this is bbc news i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 8. police investigating the murder ofjournalist leera mckee in londonderry last night release cctv footage of the gunman and call for the public‘s help. lyra's partner paid an emotional tribute to her... it's left me without the love of my life. the woman i was planning to grow old with. we are all hurt for the loss of lyra. our hopes and dreams and all of her amazing potential was snapped up in a single barbaric act. an american couple, who tortured their 13 children in a so called ‘house of horrors‘, are sentenced to life in prison. police step up their tactics against climate change protesters in london, as arrests rise to nearly 700 a 1a month old boy is rescued by his father from the jaws

of a dingo after an attack in the family camper van in australia. police investigating the killing ofjournalist leera mckee in londonerry last night have released cctv footage of the moments leading up to her death. the 29—year—old was struck by a bullet as she was observing an outbreak of violence in the creggan district last night. the figure circled in red, is the person police believe carried out the shooting.

police believe he the one who carried out the shooting. officers are blaming dissident republicans for her murder and have encourged anyone with information to come forward. today, a vigil for lyra mckee was attended by politicians on both sides of the community. her partner sara canning, paid tribute to her as a tireless advocate and activist, and described her death as senseless. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. shots ring out, a frightening throwback as violence erupts in derry. here, you see a gunman firing at police lines. then, they appear to try to remove the evidence. more than 50 petrol bombs were thrown, say police, and officers were shot at up to ten times. journalist lyra mckee was hit as she stood beside an armoured police vehicle. a reporter nearby tried to help.

i could see a land rover and there was a young woman lying on the ground beside the land rover, unconscious, and her friends were beside her. they hadn't realised what had happened. someone turned around and saw her on the ground and theyjust started screaming. it's a sound i'll never forget. described as a rising star, lyra mckee was a gay rights activist and freelance journalist. within the lgbt community we have a saying that we tell people. we tell them "it gets better". and what i realised that day is it gets better for some of us. it gets better for those of us who live long enough to see it get better. just after 11 o'clock, lyra mckee was taken to hospital in a police vehicle, but died of her wound. officers are treating her death as a terrorist incident and say a murder inquiry has started. this morning, there was dismay that tensions continue to resurface. this city already harbours many memories from northern

ireland's bloody past. it's terrible. i felt ashamed to be a derry man. those sort of things should be long gone, should not be happening now. and we need people like lyra i'm sorry. i couldn't believe it. itjust feels to me like we've gone ten steps back again, you know? so, just that type of violence in this town and the loss of a young life... it's very sad and i'm very sad because this is a lovely town. police believe the violence was orchestrated by the group known as the new ira. police say dissident republicans have been planning to attack officers over the easter weekend. yesterday, they carried out raids here on derry‘s creggan estate, looking for firearms. the response was the violence which led to lyra mckee‘s death. this is an horrendous act, it's unnecessary, it's uncalled for, it's totally unjustified.

but not only is it the murder of a young woman, it's an attack, again, upon the people of this city. hundreds lined the streets as political leaders from all the main parties and both sides of the political divide came together in a show of unity. we are political leaders, religious leaders, civic society and we all stand shoulder to shoulder to say we do not want to see this, we're not going backwards. we all have to stand against theirs. this is an attack on democracy, it's an attack on everybody that standing here today. lyra mckee‘s partner publicly grieved. it's left me without the love of my life, the woman that i was planning to grow old with. we are all poorer for the loss of lyra. despite the gains derry has made, today there is a deep sense of loss. many hope to see a renewed stand against those who threaten to take the city back to its violent past. police released the cctv footage this evening — our reporterjulian fowler —

who is in londonderry — said they were asking anyone with information to come forward yes, when it very clearly says is rear of standing within a group of people close to a police vehicle during the writing. that broke out yesterday evening, you can see burning vehicles, two vehicles that they had been hijacked and set on fire, more than 50 petrol bombs also thrown at the police, and you can see a guy and you can see a gunman appearing from around the corner. he can be seen crouching down and as we heard from eyewitnesses, up to ten shots were fired at the police. indiscriminately, down the street towards those police vehicles but as you see, there is also a large group of public amongst him was larry you see, there is also a large group of public amongst him was lyra mckee, and she was struck by one of those bullets.

