Gusty Spence (1933-2011)

Gusty Spence died in hospital this weekend aged 78. He served in the British army for five years and was stationed in Cyprus. He was approached to join the UVF in 1965, and soon became its leader in the Shankill. Under his watch, terror raids by local UVF men resulted in the death of civilian Protestants and Catholics. Spence was arrested shortly after the UVF was declared illegal in June 1966. His daughter Liz describes his arrest in the book …

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Gusty Spence dies

The BBC are reporting that former UVF leader Gusty Spence has died in hospital after a long illness. He was 78. TurgonThis author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.

Last supergrass trial was, um, actually just four years ago…

JUST watching the BBC and it’s constantly reporting that today marks the start of the “first ‘supergrass’ trial in Belfast for 25 years”. It’s not. No-one seems to remember that just four years ago, this happened – and it wasn’t exactly a roaring success. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

Healing Through Remembering (new chair Dawn Purvis) refused PEACE III Funding

When Dawn Purvis was defeated at the Stormont elections, a number of commentators on slugger including myself predicted that she would end up with a job in the quango / do-gooder industry. Indeed I suggested that far from helping those whom she claimed to represent (working class unionists in East Belfast) her time especially since she left the PUP had been more directed towards increasing her profile amongst what are sometimes known as the liberal dissidents. Many members of the …

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“encouraged by a small number of people opposed to the peace process…”

Twenty-six people were arrested during last night’s rioting in nationalist areas of north and south Belfast and Londonderry.  There were also reports of public disorder in Armagh, and the Dunclug estate in Ballymena.  RTÉ lists Strabane, Newry, Ballymena and Armagh city, as well as Belfast and Londonderry. In Londonderry, we are told Sinn Féin Foyle MLA Martina Anderson said the violence was “orchestrated” and described it as “an orgy of destruction”. “Let’s be clear the vandalism and wanton destruction in …

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UVF: Peter Robinson and the DUP’s preferred ‘terrorists’?

Today’s Irish News reports a deal to resolve the ongoing dispute in Magheraberry gaol between prison authorities and Republican inmates, meant to have been resolved a year ago, has yet again fallen apart. This time the dispute was unresolved due to intransigence from Peter Robinson and the DUP: Sources say the Department of Justice agreed to the compromise in principle and the proposal was put to OFMDFM. Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is also believed to have agreed …

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NI Police Ombudsman: “we have no evidence of a deliberate action…”

The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson’s report on the investigation into the murder of 6 people in Loughinisland by the UVF in 1994 has been published.  To the anger of the relatives of those killed. Al Hutchinson’s comments in the UTV report sum up his position, and the problem for those relatives. “The families believe there is broad state collusion, our remit is only to focus on police actions, I have said there no collusion in two incidents and insufficient …

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The defeat of the PUP and Dawn Purvis

Throughout most of the election campaign there was a large billboard on the lower Newtownards Road with a picture of a young woman and the following quote “One year on still no one has delivered for working class unionism; that’s why I’m voting PUP.” As it turned out of course relatively few working class unionists seem to have decided to vote PUP and few unionists of whatever class voted for the PUP’s prodigal former leader Dawn Purvis. The fundamental conceit …

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Loyalist paramilitaries and “civilianisation”

Last month UTV covered the issue of ex-prisoners having difficulties obtaining secure employment. A number of months ago, shortly before Christmas, a conference was held on the issue of “civilianising” the UVF. If this sounds familiar it is because every few months there is another announcement of the “civilianisation” of the UVF. This process of “civilianisation” is what others might call “stopping breaking the law.” Not the UVF but the UDA’s leader (how exactly McDonald can be named by all …

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Mount Vernon investigation explains HET bias…

Interesting addendum to Turgon’s post earlier in the day, on the PUP’s call on the HET for it’s bias. Now there is, as Turgon points out (and repeated in the PUP protest banners on this UTV clip), a strange absence of any prosecutions of non dissident Republican paramilitaries. But there’s an explanation as to why the UVF is so well represented in the prosecutions, the investigation of one unit, the one operating in Mount Vernon. And, as pointed out in …

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Basil McCrea and Brian Ervine on the HET

