A 44-year-old man has been charged with the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Co Tyrone last year.
The man was arrested in the Dungannon area on Thursday and charged on Friday evening.
He has been charged with attempted murder, directing terrorism and preparation of terrorist acts.
The man is due to appear before Dungannon Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
The senior officer was seriously injured after he was shot several times in front of his son at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on 22 February 2023.
The detective, who had investigated a number of high-profile murder cases, spent several weeks in intensive care.
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A typed message, purportedly from the New IRA, was posted on a wall in Londonderry and said the group was responsible for the shooting.
Police have said the New IRA is the main line of inquiry in the investigation.
A number of people have previously appeared in court charged in connection with Mr Caldwell’s shooting and on charges around the claim of responsibility.
Mr Caldwell suffered “life-changing” injuries in the attack.
He made his first public appearance since the shooting in May – when he attended a garden party in Co Down with the King and Queen.
The COVID inquiry is about “scapegoating” those at the top of government, Boris Jonnson’s sister has told the Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast.
Ahead of the former prime minister taking the stand on Wednesday and Thursday, Rachel Johnson has said the multi-year inquiry is a “show trial” just like the Parliamentary Privileges inquiry into partygate.
She told the podcast by Sky News and Politico that “100% it’s about scapegoating because, as I said, it’s already been agreed that lockdown was the right thing to do.
“Therefore, the only questions they can really ask is, was it done properly? And if not, who do we blame? So this is going to follow the model of all public inquiries in recent years.
“Rather than learn lessons for the future, for the next pandemic, which is going to come down the pike. They are spending £100m of taxpayers’ money working out who to blame most for the past rather than using that money to get our pandemic plan or our pandemic response geared up and match fit for the next pandemic. It is driving me mad.”
Mr Johnson is expected to issue an apology on behalf of the government about the early handling of the pandemic, but defend his personal behaviour. He will point to shifting advice and the nature of the pandemic, as well as a desire to pit advisers against one another to get the best out of them.
Rachel Johnson says that while of course the government led by her brother made mistakes, it also did things well and “they should be applauded”.
Read more: How Johnson the Comeback Kid plans to approach COVID inquiry Hancock acknowledges lockdown-breaking clinch harmed public confidence
Image: Rachel Johnson
However, she does suggest the government was not well equipped for the types of decisions it needed to take because lockdown affected people’s homes and the key figures in the room were all men.
“It was an ill-equipped government to take these massive decisions that affected the everyday lives of the entire country because they only had four blokes basically in the room, you know, Matt Hancock, Cummings, Michael Gove and the one we are not mentioning [Mr Johnson],” she said.
“And at the time I thought this is probably insane that these four men, who’ve never changed a nappy or, as Alison Pearson so brilliantly said, couldn’t pick out their own children in a school photo, are micro-managing every single aspect of our lives.”
The COVID inquiry rejects any suggestion that it has pre-determined its findings.
Find out more about what Boris Johnson will tell the COVID inquiry on the Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast.
A senior Labour MP has been suspended from the parliamentary party following “‘deeply offensive” comments he made at a pro-Palestine rally over the weekend.
Andy McDonald held various shadow ministerial roles under Jeremy Corbyn, and served under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership before resigning from the front bench in 2021 over a disagreement in policy with the leadership.
Over the weekend, he attended a pro-Palestine rally, in which he said: “We won’t rest until we have justice. Until all people, Israelis and Palestinians, between the river and the sea, can live in peaceful liberty.”
He went on to shout “free Palestine”.
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Downing Street said it was “not acceptable” for people to chant “from the river to the sea” – a phrase referring to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea – as it is “deeply offensive” to many.
While Mr McDonald did not immediately face consequences for his words, he was later suspended on Monday evening.
