A Special Branch informer at the heart of the row between the North's chief constable and the Police Ombudsman has had his application for a gun licence refused. This is despite a claim that he has received death threats.
Several bullets have been sent to the man who is known only under the alias "Kevin Fulton". His claims that he told Special Branch of an upcoming bomb attack three days before the Omagh bombing, lead to an Ombudsman's inquiry.
Today, his request to carry a gun to protect himself was rejected at the High Court in Belfast. He sought a judicial review of Sir Ronnie Flanagan's refusal to grant him a firearm licence.
But Mr Justice Brian Kerr rejected the application as premature on the grounds that a final decision had not yet been taken by the Chief Constable.
The application was heard under the pseudonym X, with the agreement of the judge, to prevent the real name of "Kevin Fulton" becoming known.
The informer claimed in newspapers that he passed on information to Special Branch three days before the Omagh bombing, that dissident republicans were making a bomb in the Republic which was to be transported to Northern Ireland.
His information did not specify Omagh as the target but led to the inquiry by Ombudsman Mrs Nuala O'Loan into police handling of the atrocity.
PA