‘If police could stop Al Capone a century ago, they can stop SEA UDA today’ – Sammy Wilson hits out as inquest reveals tragic last days of Carrick loyalist Mark Gourley

The East Antrim DUP MP said that “every arm of the state” must be brought to bear on the renegade wing of the group, whose members have just been found responsible for the long-unsolved murder of Mark Gourley.

Mr Wilson was speaking in the wake of an inquest into the death of Mr Gourley – nicknamed ‘Judge’ – who vanished without a trace 12 years ago.

Gourley had been a UDA member himself, but later descended into a drug-fuelled spiral of insanity; for instance, in the lead-up to his kidnap, he had been seen walking around barefoot and kept talking to an uncle who wasn’t there.

His body has never been found.

Rumours have circulated for years in his hometown of Carrickfergus, with some people speculating he had been buried in Woodburn Forest.

Even though there was no corpse the inquest into his death still went ahead, and the findings – received by the News Letter late last week – state that he was killed by paramilitaries, and his body dumped at sea.

Mr Wilson voiced frustration that the gang responsible is still active and that its members “seem to be exempt from police action”, adding that this “shouldn’t be allowed to continue”.

‘DEAL WITH THIS GANG OR EXPECT MORE VICTIMS’:

Whilst most inquest findings are quite simple and short, setting out only the bare basics of an individual’s death, the findings in the Gourley case run to a full eight pages, and reveal a world of danger, dope, and despair in which the murder victim had existed.

The South East Antrim UDA’s powerbase stretches from north Belfast to Larne, with some members in Newtownards too.

Due to an internal feud, this wing of the UDA has long been seen as separate from the main body of the organisation, headquartered in south Belfast.

Despite police efforts (which have included help from the National Crime Agency, the UK version of the FBI) the faction remains active, and has killed several people in recent years.

Most recently members beat to death Glenn Quinn, a terminally-ill 47-year-old with no known paramilitary involvement, in his Carrick home in January 2020.

Mr Wilson – who has represented East Antrim in Parliament for 16 years – said it is “well-known of course that paramilitary groups have been involved in drug-dealing and loan-sharking”, meting out beatings to anyone who “falls foul” of the organisation.

“The people who are most likely to be targeted by these individuals are vulnerable,” he said.

“Every arm of the state must be used to rid society of such people, whether that’s surveillance, going into detail into their means of support and how they justify their (in many cases) expensive living – whatever means have to be used.

“Otherwise we expect more victims like those.”