Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, denied allegations aired by BBC’s Spotlight programme that in 2006 he sanctioned the murder of Denis Donaldson, a British spy inside the IRA. The Real IRA had claimed responsibility for the murder; this week’s programme claimed the Provisional IRA’s South Armagh brigade was responsible. The family of Denis Donaldson said they do not believe the shooting was sanctioned by the Provisional IRA or authorised by Gerry Adams.

A deal was struck between the Orange Order and nationalist residents’ group CARA to end the long running dispute over a banned Orange Order parade in north Belfast. During 2013’s Twelfth of July events, violence erupted when police upheld a Parades Commission ban on a return parade by the Crumlin Road. A loyalist camp was set up at Twaddell Avenue in protest. Friday’s agreement will allow Orangemen to march along the contested route on 1 October; this in turn will see the disbandment of the camp at Twaddell. An application will be submitted to the Parades Commission on Monday.

A radical Irish republican party backed by dissident republicans was launched. Saoradh, Irish for liberation, will hold its first conference in Newry on Saturday. The party intends to organise demonstrations in support of New IRA prisoners and campaign for an all-Ireland referendum on Irish unity; participation in elections to Stormont, Westminster or the Dáil will be on an abstentionist basis. Party Chairman David Jordan has described Sinn Féin as “false prophets… consumed by the very system they claim to oppose”.

Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected leader of the Labour Party, defeating challenger Owen Smith with 61.8% of the vote. He vowed to bring Labour back together; “we have much more in common than divides us”. In Northern Ireland, Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin and Colum Eastwood of the SDLP welcomed Mr Corbyn’s re-election. Labour’s Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland, Dave Anderson is a Corbyn supporter; he told the BBC he was “glad it is all over”.

Junior doctors in England have suspended plans for a series of five-day strikes in October, November and December to protest against changes to their contracts. On Saturday the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Junior Doctors Committee (JDC) said it would not go ahead with the industrial action, but was “planning other actions over the coming weeks”. The Department of Health welcomed the suspension of the strikes.