SAOIRSE32

Guardian

Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
Sunday August 6, 2006
The Observer

Northern Ireland’s Police Ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, is to investigate a PSNI inquiry into the destruction of Belfast’s historic North Street Arcade. Former shopkeepers and key-holders in the listed thoroughfare, including Ulster punk impresario Terry Hooley, have asked her to inquire as to why no arrests have been made nearly two-and-a-half years after the arson attack.

The arcade was regarded as one of Ireland’s finest examples of art deco architecture. Up to a dozen blast incendiary devices destroyed the roof and much of the infrastructure in April 2004.

Hooley, who belongs to the Friends of North Street Arcade campaign group, said ‘powerful forces in society’ were preventing a thorough investigation.

Tomorrow morning the DJ, who cut The Undertones’ ‘Teenage Kicks’ in a studio near the arcade, will meet O’Loan’s officers at the ombudsman’s headquarters along with other members of the pressure group.

‘The PSNI took a month to interview all of us, an entire month after the blaze,’ he said. ‘In our opinion no serious effort has been made to bring those responsible to justice.’

Hooley lost a huge archive of vinyl records, tapes and photographs from his Good Vibrations record shop, including original material from the Belfast punk scene of the late Seventies.

‘Actually it’s even more important that those who paid the fire-bombers to destroy the arcade are brought to justice and exposed,’ he said. .

The ombudsman is obliged to investigate any complaint against the PSNI. The fire at the arcade was the largest arson attack in Belfast since the terrorist ceasefires a decade earlier.

The PSNI has yet to respond to the allegations that the inquiry has ground to a halt.

Guardian

Terrorist comrade’s evidence could shed light on UDA murder squads

Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
Sunday August 6, 2006
The Observer

Michael Stone, one of the most notorious loyalist killers of the Troubles, may soon be back in jail on the word of a terrorist comrade.

Stone gained international infamy in 1988 when, in front of the world’s cameras, he staged a lone gun and grenade attack on mourners at the funeral of three IRA terrorists killed by the SAS in Gibraltar. His attack, at Milltown cemetery in Belfast, killed three people and injured dozens, but after serving almost 12 years he was released under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The Ulster Defence Association terrorist is resigned to going back to jail. Under the terms of the early release scheme, if charged with any offence, Stone automatically goes back to prison on remand. ‘My lawyer has told me to prepare to make myself available to hand myself over to the PSNI or be arrested,’ he said yesterday.

The Observer is aware of the identity of a UDA ‘brigadier’ from Mid-Ulster who has allegedly cut a deal with the PSNI and will name names for past loyalist crimes. The man is understood to face fraud and extortion charges, including embezzlement of £700,000 from a Belfast law firm.

Stone said he also knew the name of the ‘brigadier’. ‘I’m not naming anybody in particular. When I was doing what I did I had the persona of a loner acting on my own,’ he said. ‘Not too many brigadiers at the time wanted to know me, but there are people still out there who know certain things. And I believe there’s one in particular who’s trying to cut a deal by sacrificing me and saving his own skin.

‘I’ve heard rumours about a certain boy going to sink me. Fair enough. If anything is proven and I have to do a couple more years in jail, I’ll do them. But I don’t see me having to serve out my whole sentence again.’

If all 20 alleged offences date to before Easter 1998, then under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement Stone would receive an amnesty for them. However, a trial would shed light on the activities of the UDA and its murder squads in the late Eighties, when Stone was an active assassin.

Stone, 50, who was sentenced to a total of 850 years, became an author and an artist on his release from the Maze and on a television discussion this year chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu he faced the family of one of his victims.

This year Stone went to the PSNI’s serious crime suite in Antrim, where he was questioned for several days about up to 20 different offences during the Troubles, including attempted murder and supplying weapons for UDA assassinations. He had made a series of high-profile admissions about other crimes apart from the funeral attack.

Asked about his decision to go to the PSNI, Stone said: ‘I heard whispers, so I walked in before I was pushed. I was questioned about things, but I just sat there, silent, and stared at a spot on the wall.’

