Four accused of plot to kill Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/16/four-accused-plot-kill-johnny-adair

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Four men have appeared in court in Glasgow charged with plotting to kill two prominent former members of the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association.

The four are accused of targeting Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair and his close friend Sam "Skelly" McCrory, who live in exile in Scotland having been expelled from Northern Ireland following a violent UDA power struggle almost 10 years ago.

Anton Duffy, 38, Martin Hughes, 35, Paul Sands, 31, and John Gorman, 57, deny plotting to kill Adair and McCrory between August 2010 and October last year.

They also deny a charge of joining others with the "intention of committing acts of terrorism", and Duffy and Gorman deny plotting to kill a former governor of Barlinnie prison in Glasgow with a car bomb.

A further preliminary hearing will take place on 3 November.

McCrory re-emerged into the public eye this year when he called on Ulster loyalists and Orangemen to abandon plans for a pro-union rally in Edinburgh. The Orange Order in Scotland and Ireland ignored his appeal and went ahead with their march.