SAOIRSE32

BBC

No-one has been convicted of the murders

A man arrested in connection with the murders of two teenagers in County Armagh five years ago has been released from police custody.

Andrew Robb, 19, and 18-year-old David McIlwaine, both from Portadown, were stabbed to death on 18 February 2000.

Their bodies were found on the Druminure Road outside Tandragee, a few hours after they had left a disco.

A 54-year-old man arrested on Saturday has now been freed. A report will be sent to the Public Prosecution Service.

No-one has been convicted of the murders which were carried out during a loyalist paramilitary feud in the Portadown area.

However, police and both families said neither of the young men had any connection with a paramilitary organisation.

Petrol bomb attack

David McIlwaine had been a graphic design student.

In the past, a number of people were arrested and one man charged in connection with the murders, but the charges were later withdrawn in court.

In September, Andrew Robb’s mother Ann blamed loyalist paramilitaries for a petrol bomb attack on her home in Portadown.

She said her family had been subjected to UVF harassment since Andrew was killed.

BBC

A second man is to appear in court charged in connection with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in Belfast city centre last December.

The 43-year-old is set to appear at Laganside Magistrates Court on Monday.

A police spokeswoman said he was being charged with “offences relating to the Northern Bank investigation” but was unable to give any more information.

On Friday, a 23-year-old County Down man denied involvement in the robbery. He was remanded in custody.

Another man is still being questioned by police in connection with the robbery which happened at the bank’s Northern Ireland headquarters at Donegall Square West just before Christmas last year.

Some money seized in County Cork last February was linked to the robbery, but virtually all of the missing millions remain unrecovered.

BBC

The mountain offers stunning views of Belfast and beyond

Divis Mountain has won a National Lottery Award after coming first in the Amazing Space category.

Divis Mountain opened for the first time to the public at the end of June.

The area was formerly owned by the Ministry of Defence and was bought by the National Trust last year with the help of a lottery grant of £1.33m.

The awards focused on projects which have benefited children and young people and the winners are voted for by the public.

The mountain is now open to walkers, nature-lovers and sightseers.

About 1,200 volunteering hours were put in to help restore the land to its natural beauty and preserve and protect its wildlife.

Now the public has free access all year round to the mountain, and the vistas of the city and beyond that it offers.

Mike Dobson, the property manager of Divis and Black Mountain, said he was absolutely delighted to receive the accolade.

“Winning this award so soon after the mountain was opened to the public demonstrates how superb this open space is for people in Belfast and beyond,” he said.

“This award is for everyone - staff, volunteers, funders, communities and everyone who helped and supported the National Trust to realise this breathtaking vision.”

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 November 2005

THE family of murdered Bangor woman Lisa Dorrian will meet with Security Minister Shaun Woodward today.

The 25-year-old’s family will be accompanied by North Down MP Lady Sylvia Hermon for the Hillsborough Castle meeting.

They requested the sit-down with Mr Woodward to discuss the police investigation into Lisa’s disappearance and murder.

Lisa’s family are seeking assurances that the investigation will not be scaled down.

It comes after it emerged cops conducted a series of searches last week in a bid to uncover evidence about the case.

Sunday Life understands police are set to conduct a number of searches for Lisa’s body in water before the end of the month.

The searches were organised after police received new intelligence about Lisa’s murder and the whereabouts of her body.

Speaking to us last night Lisa’s mother, Pat, told us her family have prepared a list of questions for Mr Woodward.

Said Mrs Dorrian: “We are hoping the meeting with Mr Woodward will be worthwhile and that he is happy to answer all of the questions we put to him.

“Lisa has been missing for eight months now and we just want to ensure we have the full support of the Government in our campaign to find her and to bring those responsible for killing her to justice.

“We would also like to ask him about the intelligence the police have been receiving and to what extent they will continue to use that intelligence.”

The family also thanked everyone who attended a special service in Bangor on Friday night to celebrate Lisa’s life.

BBC

Police said Adair’s presence is “of interest” to them

Former loyalist paramilitary leader Johnny Adair has moved to a Scottish town, police have confirmed.