Stone warned the ‘brigadier’: ‘Somebody’s cutting a deal to Judas me. He’s not going to do that. And he may forget that I may know more about him, which could put him behind bars.’

The PSNI has questioned Stone about a series of terror attacks and planned assassinations in Mid-Ulster. He was asked about a plan to bomb a border Garda Siochana station. He was also questioned about a number of UDA hides across Mid-Ulster in old farmhouses, barns and bunkers.

If he is found guilty, Stone could have his licence withdrawn and revoked. He had severed his links with the paramilitary group and divides his time between London and Spain. He also visits Belfast, where he maintains contact with nine of his children.

His attack on the funeral made him a loyalist folk hero. The jacket he wore during the attack was auctioned at a social club in Scotland and raised £10,000 for loyalist prisoners in the Maze.

One of Stone’s successors in the UDA, Johnny ‘Mad Dog’ Adair, said Stone inspired him to join the terror group’s murder squad.

Guardian

Campaigners accept assurances about informer

Henry McDonald, Ireland editor
Sunday August 6, 2006
The Observer

Relatives of those killed in the Omagh bombing have rallied behind a Garda whistleblower who insists that his commanders ignored a prior warning about the massacre in order to protect an informer.

The families of the 29 men, women and children who died in the Real IRA blast in August 1998 said last night they were ‘100 per cent behind’ Detective Sergeant John White, whose allegations have rocked the security services on both sides of the Irish border.

The Garda detective has also vowed to lift the lid on alleged illegal bugging of criminal suspects in custody throughout the republic, including conversations between prisoners, lawyers and families. He will make his allegations of unlawful bugging public when the Morris Tribunal investigating Garda corruption resumes in the early autumn.

White came under fire yesterday after it was reported that an Irish government inquiry into his claims found his informant, Dublin car thief Paddy Dixon, had no prior knowledge of the planned attack on Omagh. However, White hit back yesterday, pointing out that he had never said Dixon had known exactly where the bomb was intended to go off.

‘On 25 July, 1998, I went to a senior officer in the Garda Siochana and told him that Paddy Dixon had told me there was going to be a Real IRA bomb attack within two weeks in Northern Ireland,’ said White. ‘I never alleged Dixon knew the precise location of the target. But I repeat again that I will stand up in any future public inquiry and tell the world that I was told by a senior officer to let the bomb through in order to maintain Dixon’s credibility … with the Real IRA.’

Dixon infiltrated the Real IRA for the Garda and since the Omagh massacre has lived abroad under a witness protection programme.

White’s critics claim that the Police Service of Northern Ireland, after conducting interviews with Dixon last April, concluded he knew nothing about the Omagh bomb plot. However, the PSNI has not commented officially about Dixon’s evidence or its interrogation earlier this year.

Dixon had provided intelligence on nine different Real IRA bomb plots between February and August 1998, including a thwarted attack on the Grand National at Aintree. He helped organise the theft of cars for the Real IRA that were used to transport bombs and mortar rockets into Northern Ireland. Five attacks were prevented thanks to Dixon’s information but four were allowed to go ahead to maintain his credibility.

‘Dixon knew about the bomb plot all right,’ White insisted yesterday. ‘He was asked to steal the car for the operation and he warned me about an imminent attack in Northern Ireland. The truth is, and I would say this in a court of law, this one was allowed to go through.’

Last night relatives of the Omagh victims said White had their full support. Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the bombing, said: ‘We never had any confidence in the Irish government’s inquiry. So it comes as no surprise that they are playing word games.

‘Paddy Dixon didn’t know where exactly, but he had enough information to convince his handler that an attack was on its way, and nothing was done to stop it.

‘What we now need in order to seriously test John White’s disturbing allegations is a cross-border independent public inquiry. What have the two governments got to be afraid of?’

Sunday Times

Liam Clarke
August 06, 2006

DAVID ERVINE, the leader of the Progressive Unionist party (PUP), the political wing of the UVF, has warned there could be a violent loyalist reaction if the British and Irish governments pursue a policy of cross-border co-operation without a local assembly in place.

