Plaque to Jamie Bryson

Jamie Bryson as movie character Taxi Driver

Jamie Bryson after signing on

Leading flag protester and ‘taxi volunteer’ Jamie Bryson went “berserk” after discovering the Sunday World was going to expose him as a dole cheat and now on-line jokers are taking a poke at him.

Furious Bryson heard that we were going to run the story despite him sending us a legal letter within an hour of us talking to him.

Bryson eventually claimed on Twitter that he was not a benefits cheat and instead had been working at Kare Kabs in Bangor as part of a training programme.

Barely before the Sunday World had hit the stands, Bryson released a late night statement filled with anger claiming he was going to sue.

He even had the cheek to call us ‘PSNIRA State Puppets’ and said he’d “see us in court”.

We haven’t heard from Jamie since.

Last Sunday we revealed how we watched Bryson, from Rosepark in Donaghadee, arrive at Crown Buildings on Hamilton Road, Bangor where he signs on every week.

After signing on at 12.43 he then arrived at the offices of Kare Kabs 11 minutes later.

Bryson has spent the last two months, or so, answering the phones for Bangor’s largest taxi rank.

Following our story Bryson and his taxi bosses held an early Sunday morning summit meeting in the Kare Kab offices where they agreed Bryson would continue to work for the company.

The 23-year-old has continued to work for the Bangor-based firm this week although it’s not clear whether he has signed off or not.

Meanwhile the ‘Twitterati’ wasted no time in getting stuck into Bryson.

Inventive sites like LAD (Loyalists Against Democracy) posted pictures of Jamie dressed like Robert de Niro from cult movie Taxi Driver.

Meanwhile another wag suggested Jamie deserves to have a coveted blue plaque erected in his honour for his “voluntary deeds to the taxi industry”.

Others mused about which taxi firm Jamie worked for with one suggesting he probably works for ‘FoneaFleg’.

By Sunday lunchtime Jamie had mellowed and was even cracking jokes about the story himself.

He posted: “At least when the DUP need a taxi to dole queue come next May they know who to contact”.

This is of course a reference to the local and European elections set for next year.

Bryson has vowed to stand in the elections as an anti-agreement independent.

When the Sunday World confronted Bryson with the allegations over two phone calls he refused to deny them.

When we told him we believed he was both working and claiming dole he went on a bizarre rant that the police and IRA must have told us.

He said: “Well probably the peelers have told you that or probably the IRA but you can’t really distinguish between them two – so I don’t know whatever one you want to pick with.”

This week Jamie has been fairly rampant on his Twitter page but has not addressed the taxi allegations since last Sunday – despite being constantly provoked by his Twitter followers.

Instead he found time to wage war on GAA sponsors and even went to west Belfast to pose in front of some republican murals.

Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has refused to back down over controversial comments that two of the most senior RUC officers killed by the IRA had themselves to blame.

The republican leader insisted his comments reflect those of the Smithwick report, which raised concerns about the security arrangements in place for Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan.

"I've made my position clear. I stand over the accuracy of the fact that those officers were at risk and I drew that from the report," Mr Adams said.

"I didn't make it up. It's in the report.

"I also think that the recommendations in the report should be acted upon with some common sense."

Politicians on all sides in Dublin and Belfast reacted in disbelief after Mr Adams said the men effectively drove themselves to their own death.

Mr Adams claimed his comments echoed what was recorded by Judge Peter Smithwick at the end of an eight-year investigation.

Mr Adams said he does not need to be reminded that there are two families at the heart of the issue.

"We can go over this and over this and over this. I've already said it was not my intention to cause any further hurt to the families," he said.

The Smithwick tribunal found an unidentified IRA mole in the Garda station in Dundalk tipped off a terrorist hit squad that the men were attending a meeting in the town on the day of the murders, March 20, 1989.

Mr Adams said the Smithwick report also recorded concerns about the security arrangements for RUC officers travelling to Dundalk through South Armagh.

He sparked revulsion earlier this week when he claimed the two RUC men thought they were immune from attack and had "a laissez-faire disregard for their own security".

RUC officers Harry Breen and Bob Buchanan who were killed by the IRA

Justice Minister Alan Shatter branded the comments as nauseating, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said Mr Adams had been deeply insulting and offensive, while unionist politicians said Mr Adams's remarks called into question his judgment.

But the Sinn Fein leader repeated today that he stands by the controversial remarks, which he described as accurate.

"In terms of causing hurt, that was never my intention to cause hurt," Mr Adams said.

"I don't need reminders from anyone that there are victims and the nonsense of suggesting that I was blaming these men for their own deaths, there was never a question that the IRA killed them and it was a brutal killing.

"But it was in the middle of a war and I have also commended those RUC officers Buchanan and Breen as men who were doing their duty as they saw it in the same way as is my belief the IRA volunteers were doing their duty as they saw it."

The report on the Smithwick tribunal revealed a damning expose of collusion, bad policing and misguided loyalty in the Garda.

It stated a Provo mole leaked information that the officers were in Dundalk station for a meeting on the day of their murder, although the source of the collusion has not been identified.

It is suspected there were two people in the station working for the IRA.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson said Mr Adams should apologise.

The Democratic Unionist leader, who is in Japan on a trade mission with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, said Mr Adams' laissez faire remarks were "offensive".

"I would have thought that someone who would recognise that victims are hurting in all of these circumstances, to make such casual remarks, about the death of somebody by murder from people that he was associated with seems entirely inappropriate," he told the BBC.

"I just thought it was an appalling statement to make and he should regret making it and he should publicly apologise for it."

(Press Association)

Russian gang boss poses with machinegun

This is the gun toting organised crime boss bringing misery to the streets of Belfast.

He is public enemy number one, part of a growing army of eastern European gangsters muscling in on the Belfast drugs, prostitution and credit fraud rackets.

This man and his muscle bound boss help control a criminal empire that stretches from Frankfurt to Amsterdam to Dublin and now Belfast.  

