THE FATHER of murdered loyalist leader Billy Wright has died aged 78. David Wright alleged that security forces and the prison service colluded in his son’s murder.
Last year, an inquiry into the death of the Loyalist Volunteer Force chief – who was shot dead by republicans in the Maze prison in 1997 – found there was no collusion.
Mr Wright branded the report a “total whitewash and a failure to get to the truth”. He was buried yesterday at Killicomaine Baptist Church in Portadown, Co Armagh.
Mr Wright met chief constables and Northern secretaries during his battle for a public inquiry into how the gunmen, fellow inmates, were able to carry out the murder.
His son was the most notorious loyalist paramilitary since the Shankill Butchers in the 1970s. He became the UVF’s Mid-Ulster commander and is thought to have ordered or participated in around 20 killings, most of which were blatantly sectarian. His name became synonymous with the Drumcree protests in Portadown.
On December 27th, 1997, he was led out to a van for a visit with his girlfriend but was shot dead by three INLA men. His father was convinced he was set up . – (PA)