“It would be my dream that there won’t be violence, but the reality is that when you make a people voiceless there will be a reaction and a response. We have seen it so many times in the past,” said Ervine.

Stating that he believed the IRA’s war was over, he urged unionist politicians to share power with Sinn Fein to avoid a political vacuum.

The comments are likely to cause further problems for the Ulster Unionist party (UUP). Earlier this year, Ervine and the PUP were co-opted into the party’s assembly team. The move prompted protests from leading figures, including Lady Sylvia Hermon, the UUP’s only MP, who believed the link was a hostage to fortune. One councillor resigned over the issue.

In April the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) found that the UVF was still “active, violent and ruthless”. It said it continued to recruit and train new members and had refused to decommission its weapons.

Ervine stressed yesterday that he was working to avoid violence. He said that if devolution was not restored “my big fear is that unionism will find itself with no voice, upset, angry and corralled”. He said the onus was on the Democratic Unionist party to reach a power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein to avoid this happening.

Ervine argued that loyalists and many unionists had agreed to the cross-border dimension of the Good Friday agreement only because the cross-border elements favoured by nationalists were under the control of an assembly.

“Without the assembly the deal is off as far as my community is involved, it is absolutely gone,” Ervine said.

Under the current arrangements, there are six defined areas of cross-border co- operation. These have been placed in “maintenance mode” while negotiations for the return of the assembly continue. Nationalists, however, have demanded that they be expanded and Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary, has said that cross-border functions will be enhanced under a “plan B” prepared by the Irish and British governments.

If a power-sharing executive cannot be formed by November 24, the assembly will be closed and plan B will be implemented. Last week, the two governments talked of Irish government involvement in the allocation of housing and joint trade missions.

Last week it emerged that the Irish government was building a £6m (€8.9m) mansion to house civil servants working in Belfast.

Ervine urged unionist politicians to do all they could to avoid the fall of the assembly in order that the situation be stabilised.

He warned unionists that if they did not do a deal now, the political vacuum could last a long time because next year the British government “could be involved in two wars” and “Bertie Ahern would be focusing on the Irish election”.

As he spoke, all the main parties were privately predicting that the November 24 deadline would not be met. Over the next couple of weeks, redundancy notices will be sent to staff employed with the allowances received by assembly members.

Parties were warned by the Northern Ireland Office last week to “get their affairs in order” because these allowances will be “terminated” on November 25 unless an executive is formed.

Sunday Life

By Alan Murray
06 August 2006

The UDA remains divided despite the bloodless end to tensions in north Belfast last week.

For the south east Antrim ‘brigade’ is not bidding to restore its position on the terror group’s ‘inner council’.

The ’stay away’ brigade has no plans to contact the UDA’s controlling body, which is expected to have a representative from the north Belfast brigade back on board before the end of the month.

But there are doubts that south east Antrim might ever restore the link.

Nobody from the south east Antrim leadership would comment about the outcome of the inner council’s confrontation with north Belfast.

But one figure aware of the thinking of the leadership said “nobody was getting into a flap”.

He said: “The situation in north Belfast now doesn’t change their thinking on the situation. They are happy in what they are doing and have a policy they’re comfortable with.

“They’re not going to engage in a frenzy of media comment or sniping.

“Some even cancelled holidays in case that gave the impression they were running away from something.

“There’s no internal split or disagreement, they accept the UDA policy statement that paramilitary organisations should be eradicated and follow that policy.”

Sources in other UDA brigade areas say they’re sceptical that divisions within the organisation can be healed.

One UDA veteran said: “The sniping is continuing from some figures in the Ulster Political Research Group who have never fired a shot in anger.

“The suggestion made by someone connected with the inner council element that the south east Antrim brigade would have to sit in some waiting room before being called into the headmaster’s study to explain themselves indicates the wrong thinking that is dominating the inner council and the UPRG.

“They forget that the six UDA brigades have always been autonomous. Some of the UPRG don’t know when to keep it buttoned and they may be the biggest obstacle to south east Antrim rejoining the inner council, if it ever decides to do that.”

A rift within the UPRG - which saw its best known politician, Tommy Kirkham, distance himself from the grouping - shows no sign of being healed.