and what was coming today obviously and vigil was held what were people attending and saying about what has happened what was the reaction? well, really, those vigils, the silent tributes this evening, books of condolences have open, there has been widespread shock and condemnation. we have heard the words of condemnation before whenever there has been a violent incident to carried out by dissident republicans. the new ira are a small group, but they are a violent group and they don't have widespread support but they do have pockets of supporters, including in the area. we heard from the deputy chief constable who appealed to those who may be supporting the gunman, to have conversations with their families and decide whether given what has happened, the group is something they will continue to support.

but really people feel that those words had been said before whenever there has been a violent incident such as this, and the thoughts are that in the medium and long—term, not really that campaign of violence is unlikely to go away. julian talking to us earlier. the national union ofjournalists has said that lyra was one of northern ireland's most promising journalists. gerry carson is chair of the nuj's irish executive council — he joins us from belfast. thank you for speaking to us here. first, your reaction to this tragic news. it was simply devastating to hear that a young woman, a woman who was on the crest of a wonderful career, not just as was on the crest of a wonderful career, notjust as a journalist but as an author, had been shot dead in such a senseless fashion. itjust

borders on insanity, and we had 700 members and our branch in belfast and all of them are fully behind the effo rts and all of them are fully behind the efforts to find the killer of lyra. she's been described as a rising star and you knew her, why? well, she started making headlines when she started making headlines when she wrote a piece about a letter to a 14—year—old girl, which was about herself coming out as gay. and this caused such a fear, and was well received and it was made into a film —— fire. she decided to be a free —— feeling shirtless and covered many stories and her reputation as someone who was tenacious and accurate, and her research, does without saying. she has friends

throughout northern ireland, union collea g u es throughout northern ireland, union colleagues who are all devastated by this awful tragedy. she worked for american best magazine, which is a beauty industry publication. —— media. she covered many other publications, and a few years ago she was named as one of the 30 under 30 people in the media in europe to watch for in the future. so she was supremely talented and to be cut dead at age 29, my heart goes out to her partner and her family dead at age 29, my heart goes out to her partner and herfamily and her friends. it's just her partner and herfamily and her friends. it'sjust really her partner and herfamily and her friends. it's just really awful. her partner and herfamily and her friends. it'sjust really awful. you know the real ira as they call themselves, and the republican dissidents with the finger of blame

it's been appointed by police, they reacted to her death putting out a statement saying that it was an accidental death, i mean, what was her take on the dangerous of journalism and working in environments where factions like the real ira are present. she did cover extensively the northern ireland conflict and its legacy so she knew only too well the dangers that are often looking in the shadows, and going out last evening our understanding is she heard about the rioting, and went out with her partner and she was trying to get the feel of what was going on and indeed she was just after sending a tweet to a colleague when she was shot, she was standing in the way of an armed vehicle and thought she may have been safe without thinking anyone would be not to have to start

firing guns in an area which is heavily populated. it's just unbearable. she certainly would not ta ke unbearable. she certainly would not take risks, she was far too intelligent for that she would not ta ke intelligent for that she would not take risks but she was very careful but even so, being very careful, she was killed. it's just but even so, being very careful, she was killed. it'sjust so but even so, being very careful, she was killed. it's just so sad to. but even so, being very careful, she was killed. it'sjust so sad to. why do you think that, clearly she's a new breed ofjournalists, why do you think in such a fast—moving news agenda, voices like hers ears are so important? well, they are new, they are very competent and how they communicate like they use the digital scene extremely well, and in terms of the p situation in northern ireland, she was one of the people who was starting to really focus on the developing peace in northern ireland and hopes for the future.