They said 42-year-old Adair has taken up residence in Troon in Ayrshire after moving from Bolton, Greater Manchester.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said the presence of Adair, from Belfast, was “clearly of interest” to the force.

Adair was released from prison in January after serving two-thirds of a 16-year term for directing terrorism by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

Last month Adair - nicknamed “Mad Dog” - was sentenced to a 12-month supervision order in Bolton after admitting assaulting his wife Gina. He was ordered to pay his wife £250 in compensation.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: “Collectively the Scottish Police Service is aware of the presence of Mr Adair in Scotland.

Loyalist feud

“As a UK citizen, he is not subject to any restriction and is free to enter Scotland but the fact that he has chosen to do so is clearly of interest to us.

“We would, however, wish to generally reassure members of the public of our resolve to continually monitor any potential causes for concern and take the action that appears appropriate to the circumstances at that time.”

Adair was expelled by the Ulster Defence Association leadership in late 2002. The organisation has carried out attacks on Catholics under its UFF cover name.

Adair’s family stayed in Scotland briefly in 2003 after fleeing a loyalist feud in Belfast.

BBC

A suspect package found at Down Royal racecourse in County Down was an “elaborate hoax”, police have said.

Thousands of racegoers were moved out of the Hillsborough site on Saturday after telephoned bomb warnings.

The alert came during the Northern Ireland Festival of Racing, one of the biggest events in the racing calendar.

Army technical officers examined the object before declaring it a hoax. Police used dogs to search the rest of the course but nothing else was found.

About 8,000 people, thought to be a record crowd, had to leave the course following the warnings.

Mike Todd, the manager of Down Royal racecourse, said he was saddened that the meeting had been interrupted due to the “actions of a tiny minority in our community who are clearly set on living on the past”.

Ulster Unionist peer Lord Magennis, who was at the meeting, said it had cost the racing industry a lot of money.

Sunday Life

Tour firm back on Shankill after loyalist reassurances

By Alan Murray
06 November 2005

A BELFAST bus tour firm - which was threatened that its vehicles would be attacked unless it paid paramilitaries £6,000 - now says the threat did not come from loyalists.

City Sightseeing Tours says it accepts Shankill loyalists did not attempt to extort cash from the company - even though five of its vehicles were stoned in one two-week period.

After meeting both the UDA and UVF last week, the firm’s director - who didn’t want to be named - said he was satisfied that there was no threat to his business from loyalist paramilitaries.

He said: “I now believe the threat story was bogus.”

It was originally reported that a Shankill UDA commander was behind the demand for cash, to feed his boozy lifestyle.

The businessman added: “This is what I was told originally, but both the UDA and the UVF have denied making any demands for cash and we are operating normally along the Shankill and Crumlin roads.”

The firm operates seven open-top double-decker buses along the Shankill and Falls roads, but was forced to suspend the service for a fortnight because of stoning attacks on the Crumlin Road.

“We had four or five buses damaged in stoning incidents over a fortnight, but BT and other companies had their vehicles stoned, too, so we don’t think we were singled out for special attention.

“It wasn’t kids doing it, but groups of men, so I suspected it was organised by paramilitaries.

“Anyway, the company has been told that there are no demands for money from any loyalist organisations and we can carry on without any threat to our business.”

One community activist in the area said local people wanted the tours to continue without interference.

He said: “The Shankill has a history that its people are proud of and we want people from all over the world to see how we live and begin to understand our culture - we don’t want the tours to stop.”

slnews@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Sunday Life

Thomas Devlin fund set up in memory of stabbed pupil

By Stephen Breen
06 November 2005

Thomas Devlin - BBC photo

THE principal of murdered teenager Thomas Devlin’s school has backed calls for a total knife ban.

Belfast Royal Academy head Billy Young joined Thomas’s mum, Penny, in expressing concern over the province’s growing knife culture.

Thomas (15) died in August after he was stabbed five times in the back as he walked along Somerton Road in north Belfast with pals.

Although a number of people were questioned about his murder, no one has been charged.

Mr Young, who has kept in close contact with Thomas’s family since the killing, told students that more must be done to tackle the growing number of stabbings in the province.

He also confirmed that a special fund has been set up by the school in Thomas’s memory.

An anonymous donor has already contributed £1,000 to the fund.

Parents of children at the school have also been making donations since the fund was set up last week.

Said Mr Young: “I have been working at the academy since 1968 and Thomas’s murder is the worst thing the school has ever had to deal with.

“All principals in schools are concerned about society and that’s why we must do whatever we can to restrict the use of lethal knives. It seems to me that things aren’t as safe as they used to be.

“We are trying to support Thomas’s family as best we can and that’s why I totally support his mother’s views on the sale of lethal knives in Northern Ireland.

“Thomas’s loss is still felt by everyone at the school and all we can do is support his friends who were deeply affected by such a random murder.”

He also outlined his reasons for establishing the memorial fund.

He added: “We haven’t decided what to do with the fund and we will be consulting with Thomas’s parents and his close circle of friends.

“Maybe it could be used to help a student - or, if we raise enough cash, then maybe it could be put to good use in a disadvantaged community.”

Said Thomas’s mum, Penny: “I think it is very positive for a principal to support demands for action on the sale of lethal knives in Ulster.

“I’m also really quite heartened by the fact people at the school want to remember Thomas with a memorial fund. Thomas’s murder really has hit people at the school.

“The police have also been keeping in touch with me and I would again appeal for people to come forward.

“I know nothing will bring Thomas back. But I wouldn’t want something like this happening to another innocent child.”

sbreen@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Sunday Life

06 November 2005

THE departure of the Police Ombudsman’s most senior investigator may lead to a review of how senior staff are appointed in her office.

Nuala O’Loan announced Dave Wood’s departure last Friday - only after Sunday Life sought a statement about why he was quitting his £110,000-a-year post.

Wood, a former deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Met, had been on secondment to the office when he was appointed to the full-time staff as executive director of investigations.

Some staff believed the post should have been advertised publicly.

It’s understood staff have been told that it’s within Mrs O’Loan’s powers to make senior appointments.

But there is nothing in the legislation covering the setting up of her office that provides it with an exemption from the public appointments criteria.

Wood produced the critical report into the RUC’s investigation of the Omagh bombing. It slated the force’s handling of the investigation.

Mr Wood upset many officers last year when he described policing during the Troubles as “generally poor”, although he accepted that officers had been under huge pressure.

As the search begins for Mr Wood’s successor, DUP MEP Jim Allister said that he expected that public posts which carried substantial salaries should always be open to public competition.

“It is essential that a position as important as the one Mr Wood held is filled through a complete and open process of recruitment,” he said.

A spokesman for the Ombudsman’s office said Sunday Life’s inquiries would be answered later by chief executive Sam Pollock, who is dealing with a request from us under the Freedom of Information Act.

Sunday Life

06 November 2005

ALTHOUGH the streets of Belfast saw the worst of the loyalist feud, the LVF’s leading figures in mid-Ulster have been forced to creep back into the shadows.

The organisation are known to control the lucrative drugs trade, but its leading figures have taken a number of expensive hits at the hands of the Drugs Squad and have gone to ground.

And a number of their members have been targeted in shooting incidents arising out of personal disputes.

Among those shot was convicted drug dealer Gordon Hutchinson.

Child killer Glen Hagan has also been caught up in a number of explosive incidents with loyalist rivals.

Also keeping his head down is the money man behind the LVF’s drug deals.

The man - an associate of the LVF’s former jailhouse commander Robin ‘Billy’ King - has never been convicted of an offence in this country, but was questioned in relation to the murder of investigative reporter Martin O’Hagan.

He has lost money on a number of major drugs busts, including a £1m cocaine haul recovered in mid Ulster, and an £8m ecstasy racket smashed in Amsterdam, but has never been up in front of a court.

According to security sources, he is “keeping a very low profile” at the minute.

Sunday Life

By Ciaran McGuigan
06 November 2005

THE LOYALIST Volunteer Force offered to “stand down” because it was in disarray with its leaders either behind bars or forced to flee Ulster.

