Five men warned they are on loyalist `hit list' after Jameson murder

Five people, including the former LVF arms intermediary, Pastor Kenny McClinton, have been warned by the RUC that they are on…

Five people, including the former LVF arms intermediary, Pastor Kenny McClinton, have been warned by the RUC that they are on a loyalist "hit list".

The list was drawn up by loyalist paramilitaries following the murder of the alleged UVF commander, Mr Richard Jameson, who was shot dead at his home near Portadown last week.

Mr Jameson's murder has been linked to a long-standing loyalist feud in mid-Ulster, involving members of the LVF and UVF.

Yesterday Pastor McClinton confirmed that he had been visited by police, who warned him that he was one of five names on a murder list.

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Mr McClinton is taking the threat seriously and said: "I am keeping my head well down at the moment."

Another name on the list is believed to be that of Mark Fulton, a former close associate of the murdered LVF leader, Billy Wright. Fulton is currently serving a four-year prison sentence in Maghaberry jail for possession of firearms.

Two Belfast brothers, known to be friendly with the UDA boss Johnny Adair, have also been targeted. The final name is that of another seasoned Portadown loyalist who has been arrested and questioned a number of times in connection with serious crime in the Co Armagh area.

The existence of the hit list has heightened fears that the UVF is intent on carrying out revenge attacks against the LVF in many areas of the North.

Meanwhile, the dissident loyalist group the Orange Volunteers has said it is aware of the existence of a UVF death list. The Orange Volunteers condemned the death threats but at the same time announced it would be supporting the LVF in any mid-Ulster feud.

The possible involvement of the Orange Volunteers in the mid-Ulster situation will be of major concern to the North's security forces.

It was generally believed that the Orange Volunteers had been effectively neutered by the RUC following a series of successful operations in Co Antrim shortly before Christmas.

The Jameson family has called on the Loyalist Volunteer Force to disband. Fears of retaliation are growing since Mr Jameson's brothers obliterated LVF murals on Saturday.

Armed with buckets of paint, rollers and brushes, Bobby, Johnny, David and Stuart Jameson, together with about 20 others, took to the walls of loyalist estates in the town, in an attempt to cleanse the area of LVF murals.

The men met little resistance while they daubed grey paint over the letters "LVF" on tribute murals to the organisation's murdered leader, Billy Wright.

Mr Bobby Jameson said: "The LVF isn't a loyalist organisation, it's a drug organisation, creating misery in Portadown. It must be stopped, and this is a visible way of doing it."

The brothers, who have vowed to paint out the lettering if it reappears, said: "We will continue to fight this evil in Portadown, and we ask every town in Northern Ireland to follow our example."

However, within a matter of hours, the letters "LVF" were once again emblazoned in bright red paint under the marred murals.

Tension remains high in Portadown, and although police have refused to speculate as to who was responsible for Mr Jameson's killing, several people have been questioned in connection with the shooting.

Bars and clubs were virtually empty at the weekend, scenes reminiscent of the Drumcree crisis.