A man who was being questioned by RUC officers investigating the killings of two men in the Loyalist feud has been released without charge. Bobby Mahood and Jackie Coulter were shot dead in North Belfast on Monday. In a separate development, a man has died after a shooting in North Belfast. The man was taken to the Mater Hospital on Crumlin Road after the attack in Clifton Park Avenue. A hospital spokeswoman said that he died in casualty. It was not immediately clear whether the latest shooting was connected to the Loyalist feud.
The Northern Secretary has said that the Loyalist paramilitary leader, Johnny Adair, does not have a leg to stand on in his plans to stage a legal challenge to his re-arrest. Peter Mandelson said that he was confident he had made the right decision. He said that he believed Mr Adair had played a crucial part in recent violence between the Ulster Freedom Fighters and the Ulster Volunteer Force. The chairman of the Ulster Democratic Party, which is linked to the Ulster Defence Association, John White, has said that Adair felt he had been made a scapegoat.
Peter Mandelson has again held talks with senior members of the RUC and the British Army at Hillsborough Castle today to discuss the security situation. Mr Mandelson said that Mr Adair was too great a threat to public safety, spreading mayhem by whipping up tension and setting Loyalist against Loyalist. However, he said that the Loyalist ceasefires remain unbroken, despite the actions of individual members of paramilitary factions.
The SDLP has said that it supports the position taken by the Northern Secretary to re-arrest Mr Adair. Speaking in Dublin this morning, Mark Durkan said Mr Mandelson had no choice to but to take action. Mr Adair was arrested in Belfast last night. A heavily armed RUC unit stopped the car in which he was travelling, arrested him and took him to a nearby security base, from where he was taken to Maghaberry Prison by helicopter. Mr Mandelson said that Mr Adair was back in prison indefinitely.
Mr Adair now has the option of asking that his case be examined by the Sentence Review Commission, which was established as part of the Good Friday Agreement. The commission can support Mr Mandelson's decision or recommend Mr Adair's release. During the Drumcree disturbances, Mr Adair was warned publicly by the Chief Constable that he was being closely watched. Speaking on Morning Ireland, the UDP's John White said that Adair's arrest would only exacerbate the already volatile situation. However, Billy Hutchinson of the Progressive Unionist Party, which has links with the UVF, said that the RUC should have acted sooner. He also called on the UDA to end the violence.
