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Sam McBride

@sjamcbride.bsky.social
4.4K followers 25 following 796 posts

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.

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Reposted by Sam McBride
David McCann @dmcbfs.bsky.social · 12h
Was on #BBCRedLines discussing the potential electoral implications of Drumcree with @sjamcbride.bsky.social @markcarruthers7.bsky.social and Gareth Gordon www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Red Lines - Drumcree: The Winners? - BBC Sounds
Who are the political winners and losers from the Drumcree dispute?
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 13h
🎧 What's it really like inside Sinn Féin? Siobhán Fenton was recruited as an outsider - who doesn't even support what the Provisional IRA did. She became Mary Lou McDonald's deputy chief press secretary, but left in December 2024. I sat down with her.
youtube.com
Former Sinn Féin Spokesperson on what goes on in Ireland's most secretive party | The BelTel
YouTube video by Belfast Telegraph
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Could a ‘one and done’ final Drumcree parade work? Before he died, the most senior Orangeman in Portadown told me of a secret plan to definitively resolve the Drumcree dispute — with the Catholic Church at its heart.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Could a ‘one and done’ final Drumcree parade work? A dead Orangeman’s words show this was offered in a secret process
Before he died, the most senior Orangeman in Portadown revealed a plan to definitively resolve Drumcree — with the Catholic Church at its heart
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What has happened in Portadown over the last 48 hours has ramifications which will echo for years. Michelle O’Neill has shown an understanding of constitutional law which is closer to that of a medieval monarch than a democratic government minister.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
As the First Minister behaves like a medieval monarch, flouting courts she’s bound to respect, Stormont is lurching towards collapse
O’Neill’s view of her power akin to that of Richard Nixon, and has profoundly disturbing implications in other areas
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🎧 The Drumcree crisis and what's likely to happen next, with @ciarandunbarrach.bsky.social, Allison Morris, Andrew Madden and Claire Dickson.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree: Nationalist and unionist camps completely divided over Garvaghy march
There is a stalemate in Portadown and deep division in Stormont.On the Orange side, the issue is the rights of a small number of people to march their traditional route – backed by a legal ruling. On ...
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Amid myriad crises and without a budget half way through the financial year, Stormont is spending three days debating if someone can invent their own gender...& if people should be jailed for trying to "suppress" that. It's been a remarkable debate so far.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Amid myriad crises, Stormont is spending three days debating if someone can invent their own gender
Assembly in third sitting of wrangling over whether trying to ‘suppress’ a self-declared identity should carry a jail term
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Northern Ireland's Legacy Commission has been highly controversial. But today after two years its first investigative report is published, leading to a "sacred and transformative moment" for the dying son of a man murdered by the IRA for being a lawyer.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Legacy body’s report into IRA murder of SDLP founder shot dead for being lawyer brought ‘sacred and transformative moment’ to dying son
ICRIR investigation examines IRA murder of devout Catholic SDLP founder killed for being a lawyer
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
After head-hunting and then ditching an opponent of IRA violence, Sinn Fein stands at a crossroads. Siobhán Fenton's journey into and then out of SF - right up to deputy press secretary to Mary Lou McDonald - reveals SF's vulnerability when it opens up.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
After head-hunting and then ditching an opponent of IRA violence, Sinn Fein stands at a crossroads
New book from former aide to Mary Lou an insight into the opposing forces within the party
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Reposted by Sam McBride
Tommy Greene @tommygreene.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Look forward to discussing my forthcoming book 'Troubled Waters' with Sam McBride and others as part of this event on Sunday. Tickets are still available and there's more info at the @shhomeplace.bsky.social event link here: seamusheaneyhome.com/event/a-loug...
seamusheaneyhome.com
A Lough Neagh Sequence - Seamus Heaney Home
Inspired by Seamus Heaney’s enduring connection to Lough Neagh, this special afternoon presents a sequence of events exploring the beauty, fragility and future of Ireland’s largest lake. Experience A ...
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The man who murdered our printer 50 years ago is now laughingly boasting of his exploits, yet exposes his lies & bigotry. Thomas Louden didn't speak to me when I knocked his door yesterday - but the newspaper he bombed has obtained a telling video of him.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Man who murdered our printer 50 years ago is now laughingly boasting of his exploits, yet they expose his lies and bigotry
Thomas Louden, a heroic figure within republicanism and a personal friend of Bobby Sands, made a six-hour film he thought he’d hidden — but we’ve got it
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Northern Ireland's devolved government is in effect insolvent. It has become an unwelcome UK experiment in what happens when fiscal discipline collapses - and Stormont has little incentive to control its spending. London talks tough, but keeps acting weak.
economist.com
Northern Ireland cannot balance its budget. Nobody cares
The most expensive part of Britain
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
More money well spent by Stormont. Sometimes all one can do is marvel at the wisdom of our rulers. It's frankly outrageous that the horrid Treasury isn't sending billions more so that Jayne Brady can get a proper pay rise. Shocking austerity.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Civil Service salaries on rise — with head Jayne Brady enjoying biggest hike of 8.4pc
Figures also show female and Catholic staff still subject to pay gap
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
When the Belfast Telegraph was bombed by the IRA in 1976, the 800 staff took refuge in St Anne's Cathedral. At midday on Saturday - the day our printer Joseph Paton died from his injuries - there will be a memorial service for him in St Anne's. All are welcome.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Half a century ago today, the IRA bombed the Belfast Telegraph. They failed to stop the newspaper, but murdered 64-year-old printer Joseph Paton. Today his family speak publicly for the first time to recall an apolitical "ordinary, innocent man".
