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| Robinson talks of pain of wife's affair Northern Ireland's first minister talks of Iris Robinson's suicide attempt and denies wrongdoing over loanThe embattled first minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson, admitted today that he knew his wife's career as an MP was over once she confessed to an affair with a teenager.The East Belfast MP, who is heading behind-the-scenes negotiations with Sinn Féin on devolving policing and justice powers, also denied he had done anything wrong in relation to a £50,000 loan his wife obtained from two property developers. "There was nothing I knew that was reportable in my judgment," Robinson said.He is being criticised for failing to report details of Iris Robinson's loan to the parliamentary authorities at Stormont and Westminster.In a very personal interview today with the Belfast Telegraph, the first minister said he had lost two-and-a-half stone (16kg) in 10 months since learning of his wife's affair with the then 19-year-old Kirk McCambley."There are days when, were it not a case of getting up and getting on with things for the sake of your family, your instinct is just to get into bed, turn out the light, pull yourself into a foetal position and not come out again," he said.Robinson has stepped aside for six weeks as Northern Ireland's first minister while he tries to clear his name.On hearing about the affair he said: "I made it clear to her that she could see out her present terms but could not stand again [for parliament]."I told her it would be impossible to operate in politics with skeletons in her closet."Robinson said there was no rule against a member of parliament attempting "to assist someone to set up business".He said: "When I found out about the financial arrangement I oversaw that any money went back and that it did so through a solicitor, so that it was legally transparent."The DUP MP said his wife had still not seen the BBC Spotlight and Panorama programmes that broke the story of her affair and financial dealings.Robinson said on the night his wife tried to kill herself, the family had sought medical advice three times and were told to let her sleep. He said three members of the family stayed with her the next day when he went to work as first minister. However, he said he left his office when he found out she had been taken to hospital and went to her bedside. Robinson said he then had to carry on with his duties.The Robinsons' daughter, Rebekah, also talked to the newspaper about the night of her mother's suicide attempt."On 1/2 March last year our lives changed forever," she said. "Only those who have experienced such an horrific incident could truly know what it is like."She said the family had saved Iris Robinson's life."To watch dad go through everything he has been through and still stand by mum, only to then be subject to criticism, has been devastating. This is the part I have found most difficult."Peter RobinsonIris RobinsonNorthern Irish politicsHenry McDonaldguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
iPhone app to catch snooping partners iTrust app prevents other people reading messages and logs any attempt at prying into emails or text messagesAn iPhone app has been designed to catch partners who read their loved one's messages.The iTrust creates a locked dummy screen to prevent access to text messages, emails or social networking accounts, and stores a record of every button pressed on the display.Bob Nerberg, 26, of Oslo, who wrote the app, said his girlfriend, from Liverpool, whom he met while studying in the UK, helped him write it. He said the app would make relationships stronger."It's something everybody thinks about in a relationship – is my partner reading my texts and emails? Now you can be sure."iPhoneRelationshipsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Chilcot fears hijack by partisan politics Panel irritated at being 'bounced' into letting Gordon Brown and senior ministers give evidence before electionSir John Chilcot is concerned that his inquiry into the Iraq war could be hijacked by partisan politics. Members of his inquiry panel were said to be irritated by being bounced into inviting Gordon Brown and other senior ministers to give evidence before the election.At the start of the hearings today – when the Treasury's top official under Brown's tenure as chancellor said the Iraq war so far had cost British taxpayers £8bn – Chilcot said: "From the outset we have made it clear that we wish to stay outside party politics. Ours is a serious task, and we wish to collect our evidence in a way in which our witnesses will be open about what happened without the hearings being used as a platform for political advantage by any party."That, he said, was why the inquiry team had decided that ministers "currently serving in posts relevant to Iraq" would not be called to give evidence until after the election. However, under pressure from opposition leaders, notably Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Brown wrote to Chilcot earlier this week saying he was prepared to give evidence whenever the inquiry saw fit.Chicot said: "As a matter of fairness the committee concluded we should offer the prime minister the opportunity for him, for David Miliband as foreign secretary and Douglas Alexander as international development secretary, to attend hearings before the general election."In his reply Brown said: "I am committed to the independence of the inquiry and its focus to learn the lessons from the Iraq conflict, and to work with you."Brown's spokesman said later: "The prime minister is keen to take up the opportunity to state the case why Britain was right to take the action that it did. He has nothing to hide at all."Brown will give evidence in late February or early March, officials said.David Cameron said the prime minister had questions to answer about his role as chancellor and it was right he should be answering them before the election.Sir Nicholas Macpherson, Brown's permanent secretary at the Treasury, admitted to the inquiry today that the defence budget was "an area of tension" in 2003 in a dispute about accounting methods. If the MoD had had its way, he suggested, its cash budget would have increased by 9% a year.Macpherson said the "current cost to taxpayers" of the war and its aftermath was £8bn, but that did not include the medical costs of treating soldiers.Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he cautioned Blair a month before the invasion on the possibility that no weapons of mass destruction would be found.Blix said: "I said to Mr Blair 'Yes, I also thought there could be weapons of mass destruction', but I said 'Are you so sure? Would it not be paradoxical if you were to invade Iraq with 200,000 men and found there were no weapons of mass destruction?'.His response was 'No, no', he was quite convinced, the intelligence services were convinced, even the Egyptians were convinced, so I had no reason to doubt his good faith at the time. But I was doubtful."The Iraqis were making progress in opening up to inspections and should have been allowed more time. "We warned the Iraqis they needed to be more active and they became more active and we reported that to the (UN) Security Council, that we were actually making a great deal of progress," he said.Iraq war inquiryIraqGeneral election 2010Politics and IraqDefence policyForeign policyGordon BrownNick CleggMilitaryRichard Norton-Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
MP for Wirral West to stand down The Labour MP for Wirral West, Stephen Hesford, says he is to step down at the next general election. news.bbc.co.uk |
British UN worker killed in quake named Ann Barnes, from Essex, had been working as personal assistant to UN police commissioner in Port-au-PrinceA British UN worker who died in the Haiti earthquake has been identified as Ann Barnes, from Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex, the Foreign Office said today.The 59-year-old is the second Briton known to have died in the disaster.Barnes, a personal assistant to the UN police commissioner, had been working in Haiti for more than two years.It is believed she was working on the second floor of the UN headquarters in the capital, Port-au-Prince, when the earthquake struck.UN officials have not disclosed where her body was found.A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of a second British national in the Haiti earthquake. The UN has confirmed to us that the body of Ann Barnes has been identified."The UN suffered more that 80 deaths in the quake, and more than 50 of its staff remain unaccounted for.The dead include Hedi Annabi, the head of the UN mission in Haiti, and Frederick Wooldridge, 41, from Kent.Wooldridge, the first Briton confirmed to have been killed in the earthquake, was a senior political affairs and planning officer with the UN.HaitiUnited NationsMatthew Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |