15/02/2002

Adair arrested and questioned by police

Loyalist paramilitary leader Johnny Adair has been arrested in jail and taken for questioning by police.

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Prison Service confirmed that Adair was taken from Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn on Friday February 15 and questioned at a nearby police station by detectives about the escalation of crime during the bitter loyalist feud in August 2000.

Adair, commander of the notorious Shankill 'C' Company of the Ulster Defence Association, was sentenced in September 1995 and then released in September 1999 as part of the early prisoner release scheme under the Good Friday Agreement.

However, Adair's license was then revoked on the orders of then Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson and he was returned to jail because he had broken the terms of his early release.

Adair's return to jail coincided with a bitter feud between the UDA and Ulster Volunteer Force which claimed the lives of seven men.

Two of those, Jackie Coulter and Bobby Mahood, were gunned down as they sat together in a jeep on the Crumlin Road on August 21, 2000.

Adair's licence was revoked the day after the double murder.

He is due for release in May 2002.

(ND)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

14 May 2002
Johnny Adair set to be released from jail
The loyalist paramilitary chief Johnny ‘mad dog’ Adair, who is due to be freed from jail on Wednesday May 15, will be a force for good, it was claimed today. One of Mr Adair’s closest associates John White, former chairman of the disbanded Ulster Democratic Party, insisted there was nothing to fear from his release.
10 January 2005
Johnny Adair freed from jail
Former loyalist leader Johnny Adair has been released from prison and flown to England. Mr Adair was taken to RAF Aldergrove on Monday and flown by helicopter to Manchester despite not being due for release until Thursday.
18 February 2003
Adair's legal challenge over jail decision fails
Notorious loyalist Johnny Adair has failed in his bid to reverse the Secretary of State's decision to send him back to jail. At the High Court in Belfast today, Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell, denied Adair leave to seek a judicial review of Paul Murphy's decision – which he described as "fair".
09 October 2001
UFF leader drops legal battle for freedom
The jailed leader of loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Freedom Fighters, Johnny Adair has abandoned a legal case in a bid to be released from Maghaberry jail. Lawyers acting for Mr Adair had been due to apply for a judicial review at Belfast High Court as part of a legal challenge to have him released from prison.
17 January 2003
Adair granted leave for review of jail decision
Notorious loyalist Johnny Adair’s legal bid to overturn an order by the Secretary of State sending him back to prison passed its first hurdle in the Belfast High Court today. After hearing legal argument, Mr Justice Kerr ruled that Adair could apply for a judicial review of Mr Murphy's decision.