Kirkham refused to make any comment about last week’s developments in north Belfast, but a close friend said: “Tommy’s had enough of certain people. They are continuing to snipe at him in the papers, but it doesn’t bother him.”

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 August 2006

Secretary of State Peter Hain dozed off during a meeting last week with the father of a loyalist murder victim and a local MP!

Angry Raymond McCord - whose son Raymond Jnr was battered to death by UVF informers - said Mr Hain started to nod off three times during the Stormont meeting last Tuesday.

Embarrassed Ulster Unionist MP Lady Hermon confirmed Mr Hain had begun to doze off and said Mr McCord had “every right to feel furious” at the way he was treated.

Mr McCord, who vowed never to meet Mr Hain again, accused the Ulster supremo of “tarnishing” his son’s memory.

The campaigning father, who believes his son’s killers were led by a police agent inside the UVF, was accompanied to his first meeting with Mr Hain by Lady Sylvia, MP for North Down and wife of Sir Jack Hermon, the former RUC Chief Constable.

Said the north Belfast man: “If I had been a paramilitary I would not have been treated this way. I couldn’t believe it when he started to doze off.

“I will not be meeting this man again because of the way he treated me. Imagine dozing off during a discussion about the murder of a young man by an agent of the state!

“One minute we were talking and the next his head was dropping and his eyes were closing.

“It was as if he was at home sitting in front of the TV. I was talking to him about an agent of the state being responsible for murder and the UVF in general, and he wasn’t the slightest bit interested.

“The only thing I got from him was no comment. His attitude put me in real bad form for a couple of days. It says a lot about the view of the Labour Party to terrorist victims’ families.”

Lady Sylvia also hit out at Mr McCord’s treatment: “I had to apologise to him because he didn’t get anything from the meeting. He was furious with the way he was treated and I can understand this. Mr Hain must have had other things on his mind when he was talking to us.

“I agree with Mr McCord when he said he (Hain) started to doze off. The case of Mr McCord’s son is very controversial and it will be interesting to see what the Government has to say when (police ombudsman) Nuala O’Loan’s report comes out. I am fully behind his campaign and will do all in my power to help him.”

A spokesman for the NIO refused to comment on the sleeping claims, adding: “Mr Hain listened very carefully to what Mr McCord had to say.

“The Secretary of State fully understands and supports his demands that those responsible for the horrific murder of his son are brought to justice.

“He hopes the report by Nuala O’Loan and the work of the historical inquiries team will move the case forward.”

The meeting was arranged to discuss Ms O’Loan’s report into Mr McCord’s son’s murder and the role of informers inside the UVF.

The campaigning father has vowed to write a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 August 2006

Red-faced bureaucrats last night made a dramatic U-turn over their refusal to compensate a young man left blind and in a coma after a gun attack.

Sunday Life revealed last month how innocent loyalist feud victim David Hanley - who lay in a coma for days after being riddled with bullets - was refused compensation for failing to report the attempt on his life to police.

But after Sunday Life launched a campaign calling on the Compensation Agency to reverse its decision, the public body has had a re-think.

The 21-year-old’s solicitor, Ian Mallon, received a letter last week confirming the agency was no longer using his failure to report the murder bid to police as a reason for non-payment.

Said David: “This decision should never have been made in the first place, because how can anyone lying in a coma report an incident to the police?

“I am glad common sense has prevailed and I would just like to thank everyone who offered their support to me.

“I was shocked when the initial decision was made and I could not believe the way I was being treated. I just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Added Mr Mallon: “The Compensation Agency has conceded its decision, not to pay compensation because of David’s failure to report the matter to police, was wrong.

“They have also acknowledged the matter was recorded to police and it’s just a shame that it took pressure from the media for the Agency to reverse its decision.”

Sunday Life editor Jim Flanagan welcomed the development, adding: “There is no doubt that this is a victory for common sense.

“David suffered terrible injuries and was clearly in no position to report the attempt on his life to police.

“I’m sure the people of Northern Ireland would agree that this young man deserves adequate compensation for everything that he has been forced to endure over the last year.”

