Mark Simpson

London

Producer at BBC Radio 2

Producer at BBC Radio 6 Music

BBC Radio Producer - music lover, film fan this is my personal account, not the views of the BBC.

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Articles

Mixed ability rugby: 'I never thought I'd play full contact'

5 days ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image caption, Adam Frew plays hooker for the Malone TornadoesBBC News NI community correspondentBeing the smallest player on his team does not bother Adam Frew as he prepares for the mixed-ability rugby world cup in Spain. The 28-year-old, who is 5ft 4in (1.63m) tall and plays hooker, said he loves the "the camaraderie, the friendship, the fun and the fitness" of playing in the Belfast-based Malone Tornadoes squad.
Maghera: Drivers gobsmacked by 'massive' yellow box junction

1 week ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image caption, Maghera has been dubbed the "small town with the big yellow box"BBC News NI community correspondentIs this the biggest yellow box junction in the UK, Ireland or even the world? People in a County Londonderry town say they are gobsmacked by the size of a new set of road markings. Maghera has been dubbed the "small town with the big yellow box" after the road markings were painted earlier in the week.
Nama trial: Verdict in Jamie Bryson and Daithí McKay trial due in weeks

1 week ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Jamie Bryson entering Belfast Crown Court last week BBC News NI communities correspondentVerdicts are expected within the next three weeks in the court case involving loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and former Sinn Féin politician Daithí McKay. At the end of a four-week trial, Judge Gordon Kerr KC reserved judgement but said he hoped to deliver verdicts before the end of the legal term at the start of July.
King's honours: 106-year-old WW2 veteran is among those recognised

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Norman Irwin has been awarded a British Empire Medal BBC News NI community correspondentA 106-year-old Second World War veteran from Coleraine is the oldest person on the King's Birthday Honours list. Norman Irwin has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for a range of voluntary work in his home town in County Londonderry, including at a cross-community club for retirees.
Gordon Lyons: GAA should 'change' Casement plans, says DUP minister

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The price-tag for the planned 34,500-capacity stadium is around £100m more than is currently availableThe minister in charge of sport in Northern Ireland has said plans for a new Casement Park stadium in west Belfast may have to be scaled back due to the funding shortfall. In a statement to BBC News NI, he put the onus on the GAA to find more money or "change their plans to fit the funding".
Ballymena: Dangerous cocktail plunges town into hate-filled violence

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, ReutersBBC News NI communities correspondentA dangerous cocktail of factors came together to plunge Ballymena, County Antrim, into hate-filled violence. Within 36 hours of a peaceful protest on Monday evening, 32 police officers had been injured as the authorities struggled to keep the peace. The families who were targeted, many of them relatively new to Northern Ireland, have been left feeling terrified and terrorised.
Nama trial: Ex-Sinn Fein worker says he was Jamie Bryson go-between

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image caption, Thomas O'Hara, pictured above in 2015, told the court Daithí McKay asked him for a "favour" - copying and pasting messages to and from Jamie BrysonA former Sinn Féin election worker for Daithí McKay has told a court he was "used" as a go-between to send secret messages to loyalist activist Jamie Bryson. Thomas O'Hara told Belfast Crown Court he thought the plan was "mad" as Mr Bryson was "not the biggest lover of the Shinners", but went along with it in September 2015.
Nama trial: Jamie Bryson denies leaking secret messages to newspaper

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Mr Bryson said he did not know how private messages on Twitter with Sinn Féin's Daithí McKay in 2015 ended up being published in the Irish News a year laterBBC News NI community correspondentLoyalist activist Jamie Bryson has denied leaking secret messages he exchanged with a Sinn Féin politician to a newspaper to try to cause political embarrassment.
Nama trial: Jamie Bryson says he sent private messages to Sinn Féin's Daithí McKay

3 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Jamie Bryson entering Belfast Crown Court on 19 MayBBC News NI community correspondentThe loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has admitted sending private messages to Sinn Féin's Daithí McKay before appearing at a Stormont committee but denied they made a secret deal. Mr Bryson has been on trial for the past three weeks along with two others, including Mr McKay, on charges related to misconduct in public office.
Cllr Tracy Kelly to become DUP's first female lord mayor of Belfast

3 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Mark Simpson

Image caption, Councillor Tracy Kelly will become the second female unionist to be a Belfast lord mayorBBC News NI communities correspondentSouth Belfast councillor Tracy Kelly is set to become the city's first female lord mayor from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She is expected to be voted into the top position in Belfast at a council meeting on Monday night. It will make her the second female unionist to become the city's lord mayor.