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?

💙

An update:

"Halfway There - Another Huge Milestone - Thank You!
It is so uplifting so see so many people give so much in such trying times for a cause well worth supporting. This is not just about investigating what happened to Noah but also investigating the PSNI investigation and the processes in play including the role of the Coroner in the search for the truth. We can only rely upon your support to tell the story objectively and independently. You understand the value of journalism. Keep sharing and keep celebrating your generosity - Thank you so much!
Donal"

£87,224 has been raised so far on Crowdfunder for The Independent Noah Donohoe Investigation Fund - just over half of the amount needed. If anyone can share the appeal it would be very welcome and any amount is appreciated, however small. There are also a number of rewards for donations. For example, all donations of £10 or over will be rewarded with online access to the online premiere of the documentary investigation, 'The Search for Truth - The Noah Donohoe Story'.

Thank you for sharing this appeal. Have donated. 💙

💙Apologies. I was linking to the latest update.

The latest fantastic update:

Donal MacIntyre, Investigative Journalist 30th June 2023

"Unbelievable
Dear donors or shadow production team as I like to call you - because you are making this happen, thank you so much. We have hit £90K and heading towards £100k our two thirds target - just incredible after less than two weeks. I will use this space to keep you up to date with breaking news and developments to follow and to update you all on our progress. Thanks so much for being the most important part of our team.
Best
Donal"

Donated. This is a horrific story and needs investigating.

💙

💙

💙

Donal MacIntyre 1st July 2023
Keep an Eye out for Fresh Developments in the Case - Heads Up!
Dear all,
As our shadow production team and very special donors, we wanted to give you heads up that there may be some newsworthy developments over the next 48 hours. Please keep an eye out on twitter and other social media platforms for updates. You continue to make our investigation possible - we are close to £100,000 - just around £7k off - that is astounding - nearly at two thirds of our first target of £150,000 required to finish the project. Please keep spreading the news of the cause if you can.
As ever, we are tremendously grateful. To all of you, you should know that our investigators approach this case with a fully open mind - as all cold case specialists should do, and that is without pre-conceptions or favourite narratives - we will investigate and we'll be guided by the evidence.
Until our next update, thanks again and keep an eye out for fresh news on the case over the next couple of days.
Best
Donal

💙

🙏💙

💙

Latest update on the Crowdfunder appeal for The Independent Noah Donohoe Investigation:

Donal MacIntyre 3rd July 2023
Thank You Again!
We have passed £95k and it is simply a staggering return from your commitment and desire to fund the film of our independent investigation. We will continue to post updates and general commentary on Noah over the fundraising period so keep an eye out. We are, however, mindful that there is an inquest due in the next six months and, with that in mind, we have to be cautious about what we can report and disclose on social media, as is the case with all the newspapers and other media outlets. So, if you see our future posts are a little light on some details, you can presume that we are legally restricted from what we can publish - within certain guidelines.
What we will never stop publishing about is the need for a thorough investigation and, after the inquest, holding those institutions to account if it transpires they failed Noah. We must continue to celebrate the uniqueness of Noah who truly represented the best of us - an intrinsically generous, smart and empathetic teenager who deserved the best in life and in death.
Thanks so much for continuing to spread the news of our crowdfunding appeal as our campaign grows, and sincere gratitude for making our investigation possible.
Donal

💙

Well done ! Let’s get some justice for Noah & his family at last.

Reading the 1000+ comments on the Crowdfunder page is heart-warming and brings more reassurance that there is some good in this world.

Still a way to go to £150k in the next 28 days but doing very well so far at £98,739 from 4000+ very kind and committed supporters.

Please do share the appeal as far and wide as possible if you can. 💙

Links to Crowdfunder are not allowed by Mumsnet but if you search on Crowdfunder for 'Noah Donohoe' or search 'Crowdfunder The Noah Donohoe Independent Investigation Fund' you should easily find Donal's page.

💙

💙💙💙💙💙

💙

Crowdfunder: The Independent Noah Donohoe Investigation Fund update:

Donal MacIntyre 9th July 2023
"A £100,000 Milestone - You are making this happen!
You are all making this happen - our shadow production team making an independent investigation into Noah's death possible. We have been working on this for the last two and a half years but we cannot complete this endeavour and this really important investigation without you. We are accountable to you - not to an agency, nor an institution or even a broadcaster - we are doing this for Noah and for all future missing children to ensure that they get the investigation they deserve.
Thank you so much and be proud for your achievement - we are all in this together.
Donal"

£102,795
£150,000 target 26 days left 💙

💙

💙

💙

💙 thinking of Noah and Fiona 💙

💙 They deserve the truth to come out 💙