We were swamped with calls and e-mails from readers outlining their support for the 21-year-old.

David’s appeal against a decision to refuse him financial assistance for having a number of convictions for traffic offences is also set to be concluded later this month.

The north Belfast man, who police have confirmed had no paramilitary connections, applied for compensation last October, when he was still a patient at the RVH.

But the Compensation Agency informed his solicitor earlier this year he would not be receiving any cash.

David was just three days away from his 21st birthday when he was shot, on July 10 2005.

He was walking his dogs - Cracker and Bud - when a lone LVF gunman jumped from an alleyway on the Upper Crumlin Road and shot him in the head.

The letter

This is the letter sent by the Compensation Agency to David’s solicitor outlining the organisation’s reason’s for reversing its original decision.

It read: “It is noted that one of the reasons your claim for compensation was initially denied was under Para 14a of the scheme, as the PSNI had informed the Agency that no trace could be found of this incident having been reported to them.

“However, after further investigations, confirmation has now been received from the PSNI that the incident was indeed reported to them, and although there is not a statement of complaint from yourself in relation to this incident, it has not hindered the investigation.

“Subsequently paragraph 14a no longer applies.”

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 August 2006

The parents of murdered schoolboy Thomas Devlin last night told of their ongoing pain and torment.

Just a few days before the first anniversary of their son’s brutal killing, the tragic teenager’s heartbroken mum, Penny Holloway, made a fresh appeal for anyone with information on the frenzied knife attack to come forward.

The 15-year-old was murdered after he was stabbed five times in the back while walking with friends, close to his home on the Somerton Road, on August 10, 2005.

Thomas’ mum and dad, Jim, will spend Thursday with their son’s friends, before attending an evening memorial service at their local church.

Said Penny: “The impact my son’s murder has had on us has been horrendous - it is like we have a lost a year of our lives.

“My son’s anniversary will bring home to us what we have been deprived of. There will always be a sadness in our house, because we have suffered a huge loss.

“Thomas’ brother and sister, along with his friends, have also been deeply affected by his murder. Like my son, they represent the future of this society.

“The people who murdered Thomas just didn’t take away his life, they also took away his opportunities and deprived him of all the things he dreamt of doing, such as travelling.

“He had a future and had everything to look forward to, and yet someone decided to take this all away from him.”

They have also made a direct appeal to the partners, parents and friends of those responsible for the evil murder to assist police.

Said Penny: “We can’t understand how the girlfriends, relatives and friends of those involved in Thomas’ murder can go about their daily lives, knowing these people murdered a defenceless and innocent child.

“People have come forward already, but it appears some people think it’s more of a crime to give information to the police, than it is to commit such a violent, vicious and senseless murder.

“I would love them to step into our world for just a second to see the awful pain the people close to them have caused for no other reason than pure evil.”

The top cop leading the hunt for Thomas’ killers, Detective Superintendent Simon Barraclough, also vowed to catch the teenager’s killers.

He said: “I believe a breakthrough is still possible. But in order to achieve this, I need people with information who have not yet spoken to us, for whatever reason, to come forward now.”

Sunday Life’s £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Thomas’ killers also remains in place.

Suinday Life

By Chris Anderson
06 August 2006

The ex-Army officer, who claimed three different Special Branch spies took part in a series of IRA bomb attacks which claimed the lives of eight soldiers, says he has not dismissed the possibility of meeting the Police Ombudsman.

But he says any future meeting with Nuala O’Loan’s investigators could only take place when he was certain the “climate” was right for him to go public and make his identity known to the Ombudsman’s office.

The mother of one of the soldiers killed has welcomed the development.

The former officer made his claims about the three Special Branch spies in Sunday Life earlier this year.

He alleged the men were involved - either individually or collectively - in:

• The bomb blast which claimed the lives of three members of the Parachute Regiment near Mayobridge, Co Down in November 1989.

• The landmine attack which killed four UDR soldiers outside Downpatrick in April 1990 and:

• The ‘human bomb’ attack on an army checkpoint at Killeen, near Newry that killed RIR soldier, Cyril Smith in October 1990.

