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| Three men convicted for attempted murder of leading Ulster loyalists | Three men convicted for attempted murder of leading Ulster loyalists |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Three men in Scotland have been convicted for attempting to murder leading Ulster loyalists Johnny Adair and Sam “Skelly” McCrory. | |
| Antoin Duffy, 39, his cousin Martin Hughes, 36, and Paul Sands, 32, all denied plotting to kill “Mad Dog” Adair and McCrory in Scotland but they were convicted on Monday, followingafter a nine-week trial at the high court in Glasgow. | |
| The murder plot involved on one side three men who appeared to be amateurish in their terrorist activities, and on the other the full weight of the state’s security services – MI5, Special Branch and Police Scotland directed huge resources to thwart the plot. | The murder plot involved on one side three men who appeared to be amateurish in their terrorist activities, and on the other the full weight of the state’s security services – MI5, Special Branch and Police Scotland directed huge resources to thwart the plot. |
| The security forces bugged the trio’s car and recorded 126 hours of conversation between the men. Duffy, Hughes and Sands staked out McCrory’s flat in Ayr 18 times, all the time being monitored by undercover MI5 officers. | The security forces bugged the trio’s car and recorded 126 hours of conversation between the men. Duffy, Hughes and Sands staked out McCrory’s flat in Ayr 18 times, all the time being monitored by undercover MI5 officers. |
| Duffy was even recorded, while under full covert surveillance in a Glasgow pub, asking Glasgow Celtic player Anthony Stokes to persuade his father to pass on a message to Dublin-based Irish republicans they believed could supply an AK47. Regulars reacted furiously and Duffy was thrown out of the pub. | Duffy was even recorded, while under full covert surveillance in a Glasgow pub, asking Glasgow Celtic player Anthony Stokes to persuade his father to pass on a message to Dublin-based Irish republicans they believed could supply an AK47. Regulars reacted furiously and Duffy was thrown out of the pub. |
| Adair and McCrory – the targets of the murder plot – were key figures in the Ulster Defence Association’s C Company on Belfast’s Shankill Road during the 1980s and 90s. McCrory was also commanding officer of UDA prisoners inside the Maze prison in the run-up to the 1998 Good Friday agreement. He met Mo Mowlam, then Northern Ireland secretary, inside the jail and agreed with her that UDA inmates would support a cessation of renewed violence on the outside and later back the Good Friday peace accord. | Adair and McCrory – the targets of the murder plot – were key figures in the Ulster Defence Association’s C Company on Belfast’s Shankill Road during the 1980s and 90s. McCrory was also commanding officer of UDA prisoners inside the Maze prison in the run-up to the 1998 Good Friday agreement. He met Mo Mowlam, then Northern Ireland secretary, inside the jail and agreed with her that UDA inmates would support a cessation of renewed violence on the outside and later back the Good Friday peace accord. |
| The pair have been in Scotland for more than a decade after they were exiled from Northern Ireland by their former UDA comrades. The duo had fought two bitter feuds with loyalist rivals in the 2000s, first with the Ulster Volunteer Force and then with other factions of the UDA. McCrory, who received news of the verdict via a text message, said he and Adair both still supported peace and power sharing in Northern Ireland. | The pair have been in Scotland for more than a decade after they were exiled from Northern Ireland by their former UDA comrades. The duo had fought two bitter feuds with loyalist rivals in the 2000s, first with the Ulster Volunteer Force and then with other factions of the UDA. McCrory, who received news of the verdict via a text message, said he and Adair both still supported peace and power sharing in Northern Ireland. |
| “It is great for our loved ones and families like every other person in Northern Ireland that there is peace. It is just a shame that dissident republicans would try to stir things up over here in Scotland. But this plot won’t stop Johnny or myself from supporting peace back at home,” he told the Guardian. | “It is great for our loved ones and families like every other person in Northern Ireland that there is peace. It is just a shame that dissident republicans would try to stir things up over here in Scotland. But this plot won’t stop Johnny or myself from supporting peace back at home,” he told the Guardian. |
| For Johnny and me, who took the war to the IRA in the 1980s and 90s, that war is over | For Johnny and me, who took the war to the IRA in the 1980s and 90s, that war is over |
| The former UDA gunman revealed that one of those found guilty, Paul Sands, had been to his flat in Ayr, atttempting to befriend him. | |
| “Sand was actually here in this flat and got in because he knew a mutual friend. He pretended he was friendly and asked about my lifestyle as a gay man, and what I’d left behind when I left Northern Ireland. | |
| “I don’t think these clowns were capable of kicking down my front door like the IRA would have been back in Belfast. Rather, I suspect Sands would have invited me out for a drink or something and then they would have had a go at trying to kill me. | “I don’t think these clowns were capable of kicking down my front door like the IRA would have been back in Belfast. Rather, I suspect Sands would have invited me out for a drink or something and then they would have had a go at trying to kill me. |