and i am hoping that her death will spur many more journalists into covering the antics of people who bring death and destruction to our streets. thank you so much for your time. thank you very much indeed and just to clarify that the statement i mentioned there, was from a so—called republican dissidents styled themselves as the real ira, whereas the blame has been pointed, the republican dissidents by the police at the new ira. just a bit of clarity there for you. a couple from the us state of california have been sentenced to life in jail for starving and torturing all but one of their 13 children. the sons and daughters of david and louise turpin endured years of abuse at the family home. let's have a listen to an emotional

louise turpin speaking in court ahead of her sentencing. i'm sorry for everything i've done to hurt my children. i love my children so much. i've loved each one of them. i only want the best for them. one of them. i only want the best forthem. their one of them. i only want the best for them. their happiness is very important to me. they're very smart individuals. i hope they get all the education they need to make their dreams come true. well a little earlier i spoke to our north america correspondent — sophie long — who was in court for the sentencing. there were heartbreaking scenes in this courthouse behind me, i become outdated and luis turpin sat in court crying as two of the children read written statements to a packed courtroom, the first, the daughter made her way to the podium walking past them at a very frail, visibly upset composed this out and she said

my parents took my whole life, but i'm taking it back and i'm a fighter andi i'm taking it back and i'm a fighter and i am strong. next when at their sons came to the podium and he read a statement on behalf of his sisters, and in his own words he said it's difficult to find the words for what my parents did, but he said that was the past and this is now, he talked about how he had nightmares stealth but since january, he has learned so much and learned to live independently eat healthily ride a bike that he enjoys and to swim as well. another statement read on behalf of another daughter who said she loved her pa rents daughter who said she loved her parents and she believed everything they did they did to protect them, she said she wanted to be able to visit her parents to speak them —— speak to them on the telephone. louise spoke to court after the children, she said they were very sorry for everything that dan and they loved their children more than they loved their children more than they would ever know. the judge sentenced the couple said the only thing they had been right was to

plead guilty to the sporting counts so that their children were not voice to the pre—live, they separate of so many years. as you rightly say, this came to light and attention at the outside world when one of their daughters escaped last january through a window as she took with her a deactivated southbound and she managed to call the emergency services. she told the operator on the other end of the line that we are a family 15 there are 13 children and our parents abuse as she said two have my little sisters are chained to the beds at the moment and she said she did not know what medication was admitted in such squalor, but sometimes she was not able to breathe. when police arrived at the unassuming four—bedroom family home and southern california, they found 12 of the children severely malnourished. the child range in age from 2—29, they said some of the children in their late 20s look like young teenagers because they were so badly malnourished. now, both

defendants will spend much of the rest of their lives in prison. atlas was sophie from riverside, california. west midlands police has launched an investigation after a young child was shot at a house in wolverhampton this afternoon. it's understood a group of men fired shots at a house in the eastfield area of the city. a six—year—old boy, thought to be inside the house at the time, was shot in the back and hand. the injuries aren't thought to be life—threatening. police said the motive was not yet clear — and urged any witnesses to get in touch the headlines on bbc news. police investigating the murder ofjournalist leera mckee police investigating the murder of journalist lyra mckee in londonderry last night release cctv footage of the shooter and call for the public‘s help. lyra's partner paid an emotional tribute to her. police step up their tactics against climate change protesters in london, as arrests rise to nearly 700. an american couple,

who tortured 13 children in a so called "house of horrors", are sentenced to life in prison. two women, aged 22 and 36, have died after they got into difficulties in the water off aberdeen beach. the emergency services were sent to the scene at around quarter to one this morning after reports of two women in the water. they were picked up by the lifeboat service and taken to hospital but both later died. police scotland say that the two women, who were foreign nationals, lived in the city. hundreds of police officers have closed in on protesters in central london, as demonstrations entered a fifth day. so far, nearly 700 people have been arrested. protestors want to raise awareness of climate change — and are demanding a drastic speeding up of the government's plan to cut carbon emissions. but many argue their

target is unrealistic. 0ur correspondent sangita myska reports. following five days of disruption, the police began the work of removing the pink boat, the rallying point for climate change protesters in the heart of the uk's busiest shopping district, oxford circus. earlier today, 1000 police officers had poured onto london's streets, drafted in to end the climate change protests that had brought parts of the capital to a standstill. the home secretary says he expects the police to use the full force of the law to end that disruption. it's certainly different from the sort of protest we're used to and we are an organisation that learns and we will debrief this operation once it is finished and we will learn what works and what didn't work, so if groups choose to take this approach again in future, we will be better placed to deal