The ex-officer claimed the three spies were all members of the IRA south Down unit during the 1980s and 1990s.

He also said security chiefs continued to use the men to gather intelligence in the south Down area in spite of knowing they had all been involved in murder.

In the aftermath of the IRA ceasefire of 1994, one of the spies was relocated outside Northern Ireland by the RUC, after he told Republicans he had been working for the security forces.

“I want to re-assure the families of these soldiers I never ruled out the possibly of meeting the Police Ombudsman”, the officer said.

“I said a meeting would only take place if and when the climate was right for me to go public. But, the Police Ombudsman’s office already has knowledge of these three individuals, through an earlier investigation in Newry.

“The families should ask the Ombudsman about this earlier information.”

It is understood the Police Ombudsman’s office is currently investigating the Downpatrick bomb attack and the death of RIR soldier Cyril Smith.

Yesterday, Ranger Smith’s mother, Bernie said she was delighted to hear the former officer had not ruled out a meeting with the Police Ombudsman.

“Its good news as far as we are concerned,” she said.

“All we want is the truth and I would welcome an opportunity to speak with this ex-Army officer myself. But, I do understand his position and the dangers he would face if he went public at this time.”

Mrs Smith said she had met with members of the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team last Wednesday morning.

She confirmed a HET investigation into her son’s murder was currently under way.

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
06 August 2006

Runaway UDA terror boss Alan McClean last night blasted the jailed Shoukri brothers, claiming: “I wish I’d never clapped eyes on the b*******”.

The ousted loyalist let rip against his north Belfast allies just hours after his family and a group of supporters fled their stronghold in the Westland estate, following a tense stand-off with hundreds of mainstream UDA men on Thursday night.

McClean - who is now holed-up in Blackpool - said: “I wish I’d never met them - it’s OK for them two because they are safe in jail, but I’m not.”

Exiled McClean in verbal volley at jailed brothers

Exiled terror boss Alan McClean last night blasted the jailed Shoukri brothers, claiming: “I wish I’d never clapped eyes on the b*******”.

The ousted loyalist let rip against his north Belfast allies just hours after his family and a small group of supporters fled their stronghold in the Westland Estate, following a tense stand-off with hundreds of mainstream UDA men, on Thursday night.

McClean - who wore a bullet-proof vest and was armed with two Uzi sub-machine guns during the showdown with the UDA - is now holed-up in Blackpool.

Said McClean: “I wish I’d never met them - it’s OK for them two because they are safe in jail, but I’m not.

“They didn’t have to go on the run with their families and now I’m stuck in England because of the Shoukris.”

He made the outburst in a phonecall to former friend and ally Johnny Adair, himself now exiled in Scotland.

Adair told Sunday Life: “I caught him off his guard when he spoke to me, but he is definitely not too pleased about the Shoukris. He told me he hates them.

“McClean was a former ‘C’ company man and it is interesting to see the Shankill exiles helping him now, because he was part of the mainstream UDA which put them out.

“One of his men told me they had buried all the gear (weapons) in north Belfast and they would return some day to use it.”

But a senior UDA source dismissed the idea of McClean’s return and claimed he had planned his exile months in advance.

Said the source: “McClean was like a madman the other night because he wanted to go out on a high.

“He has all sorts of money and will probably have houses lined up for the Shoukris when they get out. McClean is crying wolf now about the Shoukris and, if he did say these things, his claims will just fall on deaf ears.

“He was planning to wreak havoc before he left and he was planning his exile as far back as last month. He got young men to wreck homes because he was like a madman.

“McClean thought he had the backing of south east Antrim and his men believed this because the leader of that brigade was always up in the Westland (estate).

“The Combined Loyalist Military Command has said it will not tolerate another organisation crippling loyalist communities with criminality.

“There is total relief in north Belfast now McClean is away.

“He told Adair: ‘I should have listened to you all along, because it looks as if you were right about the UDA leadership’.”

Sunday Life understands McClean has been offered homes in the north of England by Shankill exiles including Jim ‘Sham’ Millar.

The Shoukris’ brother, Yuk also fled his home, and headed for the south of England.