Loyalist questioned over Nelson murder

Police investigating the murder of Rosemary Nelson, the human rights lawyer, were last night questioning a senior loyalist arrested in Northern Ireland. The LVF are blamed for the murder of Mrs Nelson.

The suspect was detained at his home in Portadown, Co Armagh. A 60-year-old man who was arrested by detectives in the Nelson case on 29 November near Portadown has been charged with the possession of a firearm and remanded in custody. Two pistols with ammunition were recovered, said police. Mrs Nelson, 40, died in a car booby-trap bomb in Lurgan, Co Armagh, in 1999. The loyalist paramilitary group the Red Hand Defenders admitted the attack.

The LVF have used the Red Hand Defenders as a cover name for murders they committed. It is also linked to drug-dealing and racketeering.

Founded by Wright, a gunman from Portadown, the LVF was established as a separate force in 1996. There have been repeated calls for a public inquiry into questions of official collusion surrounding the Nelson murder.