Loyalist killer Stone freed

Milltown cemetery killer Michael Stone today walked free from jail as part of the Ulster peace deal.

Milltown cemetery killer Michael Stone today walked free from jail as part of the Ulster peace deal.

Stone, 44, was greeted by around 50 supporters when he emerged from the turnstiles at the Maze Prison near Lisburn, Co Antrim.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters commander, who killed six people including three at an IRA funeral in 1988, said nothing as he stepped out to be met by a bank of press and camera crews and was cheered by supporters.

Frankie Gallagher, a project worker with an Ulster Defence Association prisoner resettlement group, said: "Michael along with the rest of the loyalist prisoners and ex-prisoners continue to support the present peace process."

Stone was ushered into a waiting people carrier and driven away at speed.

He was due to address a press conference later.