But the loyalist terror group, described by one senior security source as “simply drugs dealers with guns and badges”, are unlikely to give up their lucrative drugs trade so easily, it has been warned.

The LVF statement issued last Monday, ordering all its units to stand down, has been met with scepticism

“Whether or not they step down, as they have said in the past week is one thing.

“But drug dealing is what these people do for a living and have been for years, and it’s unlikely that they are going to give that up now,” warned a senior security source.

“They have come out with their statement because they have been under intense pressure from the UVF, and for no other reason.

“If they are serious about standing down they will have to give up their guns and stop dealing drugs and I don’t see that happening.

“Their organisation has taken some severe blows, however.

“Because of what has happened (with the UVF), a lot of the most senior figures have taken themselves offside and out of the country.

“Others are still in Northern Ireland, but in jail.”

Sunday Life understands that among the senior figures who have fled is a close associate of murdered LVF commander Steven Warnock.

The man, who lived in the Garnerville area of Holywood, fled after the UVF took over the estate. He’s believed to be holed up in east Scotland.

As well as coming under pressure from the UVF, the man is understood to have been questioned about the disappearance of Lisa Dorrian.

Added our source: “He was the main man in Holywood and east Belfast and was involved in major drug dealing on a daily basis.”

Another leading figure is Robert ‘Blackie’ Black, currently on remand in Maghaberry prison awaiting a no-jury trial for attempted murder.

He was one of the men arrested for a brutal shooting in Redburn cemetery, earlier this year.

Said a security source: “Blackie would have been the one who put up a fight against the UVF.

“With him off the streets and behind bars, things were able to calm down a little.”

Black is another known drug dealer and another associate of Warnock, with over 100 convictions to his name.

Another leading LVF figure, who was released from prison in mid September, and has remained close to home, is Lawrence ‘Duffer’ Kincaid.

He was charged earlier this year with intimidation in relation to an incident in which he suffered a serious gunshot wound.

Before that shooting incident, Kincaid, who has already served jail time for drugs offences, beat a major drugs rap after an “ecstasy distribution centre” was unearthed in the Ballysillian area of north Belfast.

cmcguigan@belfast telegraph.co.uk

Sunday Life

By Alan Murray
06 November 2005

THE daughter of a woman murdered by the IRA in the Enniskillen massacre will lobby MPs at Westminster this week to reject an amnesty for terrorist fugitives.

Aileen Quinton, who lost her mother, Alberta, on Remembrance Day 18 years ago, will join other victims of IRA violence to urge MPs to challenge Government plans to allow the Enniskillen bomber and other fugitives to return to Ulster.

Charles Caufield was named under House of Commons’ privilege by Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson as the IRA man who built and detonated the bomb which killed 11 people in the Poppy Day attack in 1987.

Caufield is understood to be among a 50-strong group of IRA terrorists whom Sinn Fein is seeking an amnesty for.

He is believed to have been living in the United States since the devastating attack.

On the 10th anniversary of the bombing in 1997, Ms Quinton staged a candlelight protest outside Sinn Fein’s Dublin offices.

Mr Donaldson said Aileen would join other victims at Westminster this week to advise MPs of the deep opposition to the Government’s amnesty plans.

He said: “Aileen and other victims will gather at Westminster to lobby MPs from all parties about the iniquity of this legislation.

“The Government is keeping the details secret because it knows the reaction it is generating.”

And he added: “There is stiff opposition to these secret plans from MPs across the board.

“There is a good possibility that the Government will be defeated on this one in the House of Lords.

“The Government is so concerned that they are refusing to divulge any details - that’s how sensitive they are on this.”

The NIO last week refused to discuss the issue or confirm any details about how many fugitives would be granted an amnesty.

Sunday Life

By Alan Murray
06 November 2005

THE mystery of a UDA leader - who fled the dock of a Belfast court 31 years ago - may finally be solved next year.

Sammy Tweed, the ‘Lord Lucan’ of loyalism, vanished in 1974 after 50 denim-clad youths created mayhem in Belfast Magistrates’ Court and hustled him to freedom.

