Noah Donohoe: the latest news is very bad

[MNettersForNoahAndFiona]

Many Mumsnetters will have already seen and kindly supported my threads and those of others about the disappearance and death of young Noah Donohoe in Belfast in June 2020. For those who haven't, Noah's naked body was retrieved from a drain after he had been missing for 6 days. Two years later, his grieving mother Fiona, with her sister Niamh at her side, is still having to fight for the truth about her adored son's disappearance and death and for justice for him.

Yesterday, Fiona was given official notice by the government/NIO that a Public Interest Immunity Certificate has been granted. It was signed by the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire. This means that the police/PSNI are allowed to keep hundreds of pages of information from their botched investigation into the disappearance and death of this innocent and precious child secret. It was received by the police/PSNI and Crown Solicitors Office on the 19th July and his mother was not told for over a week.

Mr Vara was appointed after Brandon Lewis resigned from Boris Johnson's cabinet. He has only been in his post as NI Secretary for two weeks. This is not a good start. Signing the PII Certificate so swiftly indicates to me that he has not taken due time and care to learn all the facts in Noah's case. I think anyone who concludes from this that Mr Vara is just a government and police puppet could be forgiven.

For those Mumsnetters not in Northern Ireland who believe that PII Certificates don't concern you, a PII Certificate application from the police/PSNI protected Robert Howard, a known prolific and violent child killer and rapist. It allowed him to travel to England, Scotland and Ireland. He was only brought to justice when he raped and killed a child in Kent. This is only one example of many.

If you are not outraged, then you have not been paying attention. What can you do? Please think about this and do what you can. Please join us in raising awareness about Noah on social media, with your own government representatives and mainstream media. If you want to contact Shailesh Vara directly about Noah's case:
members.parliament.uk/member/1496/contact
Email at NIO: [email protected]
He is also on Twitter:
twitter.com/ShaileshVara

Here is a factual and reliable pinned Twitter thread for people new to Noah's story or wanting to know more:
mobile.twitter.com/MarymoBelfast/status/1370453351616425985
Here is Fiona's podcast:

Here is a Channel 4 News report: www.channel4.com/news/noah-donohoe-family-seek-answers-over-belfast-teenagers-death And please, if you haven't already, do still join the 309,146 people who have showed they care by signing Fiona's petition. Link in the OP of this thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/4573833-noah-donohoe-his-mothers-fight-for-the-truth-and-justice-please-help-stop-the-police-coroner-and-brandon-lewis-from-keeping-investigation-files-into-the-death-of-a-child-secret-thread-3?

Thank you sincerely for reading and for your support. 💙

TLDR:
As Marion Wright Edelman said, if we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much. Shame on you, Shailesh Vara. AIBU?

Respectfully, I ask all posters not to take us down a political rabbit hole, because we will understandably then get posts for and against other parties and people with questionable pasts too, all of which will derail the thread.

Respectfully, I ask that we keep the focus on Noah and the PII.

And councillors Gallagher and Barr arent really "independent" in the way it would be meant in the UK.

Councillor Barr's brother was a Sinn Fein councillor for example.

I'm going to correct erroneous things you've said and things you've said without the context that give a misleading impression.

Because it's not fair to put out that something is independent when it's not really.

Fiona has made a mistake in doing this. The PII for Noah is now a political football and not a cross community campaign for justice.

It's not just Protestants who feel very, very uneasy about SF/PIRA organising a protest for Noah Donohoe.

There are Catholics like me who feel like yourself.

@exnewwifeproblems - please, I do not think your posts are in the spirit of the thread.

It's not just me who is saying it.

I absolutely 100% supported Fiona and her quest for answers.

But this isn't that any more. It's political now.

I'm sorry, but you have brought politics into it by bringing in the Provos aka Provisional Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA.

It says a lot you've tried to keep Sinn Féin’s name out of it. But the people of GB have a right to know SF/PIRA is now involved in your campaign.