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
‘He went out to do a day’s work and never came home’: Son remembers dad killed in IRA attack on Belfast Telegraph 50 years on
Newspaper worker died four days after the 1976 bombing of our Royal Avenue offices exactly 50 years ago
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
An intriguing shift has been happening of late: Some staunch Northern Ireland unionists are making a pro-Irish argument in favour of the Union. This is not entirely novel but a rediscovery of an argument which had become rusted through disuse.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Some staunch unionists are banging the pro-Irish drum to argue in favour of the union... and it’s not a totally new argument
Staunch unionists like Phillip Brett and Moore Holmes now use Irish identity to defend the Union, reshaping Northern Ireland’s constitutional debate.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Stephen Walker was yesterday given an exceptional send-off by his wife and remarkable children, who did him proud. I've never attended a funeral where there were so many laughs amid the inevitable sadness. Stephen epitomised so much of the best of Northern Ireland.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
More than half a century ago, one of the darkest figures in Northern Ireland’s history recorded a tape. That man was the Beast of Kincora, William McGrath. The tape lay hidden until another deeply sinister figure — Jeffrey Donaldson — was convicted of child rape three months ago.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Hidden for over half a century, audio tape exposes Beast of Kincora’s hate-filled religiosity which snared young men and fuelled Troubles
Ferociously anti-Catholic McGrath, who believed Ulster Protestants descended from Lost Tribes of Israel, recorded tape in 1971 while a rampant paedophile
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Reposted by Sam McBride
Peter Donaghy @peterdonaghy.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This year's PISA survey asked questions on AI use at school and the results are clear: increased AI use in school is associated with lower scores.
A chart showing PISA 2025 scores for the United States with scores for answers to the question "This school year, how often did you use AI tools at school?"
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Secret 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Secret files reveal how politics overrode security advice about Queen's NI Silver Jubilee visit
Security assessment considered possibility of suicide bomber or IRA divers, alongside fears Duke of Edinburgh Award recipients could be shot
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Leading 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree ‘publicity stunt’ could set parading back a decade, warns prominent loyalist bandsman
Derek Moore claims NIO rejected his application to join Parades Commission after an interview lasting a few minutes
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Thomas ‘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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Secret file reveals IRA gangster was on cusp of £1m newspaper payout before one legal slip pulled house down on his criminal empire
The inside story of The Sunday Times’ seminal libel victory over notorious Provo leader – and how close it was to defeat
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
‘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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
‘It seems unjust’: How NI Office helped self-confessed paedophile evade justice, with child victim blamed and top official joking about abuser
Declassified ocuments reveal how Northern Ireland’s criminaI justice system let child abuser John Kevin Wilson — in the words of an official — ‘get away with it’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Inside IRA bomber Dolours Price’s final months in jail: ‘She sits, listless and companionless… a gaunt spectre, prematurely aged’.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Inside Dolours Price’s final months in jail: ‘She sits, listless and companionless… a gaunt spectre, prematurely aged’
Medic said ‘it seems that her advisers are pushing things to the limit...he does not see himself being able to hold the situation for more than another 10-12 days’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Sinn 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".