But the saga could be about to end if the Government implements an amnesty for so-called terrorist ‘on the runs’.

Asked about Tweed, the PSNI last week refused to say if he was still on their wanted list.

In 1974, Tweed, then 32, was a UDA leader from Templemore Street in east Belfast who was charged with possessing 18 handguns and a shotgun.

His solicitor indicated at a hearing in April 1974 that Tweed accepted full responsibility for the weapons haul.

He was facing 15 years in jail when, at a second hearing in May 1974, young supporters shouted a bomb warning and help him flee prison officers and police to a yellow van parked Chichester Street.

Sammy Tweed hasn’t been seen since, at least not by the RUC or the PSNI.

Only UDA veterans can recall anything about him. None will say where he is today and probably very few know.

But by next year he might receive a virtual ‘amnesty’ for his criminal offences along with around 60 IRA on the runs.

One veteran UDA figure said last week: “I wonder what Sammy looks like today? He’d be in his sixties. He could be in England or Scotland living under a new name. He could even be here still.”

Sunday Life

By Joe Oliver
06 November 2005

A PASSIONATE supporter of Ulster-Scots culture is set to become the new High Sheriff of Belfast.

William Humphrey’s name has already been submitted to Secretary of State Peter Hain.

The DUP member, who was elected to the city council last May, will succeed the UUP’s David Browne in January.

Mr Humphrey (38) is a director of the Ulster-Scots Heritage Council, and a former member of the UUP.

He also represents the Court area, which includes the Shankill, Highfield and Woodvale wards.

“I’ve lived in Woodvale all my life and I’m well aware of the deprivation in many areas of Court,” he said.

“It’s one of the reasons why I hope to help and promote young people in the city during my year in office.”

The High Sheriff, who represents the Lord Mayor and deputy Lord Mayor when they are unavailable, is also present at all Royal functions.

“I’m looking forward to playing a role alongside the Lord Mayor and deputy Lord Mayor, particularly with the centenary of the City Hall next year.”

Sunday Life

06 November 2005

A LOYALIST supergrass forced to flee his Belfast flat after being tortured by a leading UDA man has had a claim for compensation dismissed by the NIO.

The Northern Ireland Office told convicted drug dealer-turned-supergrass Dessie Truesdale there were no fewer than 26 REASONS why his claim for compensation was refused.

Truesdale is currently in hiding in England, on the run from BOTH the mainstream UDA thugs who have threatened to kill him and Johnny Adair’s ‘Bolton Wanderers’.

He fled Ulster after receiving a savage beating in his north Belfast flat by UDA boss Mo Courtney.

But he returned briefly to Northern Ireland to give police statements against Courtney and Ihab Shoukri.

He told cops how Courtney - currently on trial accused of the murder of Alan McCullough - and Shoukri ‘questioned’ and beat him after using his brother William Truesdale to trick their way into his flat.

He also told how they ordered him to hand over £5,000 he had in a Credit Union account.

It was then he knew he had to flee to England.

However, the NIO wrote to Truesdale last week telling him that they would not pay him compensation in relation to the assault and the fact he had to flee his flat.

The letter then listed 26 reasons why he was not entitled to compensation, starting with a caution for not wearing a seatbelt when he was stopped in a car in 1988.

It also included a number of drugs convictions and his former associations with his brother Ian and his pals in Johnny Adair’s former UFF ‘C’ Company.

Dessie Truesdale last night told Sunday Life: “I can’t believe that I went back to Belfast and risked my life giving statements against the likes of Mo Courtney and they (the NIO) have let me down like this.”

Sunday Life

06 November 2005

THE NIO is actively considering the early release of a second batch of paramilitary inmates from Ulster’s jails, Sunday Life can reveal.

But unionists claim the move is nothing more than a blatant “sop” to placate loyalist anger at the Government’s proposed amnesty to Provo ‘On The Runs’ (OTRs).

Stormont sources said NIO officials recognised the need for urgent action on loyalist prisoners in light of the planned legislation.

