A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Welfare recipients from ethnic minorities deliberately underpaid
Seven officials at Belfast's Revenue and Customs call centre have been dismissed for deliberately underpaying welfare benefits to people from ethnic minorities, writes Dan Keenan
Two other employees resigned. The PSNI has begun an investigation into alleged racial discrimination.
It is understood the action was taken after computer records were deliberately tampered with so that welfare recipients did not receive their full entitlement. The people affected have been reimbursed in full.
Concerns were raised in January this year when a complaint was made about the alteration of personal records. A spokesman for the Revenue and Customs office, which employs 200 workers, said: “The vast majority of our people are entirely professional and one of the ways we support that professionalism is by taking decisive action against the tiny minority who let us all down by falling far short of those standards.” The North’s Equality Commission says it will seek a meeting with the Revenue and Customs to ensure there is no repeat of the incident.
Bail refused to alleged rioters
Two alleged rioters have to remain behind bars until all contentious parades are over, a judge in Belfast ruled yesterday.
In the High Court, Lord Justice Coghlin refused to grant bail to Robert Daniel Darling (31), of Cliftonville Avenue, Belfast, and Emmet Doherty (20), of Jamaica Road, Belfast.
They were charged following the rioting at Ardoyne in north Belfast on July 12th.
When the judge was told other contentious parades were due on August 28th and September 11th, he refused bail.