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Sinn Féin controlled Tallaght using guns and ‘muscle’, British Embassy told in 2000
Labour councillor warned there was ‘more urgent need for decommissioning in Dublin South West than in Northern Ireland’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Irish Government seriously explored opening Belfast passport office in 2000, but baulked at consulate proposal
Prior to Good Friday Agreement, there were 7,000 NI applications a year for Irish passports - now that figure is 84,980
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Under direct rule, ministerial papers were routinely shredded by the Department for the Environment after being read by the minister, declassified file reveals.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Stormont department routinely shredded papers after they were read by minister
After Good Friday Agreement, devolved departments were told to shred or return files from direct rule era
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Britain’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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Britain’s 1950 view of NI declassified: Militarily strategic, religiously harmonious and bound to GB by racial ties
Internal Foreign Office document fused self-reflective honesty about the past with wishful thinking about the present
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
As 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’.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
David Trimble was paid thousands more than Seamus Mallon — despite the first and deputy first minister roles being equal
Pay differential was £5,000, and plan was to hike it to £15,000 with NIO fearing equal pay lest Trimble ‘get mad’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Top Irish diplomat made ‘bizarre’ comment on NI Office man’s evangelical Protestant faith: ‘I was nonplussed’
Jonathan Stephens ‘unsettled’ by conversation with Sean O hUiginn in which he was told he was ‘one of the most disliked British officials’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Ex-council boss Anne Donaghy asked PA to delete email to Arlene Foster over threats to port staff, court hears
Case relates to FoI request about decision to withdraw workers over alleged loyalist threats
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Co Down woman admits breaching a lifetime anonymity order by publishing information likely to lead to the identification of a victim of Jeffrey Donaldson.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Woman admits breaching Jeffrey Donaldson victims’ anonymity in social media post
A Co Down woman has admitted breaching a lifetime anonymity order by publishing information likely to lead to the identification of a victim of Jeffrey Donaldson.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Margaret 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Margaret Thatcher commissioned secret analysis which examined plan to force everyone in NI to carry an ID card
RUC and Army chiefs said idea didn’t help as ‘the majority of terrorists are already well known to the security forces’
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
DUP man ‘was prepared to take up weapons’ against NI peace deal
‘I was not, however, prepared for, and admit to being shocked by, his... being prepared to take up arms,’ civil servant wrote in declassified file
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Doubt 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
In an age of AI and slick lies, we must retain the instinct to doubt and criticise things
Sam McBride on why doubt can be a powerful force for truth, freedom and integrity, and how questioning certainty reshapes politics, faith and daily life.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Jon 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Jon Burrows’ greatest asset is also his greatest weakness: UUP leader's path to victory still exists, but is perilously narrow
Inexperienced UUP leader is the most popular man in unionism, but his feet of clay are starting to emerge
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Grotesque 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Firefighters launch major overnight rescue operation to save swans trapped in Lough Neagh algae
A major rescue operation was launched overnight after two swans became trapped in blue-green algae in Lough Neagh.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Sinn 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Sinn Féin lines up its whipping boy as it prepares for Stormont collapse
Sinn Féin faces deep Stormont failures, falling support and is preparing the ground to blame the DUP for collapse.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Terror 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Terror bosses ‘laughing’ at authorities as Sinn Féin department and PSNI play pass the parcel on UDA flag which was only removed after our questions
Declassified files show SF once demanded the infrastructure department remove paramilitary flags. Now in charge, the party doesn’t want to know
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Belfast'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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Fleadh’s arrival in Belfast is a breakthrough for southerners who see Northern Ireland as foreign
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is to bring 800,000 visitors to Belfast, mixing Irish and British traditions and reshaping cross-border ties.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
If 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/
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Shock and silence: Ben Lowry’s departure as News Letter editor was involuntary and involved corporate brutality
Historic newspaper now has no editor — and role has been ditched, prompting an ex-editor to speak out amid confusion as to what is going on
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Ex-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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Ex-PSNI officer Chris Noble guilty of gross misconduct for appalling behaviour we’re banned from reporting
Panel delivers withering verdict against Northern Irish man but maintains draconian reporting restrictions around what he did and even their own words
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Former PSNI officer quits as Staffordshire Chief Constable on eve of gross misconduct hearing we’re banned from reporting.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Former PSNI officer quits as Staffordshire Chief Constable on eve of misconduct hearing we’re banned from reporting
Sweeping reporting restrictions prevent making public any of the evidence
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Reposted by Sam McBride
Belfast Telegraph @belfasttelegraph.co.uk · 28/07/2026
"For the best part of a year, I’ve been involved in a court case which we can’t report..." tinyurl.com/zty24vnp
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Is 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.
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
A 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
SF minister fails in bid to hide documents which reveal chaos within her department and ferocious critique by regulator
Department for the Economy claimed that if £23m was spent compensating electricity blackouts, it could lead to £1.6bn bill — despite utility body being baffled about process behind that figure
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
One 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.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Top NI hotel offers luxury prize for hard-right gathering featuring conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers
The link between the Galgorm Resort and what a conservative critic lampooned as ‘Yankee-brained slop’ appears to be a controversial DUP figure
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Reposted by Sam McBride
Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 21/07/2026
GB News will not be investigated by Ofcom after a presenter said there was no riot in Belfast in June despite widespread violence reported in the area. Ofcom received more than 400 complaints over the claim www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...
theguardian.com
GB News will not be investigated over ‘no riot in Belfast’ claim
Media regulator will not take action despite receiving 446 complaints about comments by Bev Turner
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Reposted by Sam McBride
MacGill Summer School @macgillschool.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
@sjamcbride.bsky.social, Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Independent and co-author of For and Against a United Ireland, will join What is Ireland Thinking? He brings extensive reporting and analysis of Northern Irish politics. @notredame.bsky.social
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
After more than a century of cautious discretion, southern Irish Protestants are finding their voice. 'The Prodcast' - a podcast about Protestants in the Republic of Ireland - explores what it means to be thoroughly Irish, yet different.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
After a century of cautious discretion, southern Irish Protestants are finding their voice
“I’m David, a southern Irish Protestant,” says a middle-aged man.
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