Former UVF Man Robert Stewart Admits Being Alcoholic

A key witness in a major paramilitary trial in Belfast has admitted being an alcoholic and drug user who fled NI with money stolen from his parents.









A defendant wears a mask to conceal his identity as he arrives at court in Belfast ahead of the trial on Tuesday.

Robert Stewart, 37, is giving evidence against alleged former Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) commander Mark Haddock and 13 other defendants.

It is the largest 'supergrass' trial for 25 years in Northern Ireland.

Fourteen men face 97 charges ranging from murder to hijacking. They deny the charges.

Former UVF man Mr Stewart is testifying for a second day.

He, along with his brother David, has turned state's evidence in return for a reduced sentence in pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the murder of leading UDA man Tommy English on Halloween night in 2000.

On Wednesday, he was cross-examined by Haddock's lawyer Frank O'Donoghue QC.

He asked him why he was unable to recall specific details about the day in July 2008 when he and his brother fled the north Belfast estate they lived in.

Mr Stewart blamed his consumption of vodka that day and went on to add: "I have been an alcoholic all my life."

He then confessed to taking ecstasy tablets, cocaine, cannabis, LSD, glue and prescription valium in the past.

"The last few years I would have cut down a lot, but there were times I took a lot of drugs and alcohol," he said.

Mr Stewart told the lawyer that he and his brother fled to Scotland, then England before returning to Northern Ireland to spend a week in the seaside resort of Portrush before finally handing themselves in.

He said they had funded the travel with £2,000 his brother stole from his parents' house, a theft he described as "terrible".

Mr Stewart has claimed Haddock planned and directed the murder of Mr English.

Mr O'Donoghue asked the witness if had he difficulty with his memory.

"Some parts," he replied. "Everybody has difficulty at some times. Large events I don't have any difficulty with."

Mr O'Donoghue accused Mr Stewart of fabricating his evidence that his client had plotted the shooting in a flat in the hours before the attack.

"I want to suggest to you that you have made that up, that's a cock and bull story and under no circumstances was Mr Haddock ever there (in the flat)," he said.

"Then I would say Mr Haddock is lying," Mr Stewart replied.









An artist's impression of the defendants and prison officers in the dock.

Earlier, he gave evidence about an assault he said a number of the defendants took part in.

He said a former neighbour in the New Mossley estate was beaten by seven of the accused after getting into a row over loud music and criticism of the UVF.

Also in the morning, there was a request from one of the defence teams for Mr Justice Gillen to recuse himself and stand down as judge. He did not do so.

The trial began on Tuesday amid high security inside and outside the court.

Thirteen defendants are in the dock - Haddock has been separated, sitting outside the dock surrounded by prison officers.

The accused

* Mark Haddock (42), Maghaberry Prison
* David Miller (39), Upritchard Court, Bangor
* John Bond (44), Essex Court, Carrickfergus
* Darren Stuart Moore (41), Mount Vernon Park, Belfast
* Alexander Thomas Wood (35), Milewater Way, Newtownabbey
* Jason Loughlin (35), Bryson Court, Newtownabbey
* Ronald Trevor Bowe (34), Ross House, Belfast
* Samuel Jason Higgins (35), The Meadow, Antrim
* Neil Pollock (35), Fortwilliam Gardens, Belfast
* David Samuel McCrum (32), Beechgrove Drive, Newtownabbey
* William Hinds (46), Ballycraigy Gardens, Newtownabbey
* Mark Thompson (36), Ballyvesey Green, Newtownabbey
* David Smart (37), Milewater Close, Newtownabbey
* Phillip Laffin (33), Bridge Street, Antrim

Two of his co-accused, Darren Moore and Ronald Bowe, were previously charged with trying to murder Haddock in 2006, but charges were dropped when he refused to give evidence.

Both the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and UDA (Ulster Defence Association) are loyalist paramilitary groups responsible for the murder of hundreds of people during the troubles.

The 14 defendants are being represented by 24 barristers and eight firms of solicitors and the trial is expected to last for 11 weeks.

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Police walk into the front of Belfast Court on September 6, 2011, ahead of the trial of 14 alleged paramilitary members.

Fourteen alleged members of the pro-British or loyalist paramilitary group known as the Ulster Volunteer Force are accused of a total of 97 offenses. The men range in age from 32 to 46.

Nine defendants are charged with murder in the October 2000 slaying of rival paramilitary leader Tommy English. The 40-year-old Ulster Defence Association member was gunned down in front of his wife and young children on Halloween night during a bloody feud between the rival groups.

The Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association were responsible for the killings of hundreds of people during the conflict between pro-British and pro-Irish forces in Northern Ireland over a 30-year period known as the Troubles. Most of their victims were Catholic civilians. The groups have remained active since the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998.

Two brothers -- David and Robert Stewart -- are giving evidence against their alleged former colleagues in the Ulster Volunteer Force. The Stewarts admitted to their part in English's killing and agreed to testify to get a reduced sentence.

One of the accused is Mark Haddock, 42, named as a police agent in a 2007 report on the Ulster Volunteer Force by former Northern Ireland police ombudsman Nuala O'Loan. O'Loan said an Ulster Volunteer Force gang based in the Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast had been involved in up to 15 murders and that the Northern Ireland police special branch unit had allowed informers within the Mount Vernon group to act with impunity.

At trial, Haddock is sitting separately from the 13 other defendants, surrounded by prison officers for his own safety. Two of his co-defendants were previously charged with trying to kill Haddock in 2006, but murder charges were dropped when he refused to give evidence. A prosecutor opened the case Tuesday, saying Haddock had ordered English's murder.

Robert Stewart, 37, then started testifying Tuesday. He also said Haddock ordered the killing and told the gunman to try to avoid shooting the rest of English's family.

Supporters of the accused men staged a protest outside the court against the use of "supergrasses," or slang for informers. The term was first used in Northern Ireland in the 1980s when a number of terrorist suspects were convicted on the evidence of former comrades.

The trial is being held under 2005 legislation introduced by the United Kingdom -- the Serious Organized Crime and Police Act -- which allows a suspect to enter a written agreement to give evidence against other alleged criminals.

Victims' relatives are being given protection from supporters of the Ulster Volunteer Force attending the trial at Laganside courts in Belfast. Families are able to watch proceedings by video link in a separate, secure venue. Large numbers of police officers are inside and outside the court complex.

The trial could last three months and will be one of the most expensive ever in Northern Ireland. Police fear there could be unrest in Protestant/loyalist districts as the trial progresses.