The News Letter is reporting Basil McCrea expressing concern about potential bias in the work of the Historical Enquires Team. An FoI request has apparently revealed that all but one of the 71 arrests they have made has been of loyalists. McCrea appears to support the attempts to arrest loyalist criminals but points out that since the majority of the murders here were committed by the IRA, significant resources should also be devoted to the arrest of those criminals. He …

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Catching up with Brian Ervine

headshot of Brian Ervine

Brian Ervine emerged as the Progressive Unionist Party’s leader last year after Dawn Purvis quit in the aftermath of UVF members’ involvement in the murder of Bobby Moffett. I caught up with Brian in the PUP’s Newtownards Road office on Thursday afternoon. Serving in the shadow of his brother – and physically, sitting under a photo of David Ervine – he talked about his political beliefs, party policy, election hopes, and was happy to discuss the PUP’s relationship with the …

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Ombudsman’s Report into McGurk’s Bar

The report into the McGurk’s bar bombing has finally come out. It did come out previously when Al Hutchinson published his report to a storm of protest from the families. Hutchinson then promptly withdrew the report though bizarrely denied it was embarrassing: “I wouldn’t say it’s an embarrassment, I take it as a learning opportunity – we must do better.” The new mark two report is now out (full report PDF here) and seems somewhat more to the families’ liking. …

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Alex Kane on terrorist rebranding

I discussed the police response to dissident republicanism below. Alex Kane’s latest News Letter column sees him analysing the whole approach to terrorism. He points to Dr Martyn Frampton, of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation’s recent extensive report on the dissidents (mentioned previously by Pete Baker) Frampton concluded: “If the British state wishes to defend and preserve the peace process in Northern Ireland it must accept that the dissidents will not be joining that process. Consequently, to …

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UVF link has killed off the PUP…

That’s what Alex Kane thinks, and it has been an open secret within party circles that the link with a paramilitary which much huge limit on the size of the PUP’s vote. The toleration of armed militias for political purposes is nothing new in Irish society. But for Kane the murder of Bobby Moffett was just one Rubicon too far: An armed and clearly active terrorist organisation killed a man: and killed him very brutally, very deliberately and very publicly. …

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The PUP, the UVF and bridges

During and after the last Ice Age it is suggested that mainland GB was not an island but was linked to continental Europe by a vast land bridge called Doggerland. Brian Ervine the recently installed leader of the Progressive Unionist Party has tried to suggest that the link between the PUP and the UVF was a “bridge” and that the UVF and PUP were related in a very limited way. (Pete has a blog on one of his recent interviews …

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One rule for ‘ussuns’, another rule for ‘themmuns’?

As Martin McCauley and Stephen Barnes have noted on twitter – after 2 nights of rioting in Rathcoole the PSNI have yet to deploy a single Baton Round or roll out their water cannons. The petrol bombs, vehicle burnings and gunmen mingling within the rioters have been described as ‘different beasts’. Lucky old Rathcoole rioters. But will people in Ardoyne understand the softly, softly PSNI attitude to things just up the road when they got the iron fist? Blank

PSNI: “There were gunmen, let’s have no illusions about this…”

A second night of rioting in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey saw another attack on a bus driver and petrol bombs being thrown. And PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland has confirmed the police’s belief that the UVF were involved ACC McCausland said the violence on Tuesday night was at a lower level than the previous night but said that was “no excuse for what happened”. “The reality is, there were sinister elements, paramilitary loyalist elements who wanted to make a message …

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Brian Ervine: “The media are fixated with the paramilitary link…”

The new PUP leader, Brian Ervine, had just been telling the News Letter of the “tremendous work [they are doing] on the ground that hardly ever gets reported on.” Prior to the annual conference earlier this month, a vote was taken on maintaining the party’s link with the paramilitary UVF and Red Hand Commando. The vote was based on a clearly defined written defnition of the link issued to members prior to the meeting. There were six points listed in …

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Hamilton: open to talks with UVF but not meeting Catholic leader?

Norman Hamilton, Presbyterian Moderator, has claimed his decision not to meet Joseph Ratzinger, Bishop of Rome, was due to “troubling issues” which needed to be addressed. However, the moderator said he had declined the opportunity to be presented to the Pope or to shake his hand after the service because there were a number of issues which needed “substantive discussion back in Ireland”. “There appear to be troubling differences between us on how we deal with the past,” he said. …

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