with it more swiftly. at waterloo bridge, a stone's throw from parliament, it's a game of cat and mouse. campaigners are lifted and removed by officers, some to return hours later, to do the same again. in five days, nearly 700 arrests and no end in sight. i've come out to do my bit and we're going to come back on monday and we'll be getting arrested again and may be locking on here again, doing what's necessary until the government is prepared to speak with us. today in france, officers used very different tactics. at the french bank, societe generale, police used pepper spray to remove climate change protesters who'd blocked employees from getting into work. back at oxford street, retailers claim the disruption has cost them millions of pounds in lost trade, but campaigners say it is a price worth paying until their calls for radical government action to combat climate change are acted on. sangita myska, bbc news.

0ur reporter emma north gave us this update from oxford circus in central london. around four o'clock this afternoon, the oxford circus focal point of the protesters had also been the scene of work by the police. they were determined to get that pink boat, called to tell the truth, out of oxford circus to try and remove oxford circus as a central rallying point for the whole protest. and then followed this game of cat and mouse, where they carefully removed the protesters and clipped down and took them off to be arrested. and then they turned that boat around and attached it to that lorry at the back there. then the gentle game continued, where regent street, the main one, the main shopping centre in the uk was filled with police as they tried to find an exit point. about half an hour ago, they thought they had found an exit point, but these protesters may be very peaceful, but they are very, very determined. and effectively, they outran the boat going through some side streets and we are now here in a side street, a little bit near

oxford circus, where we had several hundred people gathered, not letting that boat got anywhere at all. i think it could be safe to say that this is quite a bit of a headache for the police. they had deployed, it's estimated about moo offices down here. notjust from the met police, but from the city of london, sussex police and kent police all trying to get this boat out of the way to make sure the protesters don't have anywhere to absolutely rally. that said, the protesters had a very, very peaceful attitude towards what they're doing. they are incredibly polite, i saw one escaping a few they are incredibly polite, i saw one skipping a few minutes ago. but there is absolutely no sign of these people moving. dave sat down in the middle of the street, they are singing, the eye chanting, the actuary and police can do very, very little about it at this precise moment. am the speaking earlier. a powerful us congressional committee has issued a subpoena, demanding the release of the unredacted mueller

report. robert mueller‘s report a redacted version of which was released yesterday investigated russian interference with the 2016 us elections. it concluded that the trump campaign had not conspired with russia, but was unable to say whether the president had obstructed justice. speaking earlier on a trip to northern ireland, speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi was asked if she thought president trump ought to be prosecuted by congress and whether mr mueller had more questions to answer. whatever the issue and challenge that we face, the congress of the united states will honour its oath of office to protect and defend the constitution of the united states, to protect our democracy. we believe that the first article, article one, the legislative branch, has the responsibility of oversight of our democracy, and we will exercise that. earlier i spoke to our washington correspondent gary 0'donoghue, who told me how president trump had been reacting.

it's interesting because yesterday he talked about it being game over, i did nt? so he was having a good day and his lawyer said it was victory. you might expect now that he's headed off down to florida, to his golf course, that he might feel he did not need to say anything. but, he has sent out a stream of tweets. name calling, i mean, there is interesting language in this one here, calling it the crazy mueller report. he says it's been written by 18 angry democrats. trump haters, he called them. and he talks about the statements having been fabricated and totally untrue. the bit we are not showing you is where he goes on to you pretty foul language as well. so he can't leave it alone. even though he says he's been totally exonerated. and i think part of the reason for that is the democrats are not letting it go and they're going to ensure there are several more instalments, episodes to this saga yet.

