'Doris Day' boss dies in loyalist feud

Jim Gray (second right), seen here at the funeral of UDA leader John Gregg, himself became the victim of a factional feud. Picture / Reuters

BELFAST - One of Belfast's most senior and most flamboyant loyalist paramilitary figures has been shot dead as part of an apparent internal feud.

Jim Gray, until recently the east Belfast brigadier of the Ulster Defence Association, the largest loyalist group in Northern Ireland, was shot twice in the chest by men who burst into his mother's home.

He had answered a knock at the door of the house in Clarawood estate, a loyalist area.

Gray, 47, had been released on bail on September 15 after spending months in prison on charges of money-laundering and possession of the proceeds of crime.

Six Protestants have been killed in loyalist feuding this year, chiefly between the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force.

But the Gray killing is most likely to have resulted from tensions within the UDA. Since his arrest, former colleagues have been "bad-mouthing" him in public, leading to speculation that his life was at risk.

The Crown opposed granting bail to him, saying that he was under threat from paramilitaries and warning his release could end in violence.

Gray, whose nickname was "Doris Day" for his flamboyant dress sense and dyed hair, was heavily involved with drugs, both as a cocaine user and large-scale dealer.

He was reputed to have made large amounts of money from drugs and protection racketeering and extortion. When arrested in April of this year, he had almost £300,000 ($760,000) in cash and a banker's draft for £10,000. Gray is also believed to have owned a series of properties in Belfast and Spain.

A number of senior UDA figures have been jailed or lost their positions in recent years as the organisation has gone through turmoil.

Serious internal trouble was stirred up by its one-time leader Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, including the murder of another UDA brigadier, John Gregg. Adair has since moved to Bolton in northwest England, where he has repeatedly been in trouble with the law.

The Gray killing happened hours after Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain urged loyalist paramilitary groups to end their violence and follow the example of the IRA in decommissioning their weapons. Loyalist violence has been evident throughout this year, with serious riots breaking out in several parts of Belfast in recent weeks, as well as campaigns of intimidation in the city and in County Antrim.

East Belfast Democratic Unionist MP Peter Robinson condemned the latest killing.

"Those who take the law into their own hands have nothing to contribute to society," he said.

"There is no excuse for acting as judge, jury and executioner."

As the recent rioting indicated, the extreme Protestant groups are in a militant frame of mind. Gray was expelled from the leadership of the UDA this year, and police will now be watching to see whether his killing is followed by a purge of those who were close to him.

The authorities have said that millions of pounds has been spent on police overtime in an attempt to quell UVF-LVF feuding, and in response to the rioting.

- INDEPENDENT