As many as 70 IRA fugitives are expected to be free to return to Ulster within weeks without risk of arrest - provided they agree to sign up to the Government’s new laws.

The proposed legislation will also include a 10-year period in which terrorist suspects could also qualify for a total pardon.

Unionists claim that would seriously impact upon the police’s ‘cold case’ review team currently investigating some 1,800 unsolved murders during the Troubles.

Said one Stormont source: “The Government has major concerns about how the OTRs’ legislation will impact on the unionist community.

“They (the Government) recognise republicans will benefit most and there is an immediate need to address unionist/loyalist anger.

“The Government believes this can be achieved by another early release of loyalist paramilitary prisoners.”

Sources say UVF and UDA prisoners convicted of terrorist offences committed after the signing of the 1998 Belfast Agreement could be walking the streets as free men within the next two years.

However, any future release of loyalist prisoners would be conditional upon all loyalist paramilitary groups standing down and decommissioning their terrorist arsenals.

Added the source: “If they want their prisoners out, then they are going to have to follow the IRA’s lead by standing down and decommissioning all their weapons.

“If they don’t, then the prisoners stay in jail - it’s that simple.”

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 November 2005

ANGRY relatives of loyalist violence failed in a bid to stop Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu from having a secret meeting with cemetery killer Michael Stone.

Sunday Life can reveal the Relatives for Justice (RFJ) group urged the anti-apartheid campaigner to reconsider his decision to chair a meeting between Stone and the family of one of his victims, at a secret location in north Down, last month.

Archbishop Tutu, a close friend of Nelson Mandela, made the trip, after he was asked by the BBC to chair a meeting between the perpetrators of violence during the Troubles’, and their victims’ relatives.

Among the others taking part in the project were ex-IRA man, Sean O’Callaghan.

In a letter to the Archbishop before the meeting, RFJ spokesman, Mark Thompson, urged him to reconsider, citing loyalist killer Stone’s “notoriety”.

Mr Thompson failed to persuade the peace activist to pull out of the meeting for a second time during filming for the programme which is to be screened in January.

sbreen@belfast telegraph.co.uk

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 November 2005

COPS were last night urged to quiz a notorious loyalist killer over the brutal UVF murders of two teenagers.

Ann Robb, whose son Andrew (19), and his pal, David McIlwaine (18), were butchered in a frenzied attack in February 2000, wants the new police inquiry into the double murders to question caged murderer Clifford McKeown.

Mrs Robb believes McKeown, who is serving life for the murder of taxi driver Michael McGoldrick, could hold the key to the murders.

She made the claim after a 54-year-old man from Craigavon was arrested by cops yesterday morning(correct) in connection with the killings.

Said a police spokeswoman: “Police can confirm a 54-year-old man was arrested in Craigavon on Saturday in connection with the murders of Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine.”

It is understood the new suspect has never been quizzed about the murder before.

The arrest comes after police offered a £10,000 reward to anyone who could provide them with information.

A senior security source told us cops were not acting on information received after an appeal was made on last Wednesday’s BBC Crimewatch programme.

Although Mrs Robb welcomed the latest development, she pleaded with police to talk to McKeown.

Said Mrs Robb: “I know the police have already questioned McKeown, but I think it would be worthwhile for them to speak to him again.

“There is a new inquiry team in place now and we have always believed that McKeown was one of the suspects in the killings.

“I welcome the fact that someone has been arrested for the murders and we will just have to wait and see what happens.

“There are people out there who know what happened and I would urge them to come forward.”

David McIlwaine’s father, Paul, said: “Clifford McKeown will always be a suspect in my eyes.”

Sunday Life

06 November 2005

THE words of Pope John Paul II helped me gain many a confession from guilt-ridden IRA men.

“Murder is murder is murder,” said John Paul II during his visit to Ireland in 1979, and there was no mistaking the genuine admonishment in his tone.

From January 1979, I spent five years as a detective in nationalist west Belfast - based first in Andersonstown station and later at Woodbourne.

When I arrived in the ‘wild west’ from Bangor, where I was based for a short time, an older detective asked: “What did you do to deserve to be sent to this God-forsaken hellhole?”

