The BelTel Belfast Telegraph

On 4th July, Northern Ireland’s 18 parliamentary constituencies will decide who they will send to Westminster. A number of constituencies will see change in July, including Jeffrey Donaldson’s Lagan Valley seat. Meanwhile, PM Rishi Sunak’s plans to reintroduce national service have been seen by some as the wrong move for attracting younger voters. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by lecturer and political commentator David McCann and former DUP Spad and commentator Lee Reynolds. 
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IRA decommissioning was an historic political event that has been clouded in secrecy for decades. Files uncovered by the Belfast Telegraph, in The National Archives at Kew, have revealed new details about how the road to decommissioning weakened first minister David Trimble, fueled the rise of the DUP, and almost collapsed the Good Friday Agreement. They also reveal how foreign spy satellites played a part in getting the IRA to destroy their weapons. Sam McBride joins Ciarán Dunbar with his findings from the Kew Files. 
 

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In February 2022, business consultant Brendan Murphy was living in Irpin, a small city near Kyiv. That month, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Irpin as one of their initial targets. Brendan wrote ‘War in Ukraine: An Irishman’s Journey’, to tell the story of his family’s escape from Ukraine and his experience of the country. He spoke to Ciarán Dunbar.
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Outside a rainy Downing Street yesterday, Rishi Sunak set the date for the summer general election for the 4th of July. He says it is now time for Britain to choose its future, whilst Labour leader Keir Starmer says it’s time for change. Why has it been set for July, can the conservatives avoid a wipe-out, and what surprises can be expected during this campaign? Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta, a market research consultancy based in London. 
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The Belfast Telegraph’s latest LucidTalk polling reveals opinions on whether Sir Jeffrey Donaldson should resign as an MP, party support, and how well the public feel think political leaders are doing. It also polls opinion on whether DUP founding member Wallace Thompson is right to think a United Ireland is inevitable. 
Host: Ciarán Dunbar. Guests: Bill White, Alex Kane, and Ursula Savage. 

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Ulster Rugby player Paddy Jackson, who was one of the key people at the Belfast rape trial of 2018, has expressed his concerns over a proposed six-episode TV series that will dramatise the court case that rocked Northern Ireland. The trial, where Jackson and fellow Ulster rugby player Stuart Olding were found not guilty of the charges against them, has a problematic legacy in Belfast and beyond. Fionnán Sheehan is joined by Special Correspondent with the Irish Independent Ellen Coyne.  
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