| “These clowns convicted today broke every rule in the IRA’s security book. They openly discussed getting a gun in a pub to kill us. They were watched morning, noon and night by the cops and MI5.” | “These clowns convicted today broke every rule in the IRA’s security book. They openly discussed getting a gun in a pub to kill us. They were watched morning, noon and night by the cops and MI5.” |
| The surveillance operation to prevent the murder plot began in 12 December 2012 and was later handed over to Police Scotland. | The surveillance operation to prevent the murder plot began in 12 December 2012 and was later handed over to Police Scotland. |
| The court in Glasgow heard that Duffy believed Adair and McCrory were responsible for ordering the murders of dozens of innocent Catholics during the Troubles. | The court in Glasgow heard that Duffy believed Adair and McCrory were responsible for ordering the murders of dozens of innocent Catholics during the Troubles. |
| Evidence was presented that he wanted to shoot McCrory using a pistol or revolver and then quickly target Adair using an AK47, which he dubbed “the big fella”. | Evidence was presented that he wanted to shoot McCrory using a pistol or revolver and then quickly target Adair using an AK47, which he dubbed “the big fella”. |
| In a bugged conversation, Duffy was heard boasting to his girlfriend Stacey McAllister: “I’m trying to get a war started and get as many guns and explosives as I can.” | In a bugged conversation, Duffy was heard boasting to his girlfriend Stacey McAllister: “I’m trying to get a war started and get as many guns and explosives as I can.” |
| A recording was also played from a conversation in Hughes’ Mercedes Jeep, which travelled from Glasgow to McCrory’s home on 1 October 2013. On the tape, Sands said: “There are so many places you could hit this guy. It’s unbelievable. | A recording was also played from a conversation in Hughes’ Mercedes Jeep, which travelled from Glasgow to McCrory’s home on 1 October 2013. On the tape, Sands said: “There are so many places you could hit this guy. It’s unbelievable. |
| “I mean, I could go and and chap his door right now and we could probably put him in the boot if three of us could manage it, know what I mean.” | “I mean, I could go and and chap his door right now and we could probably put him in the boot if three of us could manage it, know what I mean.” |
| Duffy then said: “A sawn-off and a revolver as the back-up.” | Duffy then said: “A sawn-off and a revolver as the back-up.” |
| As the Jeep approached the street in which McCrory lived, Sands was heard to say: “This is the road he walks every single day. You can’t go wrong. It is a straight road.” | As the Jeep approached the street in which McCrory lived, Sands was heard to say: “This is the road he walks every single day. You can’t go wrong. It is a straight road.” |
| There were then discussions about cameras at a nearby school and shops and the best vantage points to get their target. | There were then discussions about cameras at a nearby school and shops and the best vantage points to get their target. |
| Duffy went on: “I just need a quick look. I almost hit him a couple of years ago.” | Duffy went on: “I just need a quick look. I almost hit him a couple of years ago.” |
| Duffy’s cellmate in Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee, Edward McVeigh, 27, revealed that Duffy was a republican sympathiser who claimed he was a member of the Real IRA. | |
| The defence had attempted to paint the trio as a group of fantasists who were simply boasting about killing the UDA veterans, with Paul Sands’ barrister, Donald Findlay QC, even describing him during the trial as a “total idiot”. | The defence had attempted to paint the trio as a group of fantasists who were simply boasting about killing the UDA veterans, with Paul Sands’ barrister, Donald Findlay QC, even describing him during the trial as a “total idiot”. |
| The jury however refused to believe the theory that the entire plot was a work of fantasy and on Monday convicted them of conspiracy to murder. | The jury however refused to believe the theory that the entire plot was a work of fantasy and on Monday convicted them of conspiracy to murder. |
| Asked if he would beef up his personal security following confirmation of the murder plot, McCrory added: “I have been to prison – the IRA, the Provos tried to kill me. I saw someone shot in front of me back in Belfast. I saw bombs going off killing people in my home city. | Asked if he would beef up his personal security following confirmation of the murder plot, McCrory added: “I have been to prison – the IRA, the Provos tried to kill me. I saw someone shot in front of me back in Belfast. I saw bombs going off killing people in my home city. |
| “I do not fear people like this. I will continue to drink in pubs in Glasgow, go to Rangers’ matches, march in Gay Pride parades. I am happy that this crowd were convicted but I will get on with my life. | “I do not fear people like this. I will continue to drink in pubs in Glasgow, go to Rangers’ matches, march in Gay Pride parades. I am happy that this crowd were convicted but I will get on with my life. |
| “For Johnny and me, who took the war to the IRA in the 1980s and 90s, that war is over. Our war is over. To be honest, even this trial didn’t interest me. I spent three and half hours in court giving evidence and that was that. I never read a newspaper report, listened to a radio report or watched TV about the case. It didn’t interest me but I’m glad these clowns are going to jail.” | “For Johnny and me, who took the war to the IRA in the 1980s and 90s, that war is over. Our war is over. To be honest, even this trial didn’t interest me. I spent three and half hours in court giving evidence and that was that. I never read a newspaper report, listened to a radio report or watched TV about the case. It didn’t interest me but I’m glad these clowns are going to jail.” |
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