PM Told Wright Had to be Be 'Dealt With': Robinson

There were further shocks at the ongoing Inquiry into the murder of LVF terror leader, Billy Wright today.

Evidence given in court by NI Assembly Finance Minister Peter Robinson was that the victim, Billy Wright, had said the late PUP leader David Ervine told Tony Blair - then Prime Minister - that he (Wright) had to be "dealt with".

Billy Wright's dad, David Wright said he also believed his son was a "political roadblock" and the decision had been taken to remove him.

The DUP's Deputy Leader appeared before the inquiry in Banbridge to give evidence and said Wright came to see him at his constituency office in the summer of 1996 to claim his name had come up in a July meeting at Downing Street involving two PUP members and two members of the UDA-aligned Ulster Democratic Party (UDP).

"He indicated that he had been informed by someone who was present at the meeting that reference was made to the Prime Minister about the difficulties he was causing and something needed to be done about it. He needed to be dealt with," Mr Robinson said.

Shortly after the Downing Street meeting, the Combined Loyalist Military Command, encompassing the UVF and UDA, threatened Wright with "summary justice" if he did not leave Northern Ireland immediately.

At the time, the murder of Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick - which was blamed on Wright and his LVF associates - had threatened to disrupt the then-struggling peace process.

Wright was subsequently arrested in January 1997 and convicted of making threats to a Portadown woman in March that year.

While serving his eight-year sentence, Wright was shot dead in the top security Maze Prison by INLA inmates. The inquiry is examining allegations of collusion in the murder.

Mr Robinson said that Wright pleased innocence: "It was the first time he admitted to me that he had done many things in his life that he should not have, but this was not one of them."

Mr Robinson said Wright claimed at that stage he had information that republicans were trying to kill him in the prison.

The inquiry later heard that Wright was told David Ervine was the loyalist politician who had raised concerns about the LVF leader with Tony Blair in Downing Street during the July 22, 1996 meeting.

Mr Robinson told the inquiry that from his conversation with Wright he "didn't get the impression that it was a legal exercise being sought".

The DUP deputy leader told the inquiry that he had been sent a police file on Wright's murder several weeks before he obtained a June 2003 debate in Parliament about Wright's death.

He told the inquiry that he shredded the file, "as I do with all confidential files after I have taken what I need from them".

(BMcC)