“I volunteered. I wanted a challenge,” I answered truthfully.

He shook his head in astonishment as I explained that “I didn’t like the sort of crime I was investigating in Bangor”.

During those years in west Belfast we worked under enormous pressure, under constant threat of murder from republicans, as did officers in other frontline stations.

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, PIRA had become a very efficient killing machine. Their absolute disregard for human life was truly awful to witness, and we followed too many coffins of brave RUC men who had been cut down by IRA cowards.

Yet, there were still an awful lot of decent people in west Belfast who wanted us there, people who quietly, and at times anonymously, would help us get to grips with those responsible for terrorist atrocities despite the terrible risks to themselves.

I had listened with interest to what Pope John Paul II had preached about the evil of violence on his 1979 visit.

I knew from interviews with PIRA ’soldiers’ that the ordinary volunteer assumed what he was doing in the name of Irish freedom was morally legitimate.

Many of the terrorists we interviewed believed wholeheartedly they’d at least the tacit approval of the Catholic Church. Yet, now the pope himself had made it clear the taking of a human life could never be justified.

Following discussions with Catholic friends, I bought an LP of Pope John Paul’s address.

I played it over and over again at home until I knew most of the lines by heart.

Sometimes I would quote some of these lines during interviews with terrorists, and always to great effect.

Many of the republicans who made murder confessions to me were moved to do so by those words of John Paul II.

They went to prison at peace with themselves. Hardened paramilitaries would listen intently as I argued that neither their pope nor their Maker would ever forgive them for such disgusting murders.

This was no cynical exercise. I firmly believed what I was saying.

I fully understood that before any man can kill another, he has to dehumanise his intended victim.

The PIRA found it easy to dehumanise the Army or the RUC.

But problems would arise later when volunteers who had killed found themselves revisited by the horrific images in their dreams, or even in broad daylight in the form of flashbacks.

They had not expected this, but it is a fact of life.

Guilt is a terrible thing, and man is not born evil. Paramilitaries could kill - they did kill.

But at home in later years, in the quietness of the night, they are revisited relentlessly by images of the dead, by the enormity of their crimes.

I know this to be the case because I recorded long and detailed statements from many IRA volunteers who broke down in tears during interview and confessed to their involvement in such crimes.

The first thing a murderer feels once he has confessed his crime is relief.

The atmosphere in the interview room is suddenly transformed by the sense of euphoria which emanates from the prisoner.

Yes, they know they are going to jail, but they have realised that prison is the least of their problems.

Atoning for the atrocity is far more important.

I have unexpectedly come face-to-face with men who served many years in jail after confessing their crimes to me.

None of them displayed any animosity. Without exception, they expressed only thanks. They were no longer visited by nightmares or flashbacks to the same extent as they had been prior to their confession.

In a way, these men were the lucky ones. I know many men, too, now in their 40s and 50s who can’t sleep at night. They are haunted by the same horrible images.

As a former detective, I have no sympathy for them. I can only advise them to go to the police and confess. The reality is that the fear of long prison sentences is no longer valid post-Good Friday Agreement. Confessing to their crime is their only hope of returning to some kind of normality.

Sunday Life

How a tip-off by a UVF man’s wife saved a top republican and his four-year-old daughter from being riddled to death by sick loyalist psycho

06 November 2005

AS a policeman it was my job to protect all the people - even those out to kill me!

This is exactly what happened in 1993 when my partner and I saved the life of a Provo suspect whom we’d been warned was targeting us for murder on behalf of the Ardoyne IRA.

We not only saved the republican’s life, but that of his four-year-old daughter. A UVF gunman had been planning to wipe them out in an ambush outside a nursery school in Ligoneil.

It was during that year Special Branch warned my partner Trevor and I that a Provo suspect called ‘Kevin’ (not his real name) was targeting us.

We’d been spending too much time in Ligoneil on an investigation. In particular, the Provos had noted our fondness for a fish and chip shop in the area. We immediately reduced our visits, aware of that IRA team’s legendary thirst for blood.