The Sunday World is aware of their identities but for legal reasons cannot reveal names.

A special Sunday World investigation uncovered the alarming growth of foreign crime gangs, peddling killer drugs and up to their necks in people trafficking and prostitution.

We reveal the workings of the gang known as The Russians – based in south Belfast they are raking in a staggering £100,000 a week all of which is syphoned off  to their crime bosses in Dublin.

The Russians already control the drug market in Belfast, out-muscling local dealers.

Today we reveal how they traffic drugs from mainland Europe through Dublin and on to Belfast and most shockingly we reveal they have brought the killer drug Crystal Meth on to the streets of our capital city.

The gang leaders and their cohorts are from the former Soviet state of Latvia. 

Grinding poverty and endemic corruption in their homeland has driven these people to crime, many are ex-soldiers.

Eastern European organised crime gangs are now the scourge of Europe, and in Belfast they have found a rich feeding ground. 

The Sunday World understands The Russians already run 20 brothels in Belfast alone.

They are populated by eastern European women promised a new life in the west only to arrive in the UK and forced  into a life of vice and drug abuse.

Forced to courier drugs across the continent they are then press-ganged into the sex industry and forced to work round the clock.

We have spoken to a former gang member who told us he was offered a woman for £3,000. He said had he taken the deal the woman was his to own; he could put her to work in one of the gang’s brothels in return for a fee, or he could hire her out.

He was told he would make his money back in less than 10 days.

They boast of owning up to 20 houses and apartments across the city and love the trappings of wealth – posing in front flash BMWs and Audis they look every inch the successful gangsters.

The gang leader is also pictured with a Lamborghini, taken in the German city of Frankfurt.  The muscle bound gang leader is also pictured at various locations across Belfast and in Dublin.

Sent to Belfast eight months ago he is the main contact between criminal operation in the north and his bosses in Dublin.

He makes regular trips north of the border, preferring to stay in hotels rather than in one of the many houses his gang now owns.

At least two minders keep a watchful eye over the boss every time he is town and the Sunday World can reveal that at least one of them carries a gun at all times.

Other members of the gang carry knives.

The Russians have three main areas of crime – drugs, prostitution/people trafficking and credit card fraud.

We  can reveal they are selling heroin, crystal meth and crack cocaine on the streets of Belfast... outside the Europa Hotel,  on Castle Street, Elmwood Avenue near Queen’s University, Dublin Road and on Brunswick Street.

The Russians moved in to Belfast six to eight months ago. Having set up in Dublin it was a natural progression to move north.

According to our source they were they staggered at the number of people travelling south to buy drugs.

“The Russians are ruthless but what they are most particular about is the quality of the drugs they sell,” said our source.

“The stuff they sell is high grade, not like the local dealers, so buyers know they are getting good gear.”

Cocaine normally sold in Belfast can be as little as two percent pure, cut with rat poison, scouring powder and cement dust – the Russians insist on at least 25-30 per cent purity, guaranteeing  their market.

“They believe  Belfast could be one of their best markets.

“They are amazed at the appetite for drugs here, that is by far the biggest slice of their business, and they will make money here as long as they can and when the heat is on they will just move on, just like they have done all over Europe.”

Chillingly, this is an outfit that has no fear about the stranglehold paramilitaries have on their areas – they have an arsenal of weapons and are ready to take on anyone who stands in their way.

Obtaining weaponry is not a problem and they will even sell guns to local criminal gangs offering handguns for £400 – less than half that charged by UK gun dealers.

Belfast is now seeing a new level of organised crime – imported from eastern Europe and more ruthless than anything we have seen before.

Our source – a one time close associate of  The Russians, but now in fear  of his life – was present when one of the gang  opened a wooden box in the living room of a house off the Donegall Road and lifted out four hand grenades.

“We run Belfast, who will f*** with us now?” he growled.

PSNI are investigating

A firebomber might have suffered burns to his face, neck and hands after a device exploded as he was about to plant it in a Belfast city centre store.

He fled through crowded nearby streets desperately attempting to beat out the flames when the incendiary bomb went off prematurely underneath an anorak-type jacket.

Up to 15 people were inside the pop-up golf store at the time.

None was hurt, but the bomber - a man in his mid-40s who was also wearing a beany hat - was engulfed in flames and almost certainly badly injured, according to police today.

Chief Superintendent Alan McCrum said: "We believe this man may require treatment for burns injuries, to neck, face and hands."

Dissident republicans are believed to have been involved in the failed attack, the latest in a series in Belfast in the run-up to Christmas.

They tried to blow up an underground car park at the Victoria Centre, the city's biggest shopping centre, and then abandoned a bomb in a holdall in the Cathedral Quarter last Friday night.

Up to 1,000 people had to be evacuated from pubs, clubs and restaurants, but only the bomb detonators went off.

Security has been stepped up because of the heightened threat.

With three men due in court in Belfast today to face a number of terrorist-related charges - some of them linked to a gun attack on police in north Belfast - checkpoints have been mounted on roads across Northern Ireland.

The remains of the incendiary device recovered last night showed it was the first of this type used by terrorists for some time.

Mr McCrum said: "Police are doing everything to protect Belfast and other places to enable people to go about their business peacefully."

(Press Association)

Gerard Hodgins has been picked by New RIRA to help in elections

Gerard Hodgins rolls up

This is the pot smoking ex-hunger striker recruited by the leaders of dissident republican outfit the New Real IRA.

Veteran republican Gerard Hodgins has been drafted in by the terror group’s leadership to oversee council election campaigns with hand picked runners standing under the banner of Independent Republicans 

He will team up with cancer stricken dissident chief Tony ‘TC’ Catney to promote the push for district council seats. 

The Sunday World can reveal the die hard republican is now a prominent member of the so called Independent Republicans which are under the control of the Collective Leadership consisting of Alex McCrory, Collie Duffy, Brian Arthurs and Frankie Quinn. 

