From uncovering withheld government documents to shining a light on long-hidden crimes, these are some of the stories which kept Belfast Live as Northern Ireland’s most read news site in 2025
Earlier this year, Belfast Live celebrated 10 years of bringing you the latest breaking news, in-depth features and analysis, and in just over a decade, we have grown to become the most read news site in Northern Ireland, according to the Ipsos Iris data, reaching 2.4m monthy users and accounting for an average audiece of 62.6 per cent of Northern Ireland news publishers.
Central to our reporting is reaching where people live. Our reporters live at the heart of the communities we report on, and the issues affecting our readers also impact us. This has enabled us to build trust with the people of Northern Ireland, allowing them to share their stories with impartiality and care.
From uncovering withheld government documents to shedding light on long-hidden crimes and keeping transport and policing on the public record, Belfast Live’s reporting in 2025 held institutions accountable and ensured communities could see how decisions affecting them were made.
1. Executive decision-making scrutinised over puberty blockers ban
After the Northern Ireland Executive unanimously extended a ban on puberty blockers indefinitely, Belfast Live repeatedly sought access to the evidence underpinning the decision. Initial Freedom of Information requests were refused, with officials arguing that disclosure would undermine collective responsibility and inhibit ministerial discussion.
Through sustained reporting, Belfast Live revealed key documents had been withheld or heavily redacted, including legal advice and ministerial papers. Coverage highlighted that young people and parents could face prosecution for obtaining puberty blockers abroad, contrary to initial assurances, and exposed gaps in record-keeping of crucial legal discussions.
Following continued pressure and an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Executive Office released previously withheld ministerial papers, revealing delays in a UK-wide policy review and broad opposition among Northern Ireland-based consultees. The reporting brought clarity to one of the most controversial health decisions taken since devolution and forced public bodies onto the record.
2. Exposed: the hidden scale of human trafficking in Northern Ireland
Belfast Live’s investigation into human trafficking and modern slavery revealed the true scale of the problem in Northern Ireland, showing a system struggling to keep pace with rising exploitation. Data from the Department of Justice, PSNI, health trusts, Border Force, and the Public Prosecution Service highlighted a tenfold increase in referrals of potential victims in five years, including growing numbers of children.
Reporting uncovered stark inconsistencies in how trafficking is identified, recorded, and prosecuted. Analysis showed that of 99 arrests for human trafficking since 2015, only 16 led to convictions, and prosecutions under the law banning the purchase of sex remain rare. Alongside data, Belfast Live gave survivors and frontline workers a platform, highlighting gaps in long-term support.
The investigation prompted responses from senior police officers, prosecutors, and the justice minister, all acknowledging systemic challenges. The coverage exposed human trafficking as an entrenched issue demanding sustained scrutiny and coordinated action.
3. Governance and transparency challenged at Assumption Grammar School
Sustained reporting by Belfast Live brought scrutiny to governance and financial management at Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch, prompting official investigations, regulatory involvement, and ongoing demands for transparency.
Coverage began with a leaked internal audit showing fundamental failures in financial controls, use of school credit cards, missing receipts, and payments without clear authorisation. Following publication, the Education Authority launched a formal investigation. Further reporting highlighted redacted findings, including an interest-free loan from the school principal to a charity, prompting engagement with the Charity Commission.
Over 60 staff publicly called for transparency, while a parents’ group representing more than 180 families demanded governors’ resignations. Two governors stepped down, and four teaching unions requested an independent audit. Reporting ensured that decisions affecting public funds and the school community could not pass without scrutiny.
4. Police begin releasing images of convicted offenders after sustained pressure
After years of repeated questions from Belfast Live, the PSNI has begun releasing custody images for certain convicted offenders, a practice previously refused on the grounds that such disclosures “did not serve a policing purpose.”
Reporting focused on cases such as Oliver MacCormack, Robert Rodgers, Derek Brown, and Kenneth Harvey, whose images were released following convictions for sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Belfast Live had also sought images for other offenders, but the PSNI consistently declined, citing policy restrictions.
By highlighting inconsistencies and raising awareness of victims’ rights to come forward, Belfast Live contributed to sustained scrutiny of PSNI practices. While changes remain incremental, coverage has prompted greater transparency and ongoing public debate on how custody images are handled in Northern Ireland.
5. Appeal for kidney donor leads to criminal conviction and wider awareness
Belfast Live reporting played a central role in exposing and pursuing a deeply distressing case in which a seriously ill man was given false hope by someone who pretended to offer a life-saving kidney donation.
Coverage began with an appeal from the Cullen family in Glengormley, who spoke publicly about the urgent need for a donor for Billy Cullen as his kidney function rapidly deteriorated. After the appeal, the family were contacted by a woman who claimed she was undergoing tests to donate a kidney, repeatedly assuring them she was a match and urging them to stop searching for another donor.
Through continued reporting, Belfast Live revealed how those claims unravelled. The family later discovered the woman had never engaged with transplant services, prompting a police investigation into whether an offence had been committed. Coverage tracked the case from initial confusion and distress, through arrest and charge, to court proceedings.
The reporting culminated in the conviction of Nicola Hutton for false communications, with the judge describing her actions as “wicked, callous and evil” and finding that she had destroyed critical months of the family’s search for a donor. She was sentenced to five months in prison, though she has since appealed.
Throughout the case, Belfast Live documented the emotional toll on the Cullen family, clarified the limits of anonymity in the organ donation system, and raised awareness of both the vulnerabilities in informal donor appeals and the importance of legitimate routes to donation. Billy Cullen has since received a successful kidney transplant, but the case prompted wider discussion about safeguarding, accountability and compassion in public appeals for medical help.
6. Knockmore rail line reopening plans pushed back into public debate
After Belfast Live reported on the feasibility study for reopening the Knockmore rail line, connecting Antrim and Lisburn via Crumlin, Glenavy, and Ballinderry with a proposed link to Belfast International Airport, the story renewed public and political scrutiny of a long-standing infrastructure plan.
The coverage highlighted the line’s potential for one million additional journeys per year and the benefits for local communities. Reporting also drew attention to delays in publishing the full feasibility study and the lack of a clear timeline from the Department for Infrastructure.
Local residents, responding to an open letter organised by South Antrim MP Robin Swann, added more than 1,200 signatures in support of progress. Following the coverage, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins confirmed that the study’s main findings would be published in the coming weeks, sustaining pressure for transparency on a key transport project.
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