A 40-year-old man has been charged with attempting to murder a senior loyalist from the Shankill Road in Belfast.
Harry Stockman, a leading figure in the UVF, was stabbed repeatedly in front of shoppers inside a Tesco supermarket in Belfast yesterday afternoon.
He underwent emergency surgery and is in a stable condition in hospital.
David Madine from Bangor in Co Down is accused of attempting to murder Mr Stockman.
He was remanded in custody after police objected to bail.
A PSNI detective said he feared that if freed on bail, the accused's own safety and that of his family would be in danger because the victim of the stabbing was a senior loyalist.
At this point, Mr Madine shouted from the dock, 'he's a ------- tout'.
A lawyer for Mr Madine, Denis Maloney, said his client had co-operated fully with police investigating the stabbing and had made a full and frank statement.
Mr Maloney said the attack in Tesco happened after a chance encounter and was a most regrettable incident.
He said the accused wished to sincerely apologise to staff and customers who had been in Tesco for what he described as 'an unsavoury incident'.
Police officers in riot gear were on duty inside and outside the courtroom during the hearing.
During the case several people in the public gallery gave clenched fist salutes in support of the defendant.