His selection however has been strategic as the CL, Brian Arthurs and Frankie Quinn in particular, have had their reputations damaged by their close association to criminals such as tiger kidnapper Brain Conway. 

Bringing in someone of Hodgins’ calibre was designed to quieten the discontent among the ranks and to give an air of credibility to the dissident leaders and the Independent Republican candidates.

However the Sunday World can reveal that Hodgins himself is connected to criminal circles and uses his associates to feed his drug habit.

And as our exclusive pictures reveal Hodgins is more than happy to enjoy the perks of the criminal underworld he inhabits.

Hodgins allied himself to the NRIRA after a falling out with the Continuity IRA in which he held the prominent position as finance officer.

The gang was headed up by Christopher ‘Cricky’ Notarantonio who is currently serving a jail sentence for blackmail. 

During his time with the CIRA criminal gang Hodgins received large amounts of cannabis which had been stolen in raids carried out by CIRA members including Notarantonio. 

This was given to him for his own personal use. 

All involved took large amounts for themselves, the rest was passed on to be sold to raise money for the CIRA.

Such incidents include a substantial amount of cannabis being taken from a house in Ballymurphy.

In another raid 20 black bin liners full of cannabis  was taken from a storage unit in Springbank Industrial Estate in Poleglass and in another raid on a warehouse in Antrim Industrial Estate £18,000 in cash and a another substantial amount of cannabis was also taken by the paramilitary group.

Hodgins fell foul of the CIRA after he claimed that a large amount of cash he was holding for the CIRA, raised from drug dealing, kidnapping and extortion, was stolen from his flat in Lenadoon during a robbery.

The west Belfast man claimed that the flat was broken into while he was out and the money in question was taken. 

So desperate to have his ‘story’ backed up he gave a media interview claiming that his house had been broken into and personal items were taken.

The CIRA did not believe his claims. Members were dispatched to search his home and Hodgins began to seek protection from other dissident groups.

The Sunday World can reveal Hodgins was suspected by the dissident group of stealing the money to enable him to travel to Amsterdam along with a close friend who has an extensive criminal past. 

Said one dissident source: “It’s hard to understand the rationale behind the leadership’s decision to hang our hat on Gerard Hodgins. 

“Everyone and their granny know Hodgies is into drugs big style, he makes no bones about it, in fact he promotes the use of drugs on his Facebook.

“How do we justify killing Kevin Kearney, yet promote Gerard Hodgies as a sound republican?” he said.

“As for his mates, they’re pure scum and have terrorised the very community we claim to be acting on behalf of. It’s inexcusable, just because Hodgies has a history with the Ra and says the right things – let’s all turn a blind eye to his drug dealing? I don’t think so.”

The pilot of a light aircraft and a passenger survived a crash landing in Northern Ireland on Christmas Day.

They managed to escape the damage after the plane came down on an airstrip near Tandragee, Co Armagh.

The emergency services were alerted and rushed to the scene at Mullahead Road.

Both the pilot and passenger were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries. 

Police described them as "walking wounded".

Tragic death: Belfast-based DJ Gerard Mulholland

A DJ who died after taking a lethal cocktail of ecstasy tablets had been partying non-stop for two days.

Dr Richard Haass

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness

Former US diplomat Richard Haass, assisted by Harvard professor Meghan O'Sullivan

Jeffrey Donaldson of the DUP

Marathon all-night negotiations to resolve outstanding peace process issues in Northern Ireland have failed to produce an agreement.

Talks chairman Dr Richard Haass, a former US diplomat, said he had not managed to secure consensus on a final set of proposals to deal with flags, disputed parades and the legacy of the Troubles before his end-of-year deadline.

Dr Haass said a working group made up of representatives of the five parties in Stormont's power-sharing executive would now be set up to try and find another way to build on "significant progress" that had been achieved.

Negotiators from Sinn Fein, the largest nationalist party in the Executive, said they were prepared to recommend the proposals to its ruling executive, but unionists would not sign up to the document tonight.

"Yes it would have been nice to come out here tonight and say we have got all five parties completely signed on to the text, we are not there," Dr Haass said.

The last day of negotiations began around 10am yesterday and effectively carried straight through to around 5am this morning.

There was little or no progress made on flags with a proposal to set up a commission to examine the issues over a longer term.

It is understood the document also proposes the replacement of the Government-appointed Parades Commission with another set of structures to adjudicate on contentious marches.

The text also envisaged a new mechanism to oversee dealing with the legacy of the past - with a truth recovery body that would potentially offer limited immunity from prosecution to those who co-operate.

Unionists have indicated concerns with some of the language used and claimed too much focus has been placed on killings perpetrated by state forces.

UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said he had an opinion on the document but would not make it public until his party had the chance to examine the proposals.

"We will have an honest debate and hopefully form a final opinion at the end of that debate," he said.

Having been given an end-of-year deadline to report, Dr Haass had aimed to strike a deal before Christmas but had to return to the US on Christmas Eve empty-handed after a marathon session of all-night negotiations last week.

Cutting short his seasonal break, he returned to the region on Saturday in a last-ditch bid to secure agreement.

Dr Haass is the president of US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations, based in New York, and was US president George W Bush's special envoy to Northern Ireland from 2001 to 2003.

(Press Association)

RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes in Armagh in the early hours of this morning after a small viable explosive device was discovered at a house in the town.

Police evacuated residents in the Alexander Avenue area at 4am after a suspicious device was discovered.

A bomb disposal team examined the object and removed the device from the scene for further examination.

Residents were later allowed back to their homes.

Police have appealed for anyone with information on the incident to contact them.

Adams: "I would urge all citizens interested in building the peace to take the time to read the Haass proposals"

Sinn Fein's ruling party executive is to meet on January 11 to consider the proposed Northern Ireland peace deal.