Sir Keir and his party have been far from united on their response to the conflict in the Middle East, with the leader calling for “humanitarian pauses” but not a ceasefire, while other Labour MPs – including shadow ministers – have called for a stop to the fighting.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The comments made by Andy McDonald at the weekend were deeply offensive, particularly at a time of rising antisemitism which has left Jewish people fearful for their safety.
Image: Andy McDonald has lost the Labour whip
“The chief whip has suspended the Labour whip from Andy McDonald, pending an investigation.”
The chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” has been heard during recent demonstrations.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously said the slogan is antisemitic, adding that she thinks it is “widely understood” to call for the destruction of Israel.
Pro-Palestine campaigners contest this definition.
Mr McDonald’s suspension came shortly after Tory MP Paul Bristow was sacked from his government job for calling for a permanent ceasefire – as the government policy is the same “humanitarian pauses” as Sir Keir is advocating.
John McDonnell, who served in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet with Mr McDonald, said the suspension “isn’t just unjust it is absolute nonsense”.
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He claimed that Mr McDonald “turned a slogan some are concerned about into a peace plan”.
Kate Dove, the co-chair of the left-wing campaign group Momentum, claimed the suspension as “appalling and opportunistic”.
Detectives investigating the shooting of a senior police detective in Northern Ireland have charged three men with possessing articles for use in terrorism.
Police said it was “in connection with the claim of responsibility made following the attack” on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, who was shot several times in Omagh, Co Tyrone on 22 February.
The men, aged 23, 25 and 36, are due to appear in court on Friday.
It comes after seven men were charged with attempted murder in connection with the shooting.
DCI Caldwell, who suffered “life-changing” injuries in the attack, was released from hospital in April.
He was shot while putting balls in a car, after coaching a youth football team, in front of his young son and other children.
The senior officer made his first public appearance since the attack in May when he attended a garden party in Co Down with the King and Queen.
Seven men have been charged over the attempted murder of a senior police detective in Northern Ireland.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone, on 22 February, where he had been coaching a youth football team.
Police announced on Saturday night that seven men had been charged with attempted murder.
Two of them are also charged with membership of the IRA, and three with preparation of terrorist acts.
The statement from the Police Service of Northern Ireland says that all seven men are expected to appear before Dungannon Magistrates Court via video link on Monday.
It gives the ages of the men as 28, 28, 33, 38, 45, 47 and 72.
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DCI Caldwell, who suffered “life-changing” injuries in the attack, was released from hospital in April.
Earlier this week, he attended a garden party in Co Down with the King and Queen in his first public appearance since the attack.
The Port of Dover has announced an end to its critical incident following a weekend of travel chaos which saw some coach passengers caught up in 14-hour-long queues.
The port declared a critical incident on Friday with coaches particularly affected by the traffic as passengers – including school pupils – waited to be processed at border controls.
Those hoping to get away for their Easter break on Sunday night faced a few more hours waiting to be processed at border controls before getting on a ferry.
But in its latest statement on Monday morning, the port said all coach traffic had now been processed through immigration controls.
“The critical incident has been stood down,” the port said in its statement.
“The Port of Dover continued working round the clock with the ferry operators and border agencies to get coach passengers on their way and the backlog is now cleared.
“Along with the final coaches being processed through the port, all tourist cars and freight vehicles were also processed successfully.
“We continue to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected by the prolonged delays that have occurred over this weekend.”
A “full review” will now be launched by the port to ensure “improvements are made” ahead of Easter weekend – typically one of the busiest travel days of the year in the UK.
On Monday, P&O Ferries also announced that a buffer zone – set up to control traffic entering the port – had been cleared.
P&O Ferries previously advised coach drivers to head straight to the port to wait in buffer zone queues, where advance passenger information (AP) would be taken, and warned there could be a 10-hour wait.
“All coaches that have just passed border control will be on the next crossing to Calais. We apologise again for the wait times experienced in Dover this weekend,” the company said in a statement.
Is Brexit a factor?
On Sunday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman denied Brexit was the main reason for the queues.
Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, she said: “I don’t think that is fair to say that this is an adverse effect of Brexit.
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19:47
‘Situation improving’ in Dover
“I think we have seen we have had many years now since leaving the European Union and there’s been, on the whole, very good cooperation and processes.
“But at acute times, when there’s a lot of pressure crossing the Channel whether the tunnel or the ferries, then I think there’s always going to be a backup.
“And I just urge everyone to be a bit patient while the ferry companies work their way through the backlog.”
The home secretary also downplayed fears that delays at Dover could become a regular occurrence that risks ruining school holiday plans, suggesting things have been “operating very smoothly at the border” in general.
But Conservative MP and former minister Sir Robert Buckland suggested Brexit had played a part in the disruption.
He said: “I think for my layman’s eye, looking on, it does seem that there’s a confluence of issues.
“I think that there’s no doubt that some of the increased checks that now are necessary since we left the EU will be a part of that.
Image: Sir Robert Buckland
“I think it’s all the authorities on both sides of the channel, both the French and the British authorities, have to work even harder to make sure that those short straits are working as effectively as possible at times of maximum pressure.”
Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, Tobias Ellwood, also blamed Brexit. In a Tweet, he wrote: “Of course, it’s connected to Brexit.
“Our current Brexit model resulted in an end to travel freedoms. But as they weren’t replaced with new ones – processing takes longer – hence the delays.
“To compound matters – in November fingerprint scans begin. Hence we need a Brexit upgrade.”
‘Carnage’
Extra sailings were run over the weekend in a bid to clear the backlog, but by Sunday morning the port still estimated some travellers would face waits of up to eight hours, depending on the ferry operator.
The port had previously declared a critical incident and said the delays were “due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume”.
Port officials said they had been “working round the clock” with ferry operators and border agencies to try to get coach passengers on their way and more than 300 coaches left the port on Saturday, while the freight backlog was cleared and tourist cars had been successfully processed.
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Image: Coach and lorries waiting for French border checks on Saturday
One passenger, Rosie Pearson, described the travel scenes in Dover on Saturday as “carnage” as she was stuck for 16 hours with her husband and two teenagers.
The 50-year-old environmental campaigner from Essex was travelling to Val d’Isere in the French Alps on an overnight bus.
‘It didn’t need to be this way’
Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said “a range of factors” have caused the delays, but said the government had not planned for what was going to happen post-Brexit.
She told Sophy Ridge On Sunday that ministers had “known for a very long time that they needed to make sure that there were resources in place to deal with additional paperwork checks”.
“The point is not whether we left the European Union or not. The point was that we left with a government that made big promises and once again didn’t deliver,” she said.
“I really feel for the families that are trying to get away for an Easter break, people who have been caught up in this chaos, people whose livelihoods are threatened.
“It didn’t need to be this way. If the government got a grip, got down to brass tacks and started doing their actual job, all these things could be avoided.”
One of the prime minister’s most senior advisers has been suspended from Downing Street pending an investigation, Sky News understands.
Jason Stein, a special adviser to Liz Truss, is to face a formal probe by the Cabinet Office propriety and ethics unit.
It follows allegations that he was responsible for unauthorised negative briefings against former cabinet ministers.
Truss warned she’s ‘out’ if she has bad PMQs – Politics latest
Mr Stein was a key aide during Ms Truss’s leadership campaign and had been serving as the acting head of political communications in Number 10.
There had been anger among some Conservative MPs about briefings from Number 10 sources over the weekend.
The Sunday Times reported that a Number 10 source had told them Sajid Javid had not been considered for the chancellor role following Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking because he is “s**t”.
Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby said it was “another crisis emerging for Liz Truss within her own team”.
The suspension was confirmed just before Ms Truss began her third session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons as she battles to hold onto her premiership following Mr Kwarteng’s removal and reversal of most of her government’s mini-budget.
