Stormont bomb was art says Stone

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Loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone has denied trying to kill the Sinn Fein leadership.

He said the day he tried to force his way into Stormont was simply "an act of performance art".

The 53-year-old burst into Parliament Buildings allegedly carrying explosives and a replica gun in November 2006.

Stone faces 14 charges, all of which he denies, including trying to kill Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

He said his actions were intended to be a "comic parody" of himself and he had no intention of harming anyone.

Stone was speaking at Belfast Crown Court where he began giving evidence in his trial.

Rather than trying to wreck the peace process, Stone said he had been trying to help the peace process by staging an art-based protest at the political deadlock that existed at the time.