Talks chaired by former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass broke up on New Year's Eve without unanimous agreement.

He has urged members of the public to engage in a robust debate on his proposals on how to deal with contentious issues such as flags, parades and dealing with the region's troubled past.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said: "Sinn Fein has stretched ourselves in these negotiations and we are up for this challenge. The other parties should not fudge their response. They should be clear.

"Failure to reach agreement on these crucial issues will constantly bedevil the political process and make it difficult to reach agreements on social and economic issues that are essential for improving the quality of life for everyone.

"I would urge all citizens interested in building the peace to take the time to read the Haass proposals."

Sinn Fein endorsed the proposals while the nationalist SDLP indicated it would also support them. The Alliance Party complained about a lack of substantial progress on parades and flags but it also indicated it would accept what was on offer in a seventh and final text that Dr Haass and the talks' vice-chair, Prof Meghan O'Sullivan, presented on Tuesday morning.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt is to discuss the paper with the party's 120-member executive next week.

Democratic Unionist First Minister Peter Robinson said he did not recognise as accurate reports of "talks failure" given the wide gulf that existed on the Haass team's arrival and the broad areas of agreement on their departure.

The Ulster Unionist Party called a meeting of its executive body for Monday to discuss the Haass process.

Leader Mike Nesbitt said members would reach a decision on the way forward.

"However, this was an initiative from Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, and it falls to them to outline how they see this process moving forward," he said.

"The Haass talks were a critical element of their community relations policy, Together: Building a United Community.

"Another failure to create a truly shared future, rather than the current shared out future, cannot be tolerated.

"The major problem with getting the process back on track is that the Alliance Party cherry-picked the final document, something entirely against the spirit of what Dr Haass requested.

"Cherry-picking is a Pandora's Box, once opened, very difficult to contain."

A dad of three in his 50s was killed in a hit and run last night.

Patrick McCaffrey died after he was truck by the car in Co Fermanagh.

The incident happened on the Tullychurry Road, in Leggs.

The PSNI believe the man was struck by a car which failed to stop at the scene.

Officers are now looking for a blue Ford Focus which will have front end damage.

Police are appealing for anyone who was in the area before or after the time of the incident to contact them.

The road is closed and is expected to remain that way for sometime, a PSNI spokesperson added.

Oakgrove Integrated College

Police used CS spray during the arrest of a 14-year-old boy at a school in Northern Ireland.

An independent investigation has been launched into the incident at Oakgrove Integrated College in Derry on Tuesday afternoon.

The teenager was released on bail pending further inquiries, a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said.

The spray is generally used by officers to control aggressors in situations where lethal force is inappropriate. It can cause streaming eyes and a burning sensation.

Figures on the PSNI's use of the substance noted 479 cases in 2008/9, including 28 involving members of the public aged 17 and under.

Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Dr Michael Maguire investigates police behaviour, although usually following a complaint.

His spokesman said: "The Police Ombudsman has decided to call himself in because he believes that this incident merits an independent investigation."

(Press Association)

The Crown bar in Belfast has been forced to close its doors

A historic pub owned by the National Trust in Belfast city centre has closed its doors because its licence has lapsed.

The Crown Bar on Great Victoria Street is one of the most famous in Northern Ireland, distinguished by its period gas lighting, church-style stained glass windows, cosy wooden snugs and mosaics of tiles. 

It was once a Victorian gin palace and dates back to the early days of the railways and industrialisation in the early 1800s.

The shutters were pulled down after a permit to sell alcohol was not renewed, believed to have expired in November 2012 following an "oversight".

A Trust spokesman said: "The Crown Bar has been leased to the current tenant since 2006. All statutory obligations, including the renewal of licences, rest with the tenant.

"We are very concerned to learn about this oversight and we encourage the tenant to seek a speedy resolution to this issue to ensure this historic building is reopened to the public as soon as possible."

The Trust purchased the property in 1978 and restored it to its full Victorian splendour, when it served travellers just off the train at the old station nearby.

The pub includes ten different-shaped and elaborately carved wooden boxes, lettered form A to J. The snugs contain gunmetal plates for striking matches, and an antique bell system, very common in Victorian houses, where servants where employed, which alerted bar staff.

The Crown has been a magnet for tourists and local regulars on one of the busiest streets for nightlife in Belfast.

Colin Neill, chief executive of Pubs of Ulster, said: "This is an unfortunate oversight by the licensee Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Limited.

"We are aware that they took the appropriate course of action as soon as the issue came to light and have decided to close their doors until this issue is resolved.

"This is not an ideal situation as the Crown Bar is one of Northern Ireland's most iconic and historically important pubs.

"However it must operate within the law and we are confident that this important asset will be back in operation once the matter is resolved."

(Press Association)

Tracey Coulter was headbutted by Mo Courtney

UDA chief Mo Courtney assaulted Tracey

UDA Boss Mo Courtney was so desperate to avoid jail he begged his victim not to give evidence in court.

The terrified loyalist leader vowed to leave mum of four Tracey Coulter alone if she agreed not to testify against him, sparing him the prospect of going to jail.

The pathetic terrorist, petrified of another stretch behind bars, was so desperate to keep his freedom he threw himself at the feet of the woman he brutally attacked.

Bully boy Courtney headbutted Coulter in the Shankill Road offices of the Lower Shankill Community Association in June.

She had gone to the offices to raise concerns about drug dealing in the area.

After an angry exchange of words Courtney headbutted his victim and 
threatened her, leaving with a badly swollen eye.

Yet Tracey Coulter refused to give in to the yob who beat her just days after she lost a family member to drugs – drugs that had been sold by Courtney’s UDA sidekicks.

“Mo Courtney then sent people round to my house begging me not to go to court,” Tracey told the Sunday World.  “he sent a message saying his word was his bond and that I would be left in peace if I didn’t give evidence.

“Is he serious, his word is his bond? He probably said that to poor wee Alan McCullough and look what happened to him.” 