Around the same time, ‘Sonia’, the wife of a Shankill UVF man, had become an important informant to us. I’d first met ‘Sonia’ while arresting her husband at their home.

She discreetly arranged to meet Trevor and I and explained how she was sickened by all the violence.

‘Sonia’ hated the UVF and her greatest fear was that her son would be dragged into the organisation.

Through her husband and his cronies, she was close to UVF ‘Brigade’ staff on the Shankill. She was able to get good information on Johnny Adair and his cohorts.

In February 3, 1993 she gave us information that led to police foiling a UVF murder bid on an innocent Whiteabbey man the terrorists wrongly believed was in the IRA.

Soon after, she warned us how her husband and others were seeking sanction from the UVF leadership to attack Trevor and myself.

Then, in June 1993, ‘Sonia’ tipped us off that the UVF were planning a major attack, but she couldn’t get any further details.

Near midnight on June 22, 1993 an agitated ‘Sonia’ called to say she needed to meet us urgently. We met her in a car park at 1.45am.

She said: “They are planning to murder a Provo called ‘Kevin’ from Ligoneil. They’re going to do it this morning when he’s taking his wee girl to nursery on the Ligoneil Road.”

I saw Trevor roll his eyes skywards in disbelief. It was the same ‘Kevin’ we’d been warned was trying to kill us. Talk about a twist of fate!

‘Sonia’ was able to confirm that a gunman called George Waters jnr had been chosen. She said he’d been ordered not to kill the little girl.

But Waters had been boasting that he intended to kill both father and child, arguing that, in 14 years’ time, the girl would be a Sinn Fein voter.

He had been instructed to fire a single shot from a VZ58 rifle, but he was bragging he would stick it on automatic, and claim he’d lost control of it.

The murder was planned for 9.30am - it was already almost 2am!

‘Sonia’ rummaged in her handbag and gave me a piece of paper with the location of the nursery school and the names of the UVF team assisting Waters.

‘Kevin’s’ alleged membership of the IRA was neither here nor there as far as Trevor and I were concerned. Our only concern was that two lives were under threat.

We were also obliged under the rules to take the information to Special Branch.

If Special Branch Support Units (SSUs) moved quickly, there was a good chance they could arrest the UVF team and recover the weapons.

Only Special Branch had the resources to conduct such operations and to confront terrorists and take them down.

We rang ahead and arranged to meet with our Special Branch contact at Castlereagh.

As I read out the six UVF names, he stopped at one, saying: “He is one of ours”.

But this Branch informant had not passed on details of the murder plot.

“So, tell me this, if he’s not reporting it in, does he still get protected?” I asked.

The Special Branch officer’s answer astounded me. He explained that the UVF source was not required to report anything to do with “the military”, that his role was to mingle with top UVF men and to report on changes in leadership, political direction or strategy.

But I knew our Branch contact was a decent man and that he would do all he could to persuade the powers-that-be to take down this vicious UVF unit, rather than simply swamp the area with police and force them to abandon the murder bid.

By 7am we had fully briefed Special Branch on ‘Sonia’s’ information. We were exhausted, having already completed a 16-hour day before ‘Sonia’s’ call.

I headed home feeling drained, knowing there was nothing more I could do.

Later that morning I was awoken by a call from a CID detective inspector.

“Jonty… look, thanks for your note. That put me well ahead. Your operation was successful,” he said.

He went on to say two UVF men in a hijacked Ford Sierra taxi had been arrested after the car was rammed by an SSU. George Waters jnr had been sitting in the back with a VZ58 automatic rifle straddled across his knees.

Three more UVF men had been arrested for hijacking a taxi.

“Waters had that rifle on fully-automatic. He would have cut that wee girl in half,” said the detective inspector.

My adrenalin was flowing again. I no longer felt the least bit tired.

Fair play to our Special Branch contact. Here was evidence of what could be achieved when CID and Special Branch worked together.

George Waters jnr and his cohorts were duly charged and convicted. Waters got 16 years for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

However, Waters spent just four years in jail, gaining early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.