Donna's off

Donna Traynor, a presenter and reporter on Newsline, the BBC1 nightly magazine show for Northern Ireland, has resigned. 

"It is with deep sadness that, after almost 33 years, I am leaving the job that I love and resigning from BBC Northern Ireland with immediate effect. Because this is the subject of ongoing Employment Tribunal and other legal proceedings, I am not able to respond to any questions or comments about my reasons for leaving the organisation."

Ms Traynor joined the BBC in 1989 from RTE in Dublin and presented radio news bulletins before moving into television. Way back in 1996, BBC Northern Ireland decided to instruct presenters appearing on television to wear poppies during Remembrance Day commemorations, from 1st November on, with those who refused being given off screen duties. That was because the previous year, Ms Traynor said she wouldn't wear the poppy, or indeed the shamrock on St Patrick's Day "as they were seen as symbols of division".  Ms Traynor did, indeed, wear a poppy that year - and screengrabs featured in both the News Letter and the Belfast Telegraph.