Three north Belfast loyalists who fled to England last month are to be allowed to stay there even though they are in breach of bail conditions.
In the High Court yesterday Mr Justice Weatherup dismissed a crown application to revoke the bail granted to Alan McClean and Gary MacKenzie and also granted a variation application by convicted murderer William Mullan.
McClean (19), Westland Drive, and MacKenzie (34), Claire Heights, were charged after police raided the Alexandra Bar in March during a rehearsal for a so-called show of strength by the UDA/UFF.
Mullan, also Westland Drive, had been granted bail at a court hearing in which he challenged the revocation of his licence by the Life Sentence Review body.
The trio were forced to flee after a feud erupted within the UDA following the expulsion of the leaders of a faction to which they were aligned.
Crown lawyer Amanda Brady said McClean and MacKenzie were in breach of conditions to live at addresses in Northern Ireland and to report to the PSNI.
"The crown wishes their bail to be revoked and that they should be placed in Maghaberry Prison," she said.
"If they're in fear of their lives they should be arrested."
Another crown lawyer said they were not opposed to Mullan's application to abide by his bail conditions while living in England.
Defence counsel Charles MacCreanor said the breaches were accepted but the men had fled for their own safety and on their arrival in England they had gone to police and explained the position.
Mr Justice Weatherup said he was acceding to Mullan's application; the issue regarding McClean and MacKenzie was whether they should be returned to Northern Ireland and placed in custody or remain in England where they had sought refuge.
He said he was not persuaded of the need for revoking bail. "The police here are satisfied with their location in England and it seems to me that they should be allowed to live in England and be monitored by the police there," he added.