Alan ‘Bucky’ McCullough was lured back to Belfast in 2003 by Courtney after he left Northern Ireland when the UDA moved against Johnny Adair’s notorious C Company.  

Courtney guaranteed McCullough’s safety but within weeks of his return he was abducted, shot and buried in a shallow grave on the outskirts of the city.

“I wouldn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth if he was standing in a stack of Bibles,” said Tracey. 

“The only thing I am sure of is that he is terrified to going back to jail .”

Last week Courtney  was handed a four month suspended sentence after pleading guilt to assaulting Ms Coulter. the judge warned him that his future conduct would determine if he would be sent back to jail.

The 50-year-old gangster, of Fernhill Heights in Belfast was also ordered to pay his victim  £500 in compensation for the assault that occurred last July.

“He should have been sent to jail, not just for what he did to me but for what he does to the people of the Shankill on a daily basis,” said Tracey. 

“He is a drug dealer,a housebreaker and a woman beater.

“That is the man who had the cheek to ask me to take his word as his bond. Like I said he probably said the same thing to Alan McCullough before they shot him twice in the head.”

Killer Courtney,  jailed for the manslaughter of Alan McCullough in 2008, has revealed to pals he couldn’t cope with another stint behind bars.

While in jail for his role in  McCullough’s death it was revealed that Courtney often spent days weeping in his cell unable to cope with the pressures of life inside the walls of Maghaberry Prison.

“Jail isn’t the same as it was back in the days when he was in Long Kesh and they ruled the wings and he knows that,” said a source. “He got a taste of what it’s like when he was in for Alan and he couldn’t stick it. He used to cry to the screws.

“He is absolutely terrified about going back inside, even if it was just for a few months. He has told people that he didn’t think he would be able to hack it. “

The courageous mum of four has paid the price for standing up to UDA and UVF bully boys like Courtney.

Just days after Courtney was convicted of assaulting her, and before he was sentenced, her home was broken into and set on fire.

She has been the victim of countless death threats yet she had never bowed her head to the loyalist paramilitary thugs who have waged campaigns of terror against her since her father Jackie was murdered in 2000.

Now she is calling upon others to follow in her steps and report the likes of Mo Courtney to the police.

“I would like to tell people who are being bullied by him to go to the police because what my case has proved is that he is far from untouchable and he can be stopped.

“For years Mo Courtney and all the rest of them have been protected by their police handlers but it’s obvious to me that they must have little use for him now, he is definitely in their sights. He is right to be worried about going to jail,” she said.

The Sunday World can also reveal Courtney is out of favour with West Belfast UDA boss Matt Kincaid.

Loyalist sources have claimed Kincaid is furious at Courtney’s recent actions and the fact they have drawn media attention.

“Matt is furious at Mo, things have been quiet for a good while and the media had lost interest in what they were doing but that’s all changed now because of what Mo did to Tracey and all that followed it,” a loyalist source revealed

“Matt hates the media spotlight being on them never mind the interest the PSNI now seems to 
have. He is blaming Mo for it all and he has made his feelings very clear.

At last week’s court hearing Mo Courtney’ laughingly tried to portray him self as a caring community worker. 

“Mr Courtney is still very much involved in community work and still involved in helping others in the local community,” his barrister said.

Last night Tracey Coulter hit out at the remarks.

“I know lawyers have to do their best for their clients but I am surprised people managed to keep their faces straight when that was read out in court. 

“Community worker, are you serious?  If terrorising people constitutes being a community worker than he must be one.

“Was he helping out a member of the community worker when I came to his office and he head-butted me? It’s a joke. Mo Courtney is an evil man ,” she fumed.

Simon Murphy

Stuart Townsend

Aubrey McClintock

Briege Meehan

A rogues gallery of Ulster’s child sex offenders have been named and shamed on a vigilante website.

Details on almost 300 of the most depraved paedophiles and child rapists have been published on the web.

The site contains a massive database of more than 23,000 convicted sex offenders across the UK and Ireland with the aim of warning parents of any potential threat to children in their local area.

Organisers of the site insist they are not encouraging people to be vigilantes and say they do not condone violence against sex offenders and are simply providing a public service, but insist there can be no hiding place for sex monsters who want to simply blend into society. 

The website compiles articles from hundreds of newspapers across Britain and Ireland and campaigns for harsher sentences for paedophiles. It claims that it “is designed to keep parents/carers informed of child abusers who may be living in their area”.

Derry child rapist Frankie McFadden, jailed last week is the latest addition to the deviant database. 

The 54-year-old repeatedly raped and physically abused his cousin over a 10 year period and was handed an 11 year sentence for his reign of terror.

McFadden from Moyola Drive in the Shantallow area of Derry, admitted sexually and physically abusing Martina Johnson between 1975 and 1985.

She was raped throughout four years within the ten year period. She was aged six when the sexual abuse started.

Ms Johnston has waived her right to anonymity to expose McFadden’s crimes.

“He ripped my life apart,” she said.

“The sentence will never bring back my life but I’m just glad he is off the streets. I can start my life properly now with my family.”

Fellow Derryman Robert Ferris is also featured. The 52-year-old is awaiting sentence after admitting making indecent and is due to be sentenced next month.

In December Belfast man Russell James Whiteside was jailed for two and a half years for downloading more than 1,000 images and five hours of film clips of children being sexually abused.

The 25-year-old wept in the dock as it was revealed how he shared the photos and movies with other internet pervs. He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

He was also banned from having pornographic material and from owning any device which has internet access.

On occasions Whiteside, the son of a policeman and from the Belmont Church Road in east Belfast, sat in the dock wiping tears from his eyes as it was revealed that a planned wedding was called off after he was caught red-handed downloading the sickening images. He was described as a thrill-seeking addict to porn.

One of Northern Ireland’s best known singing tutors, handed a 10 year sentence for child sex offences also features on the website.

