Stormont should not be treated as a “soft-play area” for politicians, the SDLP leader Claire Hanna has said in an in-depth interview with the BelTel podcast. In it, she gave her views on Irish unity, on Stormont reform and on the SDLP’s chances of recovery.  Claire Hanna became the leader of the SDLP unopposed in October 2024 having been an MP for south Belfast since 2019.   

Many commentators say the SDLP has been more stridently pro-unity under Hanna’s leadership.  Does she agree?   

 Can she square making Northern Ireland work with not wanting it at all?  

 And can she turn around the SDLP’s long-term decline.   

Claire Hanna, joined Ciarán Dunbar on the BelTel.  

The BelTel brings you some of Northern Ireland's top journalists, Allison Morris, Sam McBride and Suzanne Breen to name but a few, giving you the inside stories behind what is in the news. Presented by Ciarán Dunbar, the Bel Tel investigates, debates and informs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The BelTel

Claire Hanna: SDLP leader says united Ireland is ‘likely’ but not ‘inevitable’ 

A County Down man’s holiday in Greece has ended in a conviction for fatal bodily harm. Trinity law graduate Joseph Patrick Connolly has been found guilty of killing a university of Limerick student after a confrontation on the island of Ios in the early hours of August 30th, 2021. 21-year-old Niall O’Brien died after being punched twice in the head. 

 Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Mark Tighe, senior news journalist with the Sunday Independent, who attended court in Greece. 

Rostrevor man convicted in Greek court over killing Limerick student  

It’s been a rough week for prime minister Keir Starmer. First, the Labour leader offered a direct apology to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking network while declaring that “none of us knew the depth and darkness” of the relationship between Epstein and former British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson. Then came the resignations of Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan. Can Mr Starmer hold onto his job?

Meanwhile, the latest tranche of Epstein files contained references of a distinctly Irish nature – what are they, and what conclusions can we draw from them?  

Host: Tabitha Monahan 

Guests: Enda Brady and Kim Bielenberg

Epstein files: Keir Starmer on the brink, and Irish connections explored

Lauren Bradford-Clarke grew up believing her mother Lesley had taken her own life before finding out the truth – her father was a murderer. She was told her mum Lesley took her own life, eventually being told it was part of a ‘suicide’ pact with a man, Trevor Buchanan – the husband of the woman who would eventually become her stepmother. That woman was Hazel Stewart, how had been having an affair with Lauren’s father, Colin Howell.  Ten 18-years after the deaths, Colin Howell walked into a police station and confessed to murdering them, implicating Steward as his partner in crime.

Dr Lauren Bradford-Clarke, now a criminologist, spoke with the Belfast Telegraph’s Claire Williamson. 

 

Claire Hanna: SDLP leader says united Ireland is ‘likely’ but not ‘inevitable’

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