-helped-self-confessed-paedophile-evade-justice-with-child-victim-blamed-and-top-official-joking-about-abuser/a/160616946.html29 Aug 2026 07:53 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu7fidve5k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mu4wkvkmbc2rInside IRA bomber Dolours Price’s final months in jail: ‘She sits, listless and companionless… a gaunt spectre, prematurely aged’. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/inside-dolours-prices-final-months-in-jail-she-sits-listless-and-companionless...-a-gaunt-spectre-prematurely-aged/a/160573776.html28 Aug 2026 08:20 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu4wkvkmbc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mu2eyaqnas2rSinn Féin controlled Tallaght using guns and "muscle", the British Embassy was told in 2000: "There's a more urgent need for decommissioning in Dublin South West than in Northern Ireland". https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-controlled-tallaght-using-guns-and-muscle-british-embassy-told-in-2000/a/160520015.html27 Aug 2026 08:00 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2eyaqnas2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mu2eunb7ds2rThe Irish Government seriously explored opening an Irish passport office in Belfast more than a quarter of a century ago, but refused to make it a consulate, prompting British opposition. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/irish-government-seriously-explored-opening-belfast-passport-office-in-2000-but-baulked-at-consulate-proposal/a/160469861.html27 Aug 2026 07:58 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu2eunb7ds2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtxuxcawjc2rUnder direct rule, ministerial papers were routinely shredded by the Department for the Environment after being read by the minister, declassified file reveals. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/stormont-department-routinely-shredded-papers-after-they-were-read-by-minister/a/160481236.html26 Aug 2026 08:08 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtxuxcawjc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtxtsnwljs2rBritain’s 1950 view of Northern Ireland declassified: Militarily strategic, religiously harmonious and bound to GB by racial ties. Detailed internal Foreign Office document fused self-reflective honesty about the past with wishful thinking about the present. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/britains-1950-view-of-ni-declassified-militarily-strategic-religiously-harmonious-and-bound-to-gb-by-racial-ties/a/160469872.html?=12326 Aug 2026 07:48 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtxtsnwljs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtvconqlmc2rAs first minister designate, David Trimble was paid £5,000 more than Seamus Mallon — despite the first and deputy first minister roles being equal. There was a plan to hike the differential to £15,000, with the NIO fearing Trimble would ‘get mad’. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-trimble-was-paid-thousands-more-than-seamus-mallon-despite-the-first-and-deputy-first-minister-roles-being-equal/a/160419721.html25 Aug 2026 07:36 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvconqlmc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtvavxgedc2rOne of the Irish Government’s most senior diplomats made what top NIO figures believed to be “bizarre” criticism of how he said the evangelical Protestant faith of future NIO head Jonathan Stephens influenced his work, according to a declassified file. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/top-irish-diplomat-made-bizarre-comment-on-ni-office-mans-evangelical-protestant-faith-i-was-nonplussed/a/160414811.html?=12325 Aug 2026 07:04 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvavxgedc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mttgt66u5k2rA court has heard a recording of a former council boss allegedly asking an aide to delete (after an FoI request had been made) an email she sent to First Minister Arlene Foster regarding alleged loyalist threats to port workers. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/ex-council-boss-anne-donaghy-asked-pa-to-delete-email-to-arlene-foster-over-threats-to-port-staff-court-hears/a/160415752.html24 Aug 2026 13:45 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttgt66u5k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtt5rjhlfc2rCo Down woman admits breaching a lifetime anonymity order by publishing information likely to lead to the identification of a victim of Jeffrey Donaldson. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/woman-admits-breaching-jeffrey-donaldson-victims-anonymity-in-social-media-post/a/160415260.html24 Aug 2026 11:03 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtt5rjhlfc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtswgbg5mk2rMargaret Thatcher commissioned a highly secretive analysis of whether to create a compulsory system of identity cards for everyone in Northern Ireland, declassified Government files have revealed. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher-commissioned-secret-analysis-which-examined-plan-to-force-everyone-in-ni-to-carry-an-id-card/a/160358706.html?=12324 Aug 2026 08:51 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtswgbg5mk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtsqisbdm22rA DUP politician endorsed violence, privately briefing an unnerved Government official that he was preparing for "brother against brother" fighting just weeks before the Good Friday Agreement, a declassified file reveals. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-man-was-prepared-to-take-up-weapons-against-ni-peace-deal/a/160358682.html24 Aug 2026 07:05 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtsqisbdm22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtqhmiyc5s2kDoubt is often seen as a vice, but can be a virtue. In an age of AI slop and slick lies, we need doubt more than ever. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/comment/in-an-age-of-ai-and-slick-lies-we-must-retain-the-instinct-to-doubt-and-criticise-things/a/160341333.html?=12323 Aug 2026 09:21 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtqhmiyc5s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtnszqppks2rJon Burrows’ greatest asset is also his greatest weakness. A year after entering politics, Burrows is the most popular man in unionism, but his feet of clay are starting to emerge. The UUP leader's path to victory still exists, but is perilously narrow. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/jon-burrows-greatest-asset-is-also-his-greatest-weakness-uup-leaders-path-to-victory-still-exists-but-is-perilously-narrow/a/160310494.html22 Aug 2026 08:07 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtnszqppks2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mtgogkjoq225Grotesque images from @kscott94.bsky.social showing two swans trapped in a vast expanse of toxic sludge on Lough Neagh last night. Firefighters spent more than an hour trying to rescue them. NI gets c40% of its drinking water from Lough Neagh... and we flush raw sewage into it. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/area/antrim/news/firefighters-launch-major-overnight-rescue-operation-to-save-swans-trapped-in-lough-neagh-algae/a/160216893.html?=12319 Aug 2026 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtgogkjoq225https://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3msngyztuc22xSinn Féin is preparing the ground to potentially collapse Stormont. This is a sudden and cynical change of strategy driven by desperation at the party's failure to deliver, mostly down to SF's own incompetence - but this could be electorally rewarded. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/comment/sinn-fein-lines-up-its-whipping-boy-as-it-prepares-for-stormont-collapse/a/159784364.html09 Aug 2026 11:07 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3msngyztuc22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mskltwxnb22iTerror bosses ‘laughing’ at authorities as Sinn Féin department and PSNI play pass the parcel on UDA flag which police only removed after our questions. When in opposition, SF demanded terror flags be taken down; when in power, not one has been touched. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/comment/news-analysis/terror-bosses-laughing-at-authorities-as-sinn-fein-department-and-psni-play-pass-the-parcel-on-uda-flag-which-was-only-removed-after-our-questions/a/159701269.html08 Aug 2026 07:56 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mskltwxnb22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3ms3kv5yta22iBelfast's first ever chance to host the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann's since it started in 1951 is not just a major moment for NI, but for many southerners for whom NI is almost a foreign land. It has cross-party backing, with the DUP & UUP firmly in support. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/comment/opinion/fleadhs-arrival-in-belfast-is-a-breakthrough-for-southerners-who-see-northern-ireland-as-foreign/a/159497353.html02 Aug 2026 08:28 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms3kv5yta22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrzthtfdv22iIf you're around west Cork next weekend, I'll be taking part in the West Cork History Festival alongside @markhennessy.bsky.social. Also loads of far more interesting people from the Taoiseach to Iain Dale, Leanne Calvert, Myles Dungan & more. 📖Programme: westcorkhistoryfestival.org/2026-festival/01 Aug 2026 15:57 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrzthtfdv22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrywavnxzk2iThe real story of Ben Lowry's sudden departure as News Letter editor ten days ago, involving corporate brutality, newsroom turmoil, questions over the historic paper's future and the new owner's decision that this emaciated paper doesn't need an editor. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/comment/news-analysis/shock-and-silence-ben-lowrys-departure-as-news-letter-editor-was-involuntary-and-involved-corporate-brutality/a/159435647.html01 Aug 2026 07:14 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrywavnxzk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrukmzsyzs2hEx-PSNI officer Chris Noble guilty of gross misconduct for appalling behaviour we’re banned from reporting: Panel delivers withering verdict against NI man but maintains draconian reporting restrictions around what he did - and even their own words. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/ex-psni-officer-chris-noble-guilty-of-gross-misconduct-for-appalling-behaviour-were-banned-from-reporting/a/159388880.html30 Jul 2026 13:35 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrukmzsyzs2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrs2cncexc2pFormer PSNI officer quits as Staffordshire Chief Constable on eve of gross misconduct hearing we’re banned from reporting. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/former-psni-officer-quits-as-staffordshire-chief-constable-on-eve-of-misconduct-hearing-were-banned-from-reporting/a/159332030.html?=12329 Jul 2026 13:38 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrs2cncexc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrmk3juck22mIs this an inflection point for unionism? Only the second time since the DUP overtook the UUP in 2003 that a poll has put the Ulster Unionists ahead (the other being amid the DUP's leadership chaos in 2021). Also very bad for Alliance - now clearly behind Claire Hanna's SDLP. [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Jul 2026 09:04 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrmk3juck22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mrhfqt3hqk2mA Sinn Féin minister last year sided with a vastly wealthy corporation at the expense of consumers and then tried to hide how that happened – but now the truth can be revealed after the Belfast Telegraph got hold of documents she wanted to keep secret. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/sf-minister-fails-in-bid-to-hide-documents-which-reveal-chaos-within-her-department-and-ferocious-critique-by-regulator/a/159133783.html25 Jul 2026 08:03 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrhfqt3hqk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/sjamcbride.bsky.social/post/3mreupe25l22bOne of Northern Ireland’s poshest hotels provided a prize for a hard-right gathering — featuring conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers & Ian Paisley — aimed at reshaping society. The US-inspired CPAC GB event featured rows of empty seats and was savaged from both the left and the right. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/top-ni-hotel-offers-luxury-prize-for-hard-right-gathering-featuring-conspiracy-theorists-and-anti-vaxxers/a/158998014.html24 Jul 2026 07:53 +0000at://did:plc:d5yeyldvhjdr7pyrys6ndfc7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mreupe25l22b