Shamed music man Aubrey McClintock was also formerly a senior member of staff at Armagh City Council.

He has coached generations of young singers but McClintock’s world fell apart in 2007 when he was convicted of child abuse images offences dating back to the 1980s.

The 53-year-old from Armagh initially pleaded not guilty to six counts of indecently assaulting a female child and one count of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.

But a jury found McClintock guilty on all counts.

The music tutor was said to have raised eyebrows after becoming engaged to an 18-year-old when he was in his 30s. 

Described as “arrogant” by those who knew him McClintock had largely continued with his life as normal after his porn conviction, and while he never denied downloading the images, he told members of the local music scene that he hadn’t realised they were of underage children.

Before his disturbing child porn habit was discovered, McClintock had been involved with many high profile events in Armagh including the famous Charles Wood Summer School, held for singers, organists and choir directors.

Oliver Haskett

A former Sinn Féin councillor who admitted abusing her stepdaughter 34 years ago after she was handed a suspended prison sentence for child cruelty and assault.

Briege Meehan, 66, from Elmfield Street in Belfast, was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years.

The victim was her step-daughter Mary Meehan

In court last June, Meehan pleaded guilty to a charge of child cruelty and two of assault. Seven charges of sexual abuse remain on the books but were not proceeded with.

She denies other allegations of neglect and abuse that were not put before the court.

The offences allegedly occurred between July 1979 and October 1980 at a time when she was the girlfriend of Martin Meehan, while he was on remand in prison on IRA kidnapping charges.

Serial sex offender Stuart Townsend went as far as changing his name to escape his sordid past.

The Magherafelt sex pest pleaded guilty to seven separate breaches of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order the order when he appeared in court last year.

A previous court hearing was told Townsend breached the terms of the order by sending text messages to fellow students in Derry’s North West Regional College, where he was studying hospitality.

One student claims to have received up to 400 messages from Townsend who is banned from using or possessing a mobile phone.

The 20-year-old, who was jailed in November 2010 for sending sexually explicit text messages to teenage boys, had been attempting to organise a charity night which he claimed was in aid of the NSPCC.

Almost 350 sex offenders in the Republic also featured on the website.

Among those featured is ‘Black’ Simon Murphy. 

Last week the Sunday World revealed how the 59-year-old serial child abuser is working behind the bar of his wife’s pub in Co. Wexford, having served a lengthy jail sentence for sexually abusing four young girls.

The re-emergence of the sick paedophile has led to locals boycotting The Hollow bar and seafood restaurant in Ramsgrange village near the famous Hook Head.

Murphy abused victims, including his own sister, for 25 years and he is regarded as a very dangerous individual who remains a threat to women everywhere. 

The father-of-four admitted to 42 counts of sexually abusing four girls, some for over a period of 25 years. His own sister had to flee the country after being shunned by her family for speaking out against what Murphy was doing to her. 

Hundreds of other Irish sex offenders feature, including 61-year-old Oliver Haskett from Co. Clare who avoided a prison sentence after admitting to abusing his daughter, who waived her right to anonymity.

Republican dissident Gavin Coyle was sentenced to 10 years

PSNI officer Ronan Kerr was murdered

A dissident republican who admitted possessing a large cache of guns and explosives has been sentenced to 10 years.

Gavin Coyle (36) from Omagh, Co Tyrone, was arrested in 2011 when detectives investigating the murder of newly qualified policeman Ronan Kerr discovered the arms dump in a lock-up garage in the Tyrone town of Coalisland.

Items seized included semtex plastic explosive; four AK47 assault rifles, ammunition and magazines; a booster for an RPG rocket; three bomb timer units; a number of electronic incendiary devices; components of an improvised PRIG grenade; explosive powder and detonating cord.

Last year, Coyle, from Culmore Park, pleaded guilty to possession of explosives and firearms with intent to endanger life and membership of a proscribed organisation, namely the group that styles itself as the "new IRA".

Passing sentence at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Corinne Philpott said half of the 10-year term would be spent behind bars and the remainder on licence.

Coyle, dressed in a grey polo shirt and jeans, showed no emotion in the dock as the sentence was handed down.

Constable Kerr (25) was killed in April 2011 when a booby trap bomb exploded under his car outside his home in Omagh.

No-one has been convicted in connection with the attack, which was claimed by members of the new IRA.

As a Catholic and GAA enthusiast, Mr Kerr was apparently targeted as part of the dissident strategy to scare people from a nationalist background away from joining the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Detectives investigating their colleague's death have widened the probe to include 16 other crimes blamed on gangs belonging to the dissident group, with the discovery of the Coalisland arms dump considered a significant element of the inquiry.

It was uncovered within days of the police officer's murder.

Coyle was forensically linked to the weapons store by footprint analysis.

(Press Association)

Ian Paisley TV interview

John William Nixon is seen in long black coat

Firebrand preacher and DUP founder Ian Paisley modelled his career on a hardline unionist politician who had previously led a secret life as a loyalist killer.

And in an explosive documentary broadcast on BBC TV, he speaks of his admiration for him.

The former First Minister and ex-Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, was so taken with the ‘no surrender’ style of Independent Unionist MP John William Nixon, he personally drove him to Stormont every week just to hear him speak.

A native of County Cavan, Nixon had previously been a District Inspector in the Royal Irish Constabulary and after moving north of the border he joined the newly formed RUC retaining his previous rank.

And he later represented the Woodvale district of loyalist west Belfast for over 20 years. 

But it was during his time as the leader of a secret loyalist murder gang that Nixon was widely suspected of masterminding and taking part in a series of sectarian murders of innocent Catholics in Belfast, including the horrific slaughter of the McMahon family in their own home.

In the early hours of March 24 1922, D.I. Nixon and a hand-picked assassination squad recruited from the newly formed Ulster Special Constabulary used a sledge hammer to smash their way into the family home of prominent Catholic publican Owen McMahon at Kinnaird Terrace, off the Antrim Road. It was 1.20am and the family were all in bed asleep.

