Press Release from Colm Bryce, People Before Profit Council Candidate for Northland:

PENSIONER IN FOYLE ROAD STILL LIVING IN WATER DAMAGED HOUSE 4 MONTHS AFTER THE BIG FREEZE

No compensation from Housing Executive or private landlord

People Before Profit Council candidate Colm Bryce last night highlighted the case of a pensioner in Foyle Road, who has still not been compensated after severe flooding in his flat over Xmas.

Michael James Murray, who has lived at  42 Foyle Road for 26 years, had his flat extensively damaged when the pipes in the flat upstairs burst during the freeze over Xmas. New carpets and a suite of furniture were damaged beyond repair. For months he has been left with a single chair and a TV as his only furniture. He has since managed to borrow a suite of furniture from a friend, on a temporary basis. He still has no carpets in the main living room or the hallway.

Mr Murray’s Housing Executive flat sits directly below a privately owned flat. The tenants were spending Xmas with family and Mr Murray could not gain access to the flat above which was flooding, after frozen pipes thawed. Water poured through the ceiling. The damage was so bad that he was forced to move in with his niece for 5 weeks, having no access to any other accommodation.

Both the Housing Executive and the private landlord have denied any responsibility or liability for the damage. The Housing Executive, when contacted by Mr Bryce yesterday, said that they are not responsible for water leaking into their property from a privately owned flat. They say that Mr Murray might have the right to make a claim under their public liability insurance but “going on previous experience, it is unlikely to be successful”.

A spokesperson for the private landlord, when contacted by Mr Bryce on Tuesday, said that he denied any responsibility or liability for the damage to Mr Murray’s property. He admitted that he was aware that Mr Murray’s niece had presented a quote for replacing the carpet to the Real Estate agent which manages the property, but that he did not accept liability and believed the Housing Executive should take responsibility.

Mr Bryce said, “We’re not talking about a lot of money here, to replace the carpet and the suite of furniture, and perhaps the cooker which was also damaged. But it is the way that Mr Murray has been treated that is really galling and the conditions he has been left to endure. God knows what would have happened if he didn’t have family to support him. No-one, not least a pensioner, should be forced to live in these conditions and be ignored and fobbed off, when the damage to his flat had absolutely nothing to do with him. His niece who lives nearby, had just done up the flat before Xmas, including putting down new carpet. There is a real injustice here. 

"The Authorities and the private landlord seem to be expecting Mr Murray to pay for a private court case in order to decide which of them is responsible, which is clearly well beyond his means, or else hope that he gives up on any claim for damages. The legal advice obtained by Mr Murray’s niece was that the private landlord is legally responsible. We would call on the landlord to treat Mr Murray with some decency and pay adequate compensation to replace his carpet and furniture.”

Press Release today from Amnesty International:

EAMONN MCCANN SHORTLISTED FOR AMNESTY MEDIA AWARD

Amnesty International UK has announced the shortlist for its prestigious annual Media Awards, this year celebrating its 20th year. Amon those on the shortlist is freelance journalist Eamonn McCann for a series of articles on Bloody Sunday and the conclusion of the Saville Inquiry.

The awards recognise excellence in human rights reporting and acknowledge journalism’s significant contribution to the UK public’s awareness and understanding of human rights issues.

The winners of the 20th annual Amnesty International UK Media Awards will be announced in a ceremony at the BFI in central London on Tuesday 24 May.

Shortlists are announced in ten categories, covering print, broadcast and online journalism. Additionally, the Gaby Radio Memorial Award will be made to a journalist who has been covering human rights issues for less than five years and for the first time a Student Award will be made.

Amnesty International UK Media Director Mike Blakemore said:

“This year’s shortlist is amazingly strong, which is fantastic to see in our 20th anniversary year and a clear sign that a culture of superlative human rights journalism is alive and well in this country.”

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International's Northern Ireland programme director, said: "Eamonn McCann may have been writing about Bloody Sunday since the event itself, but, in the eyes of the judges, his journalism continues to offer a distinctive insight into the human tragedy of that day, as well as penetrating analysis of the Saville report itself."  

Last year media awards went to Al Jazeera, BBC Look North, Channel 4 News, FT.com, GQ magazine, the Independent, the Mail on Sunday Live magazine, More 4, the Sunday Times and BBC Radio 4’s the Today programme.

Previous winning journalists have included Mike Thomson, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Johann Hari, Alan Johnston, Jonathan Miller, Lucy Ash, Andrew Gilligan and Gaby Rado. More information at: www.amnesty.org.uk/mediaawards

Full Press Release on Christy Moore's support for Eamonn McCann's Assembly Campaign


Christy Moore is backing Eamonn McCann for an Assembly seat in Foyle.

In a statement at the weekend, the popular singer said: "I have known Eamonn McCann and have stood with him in many campaigns since 1967. He has always stood for people before profit. I wish him every success in the election on May 5th. I hope to see him in the NI Assembly come May 6th.”

The popular singer and the long-time left-wing campaigner have been involved together in a wide range of causes over more than 40 years. Said Eamonn McCann yesterday: “I first met Christy while selling a left-wing Irish newspaper at Hyde Park Corner in London. It seems amazing to me now that that was all of 44 years ago.

“I am delighted that we are still friends and that we still share the old radical spark of the sixties. I hope I can invite him to chew over old times in the Stormont cafe in a couple of weeks time.”

Christy Moore added:" I might also remark that I sang with him in the Rialto one night, which is another reason why I think he should be in the Assembly". 

Yesterday's Press Release from People Before Profit:

A team of canvassers for the People Before Profit Alliance endured a vicious and disgraceful attack in the Nelson Drive area of the Waterside. The group that included Assembly candidate Eamonn McCann and Waterside Council candidates Davy McAuley and Diane Greer came under a sustained attack from a gang of men hurling broken up paving stones and shouting sectarian abuse. One of their canvassing team sustained a facial injury when he was punched by one of the group. This canvasser is now receiving hospital treatment.

Speaking after the attack  Davy McAuley, the Waterside Council candidate, said,

"We have always canvassed every working class area of this City, from the Bogside to Bond Street. The response on the doors today was fantastic, as it always is when we canvas Caw and Nelson Drive. The attackers in no way represent the people of Nelson Drive, many of whom came out to make sure we were OK ."

The canvassing team were badly shaken by the attack, however Mr McAuley believes that an attack such as this proves the need for the kind of politics espoused by People Before Profit;

" We stand neither for Orange or Green, we do not want to see another generation blighted by sectarian bigotry and ghettoised the way previous generations have been. The vicious cuts introduced by the mainstream parties can only be beaten by Protestant and Catholics joining together and fighting against them. The cuts in social provision do not discriminate against one community or the other, unlike the Parties who implement them in Stormont."

Mr McAuley claims that attacks of this nature will not stop People Before Profit canvassing any area of the city and has appealed to community leaders in Nelson Drive to facilitate a meeting with those who attacked them;

"I will happily meet with those who hurled bricks and shouted sectarian abuse at us today, they may be surprised at how much we have in common. I myself am from a Loyalist area, our canvassing team was mixed and diverse. We want the best for Nelson Drive, with better facilities for the young people of the area, we want to see investment in communities and a better future for all."