The PM made a public apology in the Commons as she faced questions from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the first time since her economic plan was ditched by new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
“I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes,” she told MPs.
Discussing the swathe of economic policy U-turns carried out by Mr Hunt on Monday, Ms Truss continued: “The right thing to do in those circumstances is to make changes, which I have made, and to get on with the job and deliver for the British people.”
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1:03
Starmer: ‘Will Liz Truss be out by Christmas?’
Earlier today, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned discontent Tory colleagues against “defenestrating” another PM as he suggested another Conservative leadership contest would not calm the markets.
He told Sky News the government does “not aim to make mistakes” but “in life, in politics, in business, mistakes do happen”.
“What you’ve got to do is recognise when they’ve happened to have the humility to make changes,” he added.
“The prime minister and the chancellor have learnt lessons from what happened previously.”
A YouGov poll taken on Monday and Tuesday found a majority of Tory members think Ms Truss should go and have buyer’s remorse as more think Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Ms Truss, would be a better PM.
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1:49
‘I’m a fighter, not a quitter’
The PM has risked a fresh fight with Tory MPs by making a vote on a Labour motion on fracking a test of confidence in her administration later today.
But amid growing calls for her to resign, Ms Truss insisted she is “a fighter not a quitter” after Sir Keir said the Conservatives’ economic credibility is “gone” and asked the PM: “Why is she still here?”
The Duchess of Sussex has told young leaders from around the world “you are the future, you are the present” in her first UK speech since stepping back as a senior royal.
Prince Harry was also in attendance as Meghan gave a short speech at the opening ceremony of the One Young World summit at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
The Sussexes’ attendance at the ceremony was their first UK public appearance since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
Meghan told young leaders from more than 190 countries: “You are the ones driving the positive and necessary change across the globe now, in this very moment.
“And for that I am so grateful to be in your company today.”
She also told those gathered: “You are the future…. you are also the present”.
Meghan also spoke about having a “pinch me moment” after the first time she was asked to be a counsellor for One Young World in 2014.
More on Duchess Of Sussex
She said: “And there I was, the girl from Suits. I was surrounded by world leaders, humanitarians, prime ministers and activists that I had such a deep and long-standing respect and admiration for.
“And I was allowed in, to pull up a seat at the table.
“I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I think, I think I even saved my little paper place-marker with my name on it.
“Just proof: proof that I was there, proof that I belonged, because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.”
“I was so nervous, I doubted myself and I wondered, wondered if I was good enough to be there?”
But she added One Young World, “saw in me, just as I see in you, the present and the future”.
Meghan told the 2,000 or so delegates listening to her speech: “I want to make that point because often times I speak to young adults about the years ahead.
“About what you will do, about what you will have to adopt to fix from previous generations and also what legacy you will leave.
“Too often in that, we neglect the point – you are doing it now.
“You, here, in this present moment, this is where it is all beginning.”
Before the duchess’ speech, Harry and Meghan were sat centre stage on a bench together as they watched bearers carry the flags of more than 200 countries.
Meghan, with her hair in a sleek ponytail, sat with her legs crossed and swayed in time to a rendition of Dancing In The Streets as she clapped her hands.
Reports suggest Harry and Meghan arrived in Britain on Saturday, but a spokeswoman for the couple declined to confirm their arrival.
The couple were pictured walking into a side entrance of London Euston station on Monday as they took the train up to Manchester for the summit.
They were reportedly driven the 27 miles from their UK base at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor to Euston in a hybrid electric Range Rover.
Their UK trip comes just days after Meghan’s wide-ranging interview with The Cut magazine, in which she said she had “really made an active effort to forgive” both her in-laws and members of her own family after stepping back from royal duties.
She added that she is “still healing” from the ordeal.
The former Suits actress also said that “just by existing” she and Harry were “upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy” before they stepped down as senior working royals.
Meanwhile, in the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, Meghan said her life only became more focused on her race after she started dating Prince Harry.