At gun point, the female residents were ordered into one room and the men into another. 

After rounding up all eight male occupants, who were all in bed asleep, Nixon told the men to say their prayers before ordering the Special Constables to shoot them. Four of the McMahons and a young Donegal man Edward McKinney, who worked as a barman in the family business, died at the scene and another two died later.

Seconds before he was shot, 50 year-old Owen McMahon demanded to know why his family was being subjected to this terror. One of the gunmen told him it was because he was “ a respected Papist.” The youngest member of the McMahon family to die was Thomas who was just 15-years-old.

And Nixon also led his men to the home of another Catholic publican at 28 Cardigan Drive off nearby Cliftonville Road, where they abducted the respected businessman at gunpoint. His lifeless and badly mutilated body was found in a field off Crumlin Road a few day later. 

Nixon’s mass murder campaign was part of a carefully orchestrated unionist plan secretly sanctioned at the highest level to coerce the Catholic community in the north to accept the Partition of Ireland which had been forced upon them 10 months earlier.

Tomorrow night speaking about Nixon on TV in the first of a two part series, Ian Paisley, now 87, tells interviewer Eamon Mallie of his admiration for John William Nixon.

 “I liked a man who was prepared to stand up for what he believed in.He was important in my life because he was the impersonation of the battle and it really was about in Northern Ireland.” said Paisley.

And he added: “And of course it was a stand taken against those that would take away our flag, take away our position on the union.”

Respected historian Eamon Phoenix told the Sunday World: “There is no doubt, Ian Paisley modelled himself at least in part on John William Nixon. He loved listening to him speak at Stormont.”

In the new Northern Ireland state set up after Partition, John William Nixon – who was also a staunch member of the Orange Order – had hoped to continue his police career as a member of the RUC. 

However, his unionist masters believed his murderous past might come back to haunt him and he found his prospects of further promotion blocked at every opportunity.

The McMahon family's bodies after being murdered

Unionist leaders hoped to brush Nixon’s past misdemeanors under the carpet by using contacts to arrange a job for him in Canadian police service. Nixon declined the offer.

Four months after the McMahon family atrocity, Nixon wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs to complain about his lack of promotion. In his letter he wrote: “I tried to do my best to defeat the conspiracy against Ulster.”

Sir James Craig, the new Northern Ireland Prime Minister became aware of the situation and made inquiries with the Home Affairs Minister, who  told him: “Mr. Nixon wasn’t suitable for a higher command.”

The Minister told Craig that Nixon had become steeped in loyalist extremism and he was prepared to interpret the laws as he saw fit.

Following the murder of another Catholic publican in the Old Park area, which was Nixon’s police district, James Craig moved swiftly to remove him from his post.

He was finally dismissed from the RUC in February 1924 following a speech he gave to an Orange Lodge in Belfast. He went on to carve out a political career as an independent unionist politician. 

It is widely believed the documentary which was filmed late last year will be Ian Paisley’s political and personal swan song as his lengthy and often controversial life draws to its conclusion.

The programme is being seen as a major coup for both the BBC and also for journalist Eamon Mallie who managed to persuade Paisley to do the final interview of his life.

hugh.jordan@nth.sundayworld.com

PSNI badge.jpg

A pensioner has been shot in the chest while he worked in a shed in Northern Ireland.

A masked gunman fired at the 74-year old during an incident in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, last night. He is in a stable condition in hospital, police said.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesman said: "Police are treating this incident as attempted murder."

The shooting happened in the Islandboy Road area shortly before 9pm. Detectives appealed for anybody with information to contact them.

Tattooed UVF boss Darren 'Chink' O'Neill

UVF commander Paul Gray has been told to pay back cash

Ousted terror chief Paul Gray and his side-kick Darren ‘Chink’ O’Neill have stashed a £250,000 fortune in secret bank accounts south of the border.

The disgraced pair, court-martialled and kicked out of the north Antrim UVF this week, have been under investigation by paramilitary bosses following allegations they have been lining their own pockets in a series of money making scams.

The Sunday World understands that disgraced roly poly commander Gray and tattooed O’Neill – pictured here for the first time –  have been ordered to pay the cash back, or face the consequences.

There is anger among UVF members in Ballymena that the pair,  Gray in particular,  have so far escaped any serious sanction for ‘stealing’ the organisation’s money. 

It is understood, however, that the leadership is keen to give them time to come up with proposals to repay the money.

Friends of the disgraced gangsters say they are desperate to avoid having to give back their secret southern stash, and are hoping to strike a deal to repay a much smaller amount.

The pair, pictured here, had been the focus of major investigation for months, as the UVF leadership attempted to unravel a complex web of stolen money and weapons tightly controlled by the chunky terror twins. 

Gray and O’Neill are   believed to have been major players in the lucrative Ballymena drugs market for years.

And the finger of suspicion was also pointed at tubby pair Gray and O’Neill over their close association with drugs dealer and career criminal Noel Simon Johnston.

This latest probe into Paul Gray’s finances started when UVF members from Coleraine discovered £4,000 was missing from Somme Association coffers. And when they asked Gray to account for this, he told them it was none of their business. 

The  matter was referred to the leadership in Belfast who immediately ordered an investigation.

In recent years both Gray and O’Neill have survived several attempts to oust them from the hardline loyalist terror group. Last year, O’Neill temporarily assumed control of the UVF in Ballymena following Gray’s suspension.

But the axe swiftly fell on both their necks last week when they were unceremoniously booted out of the  organisation following a court martial. 

As far as the Shankill based UVF leadership is concerned, the race is now on to find the fortune amassed by Gray and O’Neill and force them to hand it over.

Gray and O’Neill have been ripping off the UVF for some time. Well placed sources last night told the Sunday World that Gray had been running a loan sharking operation and controlled a  number of drug dealers in the area.