i mean, how far could be democrats take this? because obviously the public are watching closely. does this matter to the american public? clearly it does to the democrats. i'm not sure the public are watching all that closely. they don't show any signs particularly in the voting booths of caring much about russia. but for the democrats, they are concerned with, if you like, getting the white house a difficult time. i mean, they will argue of course they are just trying to get to the bottom of things, but part of the reasoning and part of what comes with the territory of winning the house of representatives is you get control of these powerful committees and you can make life pretty difficult. so they sent a subpoena today to thejustice department for an unredacted version of the report. and they have set a may one deadline, for that to appear. now, that could end up in the courts, that whole

argument, and of course in the next few weeks, we are going to see robert mueller himself to testify in front of congress as well as the attorney general and that will be pretty box office. gary speaking to the surly air from washington. —— i said earlier. a iii—month—old boy has survived a dingo attack that took place on a popular australian tourist island. the toddler suffered a fractured skull and deep cuts to his neck and head. he is recovering in hospital. from sydney, phil mercer reports. the child was rescued from the dingo's jaws by his father, who was awoken by loud screams. the toddler had been dragged several metres in the darkness from the family's camper van on fraser island, north of brisbane. he was badly hurt, but paramedics say it could have been much worse. the dingoes made their way into the trailer and grabbed the boy and dragged him away from the camper. and the parents woke up to the baby screaming and chased after him, having to fight the dingoes off to take the boy away

from the dingoes. he was apparently grabbed around the neck area and dragged away. so if it wasn't for the parents fighting off the dingoes, there would probably be severe injuries. fraser island is home to several packs of dingoes. attacks are uncommon, but earlier this year, a six—year—old boy was bitten. in 2001, another boy was killed on the island after being mauled. dingoes were at the heart of one of australia's most infamous court cases. in 1980, a nine—week—old baby went missing at uluru, or ayres rock, in central australia. she was taken by a wild dog, but suspicion fell on her parents. the child's mother was jailed for life for murder and her father convicted of being an accessory. it would take years for them to be exonerated.

what occurred on 17 august, 1980 was that shortly after mrs chamberlain placed the baby in the tent, a dingo or dingoes entered the tent, took azaria, and carried and dragged her from the immediate area. 0n fraser island, specialist rangers have been brought in to warn tourists to stay away from wild dogs. if the animals responsible for the attack on the toddler can be identified, they could be put down. phil mercer, bbc news, in sydney. now it's time for a look at the weather with xxxxx time for a look at the weather. good evening. we've seen plenty of sunshine across the board through the day today. and temperatures have responded. now at times that sunshine turned hazy, but not spoiled the feel of the day. while that sunshine has given our temperatures an extra boost. all four nations have recorded their highest temperatures so far, and warmth is to come for most of us as we head to the weekend.

we have an area of high—pressure sitting over scandinavia, a settled story, but we have this weather front working its way in from the atlantic that will make some progress, introducing more cloud into parts of northern ireland in western fringes of scotland overnight, turning a bit more breezy here. elsewhere, lighter winds, clear skies and the return of low cloud, mist and fog into lincolnshire and yorkshire. while temperatures shouldn't drop away too far, there will be 1—2 cool spots in northern and eastern england. early morning mist and fog will clear quickly, but we still have that band of cloud draped across northern ireland up to scotland and northern isles is where it will be a blustery day. the heat is building towards the southern half of the uk, and we could see highs of up to 25 celsius here, cooler underneath that cloud with outbreaks of rain. heading into saturday night, we have high pressure in charge, we've still got that weather front pestering parts hello this is bbc news with lu kwesa burak. the headlines. police investigating the murder ofjournalist leera mckee in londonderry last night release cctv footage of the gunman and call for the public‘s help. leera's partner paid

an emotional tribute to her... the love of my life, the woman who was planning to grow old with. we all mourn the loss. 0ur hopes and dreams and all of her amazing potential was snuffed out by a single barbaric act. an american couple, who tortured their 13 children in a so called ‘house of horrors', are sentenced to life in prison. police step up their tactics against climate change protesters in london, as arrests rise to nearly 700 a 1a month old boy is rescued by his father from the jaws of a dingo after an attack in the family camper van in australia. sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh woozencroft.

