Man questioned on murder as new loyalist feud starts

A man was still being questioned last night about the murder of a paramilitary boss that has ignited a new feud among rival loyalists…

A man was still being questioned last night about the murder of a paramilitary boss that has ignited a new feud among rival loyalists.

Hours after two men were injured, one critically, during clashes between rival factions in which shots were fired, detectives investigating the killing of Jim Johnston arrested the man.

Johnston (45), a builder who had links with the Red Hand Commando, was shot outside his £500,000 home in the Co Down village of Crawfordsburn on Thursday.

Police believe he may have been killed in the fallout over a drugs row and the murder of Loyalist Volunteer Force member Stephen Warnock in Newtownards last September.

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As tensions heightened in Belfast, fighting broke out overnight between the two sides believed to be involved in the dispute.

At least 100 people were involved in the disturbances outside the Bunch of Grapes pub on the Castlereagh Road, in the east of the city.

One man was taken to hospital with serious head injuries, and was yesterday still in a critical condition, police said. Another was said to be stable. - (PA)