A team of senior UVF personnel based on Belfast’s Shankill Road arrived at Gray’s pub in Ballymena last week accompanied by a leading member of the Progressive Unionist Party to tell them they were finished. A shock Gray ordered  customers to leave the bar.

Local UVF members in Ballymena were rounded up and told that if they were prepared to spill the beans on the nefarious activities of Gray and O’Neill, then they would have nothing to fear from the changes being implemented to help clean up the UVF’s image in mid and north Antrim.

However, they were also warned that if they held anything back which later emerged, then they would suffer the consequences.

“A lot of young loyalists in Ballymena are now taking the opportunity to get their own back on Paul Gray,” said one local source.

One associate believed to have shopped his former partner in crime was Ballymena housebreaker xxxxxJames Graham.

They were operating a housebreaking and guns scam which is believed to have netted more than £100,000 in the space of a few months.

Graham targeted householders likely to have cash in their homes. People known to have gun licenses including police officers have also been the target of the highly skilled gang 'employed’ by Gray.

Graham 25, has boasted that he has stolen  more than £200k breaking and entering houses across north Antrim and Ballymena. The homes of people who own and run Chinese takeaways were a favourite target as they often take the night’s takings with them.

On one occasion a mind boggling £50,000 was stolen in a single house raid.

Graham commanded a 10 per cent slice of the haul while the rest was handed to Gray, who in turn was supposed to hand it over to UVF headquarters.  The pair fell out and it is suspected Graham may have blown the whistle on Gray and O’Neill’s racket.

“He knows everything about Gray’s operation; he stole all the money and as far as he was concerned Gray was paying into the Shankill. He knows exactly how much Gray has kept for himself.”

Sources have told us he also stole guns to order and on one occasion personally delivered a dozen handguns and rifles to the UVF on the Shankill. PSNI issue Glock pistols are among the array of guns stolen by the 25-year-old and his gang.

The Sunday World has been told that the UVF leadership also had major concerns over Paul Gray’s close association and friendship with crook Noel Simon Johnston – a convicted drugs dealer and major criminal – who was recently targeted by the Assets Recovery Agency which seized many of his considerable assets.

The Sunday World can reveal how Paul Gray and Darren ‘Chink’ O’Neill secretly stashed tens of thousands of pounds in  Bank of Ireland accounts in the Republic.

However, in recent years the flow of cash to the Shankill began to dry up, causing the UVF leader to rightly assume Gray was using the organisation’s name to feather his own nest.  

Gray and O’Neill were witnessed as recently as last week lodging cash in a Ballymena branch of the Bank of Ireland.

Fifty year-old Gray, is a full cousin of murdered UDA ‘Brigadier’ Jim ‘Doris Day’ Gray. He came to prominence in Ballymena in the late 1990s as a ruthless thug involved in armed robbery and drugs dealing – an activity for which he received a ‘punishment’ beating at the hands of the UVF. 

But as soon as he recovered from his injuries, he joined the UVF and eventually took control of the organisation Ballymena and north Antrim area.

Gray’s trusted buddy, Darren ‘Chink’ O’Neill is unique among UVF men, in that he was never allowed to take part in any military operations for fear that his heavily tattooed body would mean that he could be easily identified.

 He is known for his love of snakes, spiders and lizards and he has appeared on TV programmes with them.

UVF veteran Thomas ‘Tam’ Balmer – who had also previously been dismissed from the organisation – has been reinstated as stand-in UVF Commander in Ballymena as the organisation’s leadership ponders on how best to proceed in the wake of Gray and O’Neill’s departure.

In 1994, Balmer was convicted of shooting his young girlfriend dead during a heaving boozing session. 

Balmer and Siobhan Dickson had been drinking in Ballymena and later went back with friends to Balmer’s home at Crosskeys, where more drink was consumed.

Around 4.00am, Balmer produced a gun from a drawer and pulled the trigger while it was still pointing a the young woman. The bullet hit her on the neck and head and she died at the scene. 

Balmer was sentenced to three years in prison after he was convicted of her manslaughter. The sentence was later reduced to 18 months on appeal.

It’s not the first time Gray has run into trouble with the UVF leadership. Five years ago he was stood down after it emerged he was using UVF money to buy a bar and that he was pocketing money extorted from businesses in the town. 

He is even alleged to have spent £3,000 in stolen money to pay for a boob job for his then girlfriend.

Meagan Green Miss Northern Ireland 2013

Meagan travelled to Indonesia for the Miss World finals

Meagan Green has plans to be a media star when she hands back the Miss Northern Ireland crown. The 24-year-old is mulling over two job offers which could keep her in the limelight.

But with the launch of the 2014 competition next week she’s keeping mum about her future until the important job of finding her successor is over.
The business management student says it’s all thanks to her title that a whole new career has opened up.

Before she first entered the competition in 2012, when she finished as a runner up, the farmer’s daughter was a shy student who was self conscious about her braces.

“I always had my hand in front of my mouth when I smiled. I was really shy and I’d never really travelled anywhere on my own,” says Meagan.
“I’m a different person now. When I came back from Miss World in Indonesia last year and saw my parents at the airport I thought I’m not the same girl I was.”

She has the option of deferring the final year of her degree and believes it would be crazy to turn down a job offer.
“I was always focussed on doing business management but since winning Miss Northern Ireland I’ve done so much media and I realised I loved doing radio and TV, in front or behind the camera.

“Now I’ve got a couple of options which are nothing to do with business, maybe presenting in TV or radio. I was approached by quite a lot of people when I was at Miss World as well, and I’m just excited that a couple more doors have opened for me.”

Heats for the Miss Northern Ireland contest start on Thursday February 27 at 21 Social, Belfast and continue until Sunday April 27.

HOW TO ENTER: Visit the website www.missnorthernireland.co.uk and download entry form

Or contact Alison Clarke on 02890 809809