QUB Professor Awarded Prestigious Leverhulme Fellowship

Queen's University Belfast (QUB) has announced that Professor of Law and Transitional Justice, Kieran McEvoy, has been awarded the prestigious Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship.

Due to begin in September 2023, the three-year fellowship will focus on Apologies, Armed Struggle, and the Transition from Violence, and will commence in September 2023.

Welcoming his award, Professor McEvoy said: "I am very pleased to have received this award. With other colleagues here at Queen's, I have spent significant time and effort in recent years working on various transitional justice related research and impact related programs of work, often operating across several big projects at once. This Leverhulme award will allow time to focus exclusively on apologies and political violence.

"The dissemination component of the grant includes 'road testing' some of the ideas through short visiting fellowships at Columbia University, New York and Australia National University, Canberra.

"The plan is to produce a book on the subject as well as a few pieces of work which will hopefully have possible practical impact in framing how armed groups can better address their responsibilities for past human rights and humanitarian law violations. I am looking forward to getting stuck in."

PSNI To Offer Crime Prevention Advice At Balmoral Show

The PSNI's Crime Prevention team will be joined by colleagues from the Organised Crime Task Force, Policing Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) and Policing Board at the Supporting Safer Communities marquee at this year's Balmoral Show.

The officers will be providing community and crime prevention advice throughout the annual event, which will take place between 10th - 13th May.

Attendees can also learn more about the work which Crime Prevention Officers do to prevent and detect crimes that affect rural communities across Northern Ireland.

Barnett Forumla Reforms Needed For Incoming Executive – DUP

Any incoming Executive will be unable to deliver public services at their current level without reform of the Barnett forumla, DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has warned.

The DUP MP was speaking from Westminster after evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee by Head of the NICS Jayne Brady.

Carla Lockhart said: "The Head of the Civil Service was very clear in her evidence that the budgetary challenges facing Northern Ireland would be unchanged by an incoming Executive. Those who would offer false hope to the public that a return of devolution will resolve issues facing vital public services should reflect on the realities we face."

Lockhart said that by ignoring relative need the Barnett Formula doesn't provide the resources to tackle that need, which would then increase.

She concluded: "I welcome the consensus amongst those giving evidence to the NI Affairs Committee that a serious conversation is needed with the Government on how Northern Ireland is funded. It is needed not just for immediate pressures, but also for the transformation of public services that is so badly needed.

"The Government must listen to bodies such as the NI Fiscal Council who are evidencing the deficiencies of Barnett, and immediately set about taking steps to ensure any reformed Executive will be build on firm financial foundations, as well as firm political foundations."