Cops Blame UVF For Loyalist Murder

As police in Northern Ireland continued to investigate what has just been described as a "public execution" on Belfast's Shankill Road - the victim - former loyalist prisoner Bobby Moffett has been buried.

Hundreds of people turned out for the funeral as police confirmed that the way the 43-year-old was gunned down in broad daylight last Friday was most likely to be the work of the illegal loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

They said today that while a number of arrests have been made, no one has yet been charged and again appealed for eyewitnesses to come forward.

Officers have said they believe the killers came out of Conway Street onto the main Shankill Road and have appealed for information about two vehicles - a silver blue Skoda Octavia and a light blue Audi A4 - which they believe may have been used by the gunmen.

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John McVea said two masked gunmen wearing dark clothing and balaclavas had shot Mr Moffett three times.

"This was a very public murder - I believe the time and the location was at the choosing of the gunmen," he said.

"This leads me to describe the murder as a public execution.

"I believe that the people that have organised and conducted this murder have strong links to the Shankill UVF."

Today, a funeral service was held at the home of Mr Moffett's mother and family members then followed the funeral cortege which moved from the home towards the nearby Shankill Road and on to Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey.

The large turnout came despite claims the UVF had tried to intimidate people and sent warnings not to attend the funeral.

See: Purvis Quits Party Over 'UVF Link'

(BMcC/GK)