beginning with news that is broken. the fight with miller injune, it is off after he reported second adverse finding ina off after he reported second adverse finding in a drugs test for the american, he has confirmed that miller will now be replaced and that a new opponent for the heavyweight champion will be announced next week. the fight is due to take place in new york and will be his us debut. he has been knocked out of the quarterfinals of the monte carlo masters, the raining champion's hopes for an unprecedented 12 monte carlo title are still alive he is through to the semifinals after beating the argentinian in straight sets. throughout snooker championship gets under way at the crucible theatre in sheffield tomorrow, the bookmakers favoured to win the tournament, the 43—year—old

says he is taking some from tiger woods's triumph at the masters as a tries for his sixth world title. my my inspiration, seeing the order generation, i would draw some inspiration from that. if you can do it, i suppose it gives you a bit of believing yourself. they are taking on sheffield wednesday, they are looking to restore their six point lead over united who won earlier today, setting them on the way, with the goal in the 19th minute, but wednesday their head back with this incredible strike from fernando, it is just the fifth goal of the italian has scored the season but he wa nts to italian has scored the season but he wants to be remembered it is one all just approaching half—time. they wa nt to

just approaching half—time. they want to go up into second, they beat nottingham forest, they missed out the chance to take second spot is they were beaten 2—1 at the road, before that they are chasing bristol city which were held by reading and that means middlesboro was up to the semifinal after stoke. they were relegated to one after. professional footballers in england and wales are boycotting social media for 2h hours today in protest against the way social networks and football authorities respond to racism. it follows a number of high—profile incidents in domestic and international matches this season. the boy got kicks off the professional association's antiracism campaign —— boycott. professional association's antiracism campaign —— boycottlj think antiracism campaign —— boycott.” think it is great that players are coming together to make a stand and the big statement as a group and i

change mindsets and beliefs. i am not a great user social media myself, i tend to stay clear of all forms of it. but that is just my on personal preference, for other players it is an important part of their lives these days. so certainly i think you can make a difference. they beat their rivals, by 36 points at the stadium this afternoon, scoring 46 tries, to secure the first hat trick of his career. elsewhere they took the bragging rights against the city rivals, winning 5612, bottom of the table, they beat them 38—18, they got a good when on the road. to adjust

their second win in this year's premier league, 66 ofjust 28 as their team set a target of 214, they felt ten runs short. and that is all the support for now, will be back for more on sports day and half past ten. football authorities respond to racism, it follows a number of high profile incidents that have happened the season. the pfa, which is organised as boycott has says that is just the organised as boycott has says that isjust the beginning of organised as boycott has says that is just the beginning of a organised as boycott has says that isjust the beginning of a longer campaign designed to tackle racism head on. we have been joined by dr colin king from the black and asian coaches association.

has this campaign has the desired impact? what is the impact of racism in amateur football? don't it has had a positive effect, it is educating people, it's actually taking that racism still exists institutionally and we have to apply the bravery of the pfa, for someone to take this to the forefront, we need to be positive and strategic and address this issue. what is strange about this when i first started reading this in the stream is developing, the first place i went to a social media. and thatis place i went to a social media. and that is the irony, this is the media that is the irony, this is the media thatis that is the irony, this is the media that is supposed to empower communicate effective, politely and liberate us to talk and a more socially polite way. there are certain communities that are abusing

their rights, abusing our civil liberties because we are a different colour. that is the worst form. why do you think football is being highlighted for this. it is everywhere. the wife about his yellow the expression of democracy, is like the expression of democracy, is like the football has become a place or people can be exempt from those criminal processes and say what they like and they must not be exempt from criminal processes. they must be charged, they must be taken seriously, you must campaign together to make sure that everyone is safe. you have been campaigning on the subject for a long time, how has racism progress over the decades? because i came to the uk in

the 80s, i would like to say that i see less of it. there are more black people in prison in the criminal justice system, that is not translating the sport, you're more likely to be violated instead discriminated against, despite all the equality efforts, something is taking place that we are not actually getting to the root cause of. so we have to sit down his campaign officers, as organisations, as people at the grassroots, it is important to come together to find it. obviously, there is something going on at the root of the cause, obviously, it's football that is brought this, highlighted the problem of racism. but, i would like to know your opinion on why things appear to be getting worse. what is your opinion on this? where has it gone wrong? equality has taught us

to say the right things, to mask the issues. it is clearly apparent that people are now saying that they really think, that biased towards a consciousness where they actually css dehumanize, less than, but also to be treated badly. and people are articulating their pain, their anguish and despair and that is been repressed and is a posttraumatic response to a process, of institutional racism that over a period of time, that thankfully is now coming out and we need to deal with it. what people are saying is in front of the cameras, but away from all of that it is just a bad —— as bad. what sort of impact could this have on them? we have not got the exposure or the protection to that level as well, so the safety is far more acute. for the grassroots,