Heed the constrictive criticism and keep the Provos as far away as possible from this. People WILL support the campaign for Noah Donohoe without you bringing in SF/PIRA.

You're making a mistake.

I'm sorry, but you have brought politics into it by bringing in the Provos aka Provisional Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA.

It says a lot you've tried to keep Sinn Féin’s name out of it. But the people of GB have a right to know SF/PIRA is now involved in your campaign.

Heed the constrictive criticism and keep the Provos as far away as possible from this. People WILL support the campaign for Noah Donohoe without you bringing in SF/PIRA.

You're making a mistake.

This.

You can't put that genie back in the bottle.

It's a Shinners campaign now. (And the "independents" who aren't really independent)

The PII for Noah is now a political football and not a cross community campaign for justice.
I, and others, strongly disagree with you exwifenewproblems . There remains cross community support. You are entitled to your opinion however and you have given it very strongly. Now please, respectfully, may those of us who still want and intend to support Fiona get back to doing so?

Just because you say respectfully doesn't mean you're not telling me to fuck off the thread.

Fiona has made a big mistake and you need to take that on board.

Are you in Northern Ireland? Are you from here?

Kingsmill.

Newtownhamilton.

Ethnic cleansing in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Grey steel

Teebane

From here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProvisionalIrishhRepublicanArmyycampaign

One might even think it was a cynical attempt to distract from the anniversary of Claudy which was 50 years ago yesterday. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudy_bombing

Thank you for your opinions DownNative and exnewwifeproblems, which are noted and which we have got loud and clear.

So far and one too many considering SF/PIRAs past. It's also one I think you've been keen to not name check the Provos for as well.

Like I said, you're making a mistake not distancing yourselves from SF/PIRA who shouldn't be anywhere near this.

The focus should 100% be on Noah and the quest for truth. SF being involved, unfortunately, does detract from your very worthwhile cause.

It'd be like the PUP/UVF being involved in any similar campaign for someone else, hypothetically speaking. A mistake too.

SF PIRA PROVOS Red Hand Commandos PUP DUP UDA UVF - none of the NI alphabet soup should NEVER have been allowed anywhere near this.

Well clearly I know very little about this compared to some of you and I'm sure you'll think I'm very naive. But I'll tell you what I do know: If this were my child, I would talk to anyone.

And I mean, anyone.

Best wishes to Noah's family.

Once again, respectfully, points have been made, repeatedly and forcefully.

Respectfully, please refrain from derailing the thread further by posting about things that have absolutely nothing to do with Noah, a beautiful and innocent child.

Respectfully, this thread is about, and for, Noah.

Thank you @Floisme 💙

The good people of Strabane have not let Noah down tonight, even at such short notice:

Noah's case needs publicity to gain access to the files.

NI alphabet soup should Never have been anywhere allowed near this.

You're forgetting the alphabet soup relate to the case, if the political divide didn't exist there would be no needs for PII.

Noah's case would have been looked at from a very different place if the stigma and political agenda wasn't part of the problem.

Oh I know exactly which element of the alphabet soup is allegedly involved. And I absolutely condemn that. And I condemn all those who stood by and said and did nothing to help.

But by invoking SF it HAS damaged cross community support. Which is a shame, and unfortunate. And ultimately will damage their cause.

And I would say the same if the PUP or any of the other side had got involved. The strength of the campaign was that ultimately it was cross community and could reach to everyone.

That has now been diminished by allowing SF to take up the baton today.

@exnewwifeproblems you have made your point multiple times. You do not need to continue to repeat yourself. Please stop derailing the thread. This thread is about Noah and nothing else.
If you must continue to discuss it please kindly move along and start your own thread.

Well done to the hundreds of people who showed their support to Noah, Fiona and Niamh tonight and protested against the PII Certificate outside the police/PSNI station:

exnewwifeproblems - Hopefully not.