we can walk into the environment, we can be racially abused and all sorts of things. we have to call the police may have to go through a procedure which we have no faith in at all, stay reduces our confidence and reporting procedure. and the safety issues of looking after our young people on the field of play, looking after referees, and the issue of, it looks like the experience and the perspective from black people as well. the partner of a journalist shot dead in londonderry has described her murder as a "barbaric act" that has snuffed out her "amazing potential". sara canning said she'd been left without the love of her life. lyra mckee, who was 29, was killed during rioting in the creggan area of the city last night. police have blamed the dissident republican group, the new ira. earlier i spoke to the writer and journalist, susan mckay, who was a friend of lyra's who described her as a deeply compassionate

and talented journalist. she was a really lovely person. she was a brilliant writer. she was a great campaigner and she cared deeply about other people, she cared very deeply about the ability of writing to change things and she was a really good, fun person as well. one minute, she will be tweeting about how to do research and to young people who had been murdered and disappeared. and the next she would be joking about how she had fallen off the wagon at swimming world and had bags of malties and buckets of popcorn and all the rest of it. she was just a very lovely person and she was very brave, she had a very unique writing style. she was a very, very, very much a rising star of irish writing and she had been already at the age of 29, published in some of the bestjournals in the world. but she was very happy, she is from a working—class background in north belfast but she

had, when she was in belfast, she was living with her elderly mother who she was devoted to and was caring for her. and then she had been able to move up to derry to be with sarah, her partner who gave that heartbreaking tribute to her at the vigil in derry where she talked about how she lost the love of her life and he also describes sarah as being the love of her life. and she also describes sarah as being the love of her life. she was very happy, she was at the peak of her powers. she just moved to derry and she loved the city and she plunged right into the heart of all of the best sort of activity in the city, i heard a tribute to her earlier from the director of the rainbow project in derry, which works for lgbtq people and he described her as a hero and was talking about how she had taken part recently in a strictly come dancing fundraiser that they did even though she had, as she put it, two left feet.

as he put it, two left feet. she was just an absolutely gorgeous, lovely, life—affirming person full of love and creativity and it's just absolutely devastating that she's been killed in this awful, unacceptable, barbaric way. you spoke there about her passion, campaigning for lgbt rights and you described her as having a unique voice, ijust want to replay an excerpt of a film that was made where she shares a letter to her 14—year—old self on the secrets she holds and also about coming out. so let's just have a listen to this. for the first time in your life, you will like yourself. three months before your 215t birthday, you will tell mum the secret. you will be sobbing and shaking and she will be frightened because she does not know what's wrong. christmas will be just a couple of weeks away.

you have to tell her because you've met someone you like you can live with the guilt any more. you can't get the words out so she says it. are you gay? and you will say, "yes, mummy." i am so sorry. and instead of getting mad, she will reply, "thank god, you're not pregnant. " you will crawl into her lap, sobbing as she holds you and tells you that you are her little girl and how could you ever think that anything would make you love her any less. you will feel like a prisoner has been given their freedom. susan, listening to that, you can see why she connected with a lot of the youth and the young people. it was so touching. she gets the message across so i am really interested to see her approach to journalism. you wrote a piece in the garden when he said, rather

you wrote a piece in the guardian where you said, rather than going home about writing it, she immersed yourself. she stayed there. i'm quite interested to know why she felt she wanted to write about the troubles and her take on that part of her history. i think that, first and foremost, you need to realise that when you listen to that film and also when you look at a really excellent ted talk that she did, is that she saw herself as a survivor and she talks about when she was a child, her catholic religion taught that it was unacceptable to be gay. and she talked about how she felt the right thing for her to do was to kill herself. so she saw herself as having survived that and she talks very poignantly about how, you know, it gets better, it gets better for those of us who survive long enough for it to get better and, she wrote that not knowing of course that her own life is not that her own life was not going to be for much longer. so she was keenly aware that she survived and wanted to help other people to survive,

she was a child of the cease—fire,