A senior loyalist was last night being questioned about the murder of Belfast solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane. Police arrested Mr William "Mo" Courtney at his home in the Glencairn Estate in north Belfast yesterday.
A member of the UDA's ruling body, the Inner Council, Mr Courtney (39) is being held at Lisburn Police Station, Co Antrim. He is being questioned by officers from the inquiry team headed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens.
Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his wife and family when gunmen burst into their north Belfast home 13 years ago.
Republicans have long claimed there was collusion between the UDA and the security forces on the killing.
The British government is resisting widespread international pressure for an independent public judicial inquiry into the murder. No one has been convicted of the killing. Friends of Mr Courtney claimed his arrest was part of a deliberate campaign of victimisation by the State.
Mr John White, who provides the UDA with political analysis, said loyalists were angry. "It's hypocritical when the government is considering giving amnesties to republicans yet is relentlessly pursuing loyalists," he said.
It is the first arrest by the Stevens team since it took another loyalist, Mr Ken Barrett, into protective custody two months ago. Mr Barrett, who was questioned about the Finucane killing but was released without charge, is living in a safe location in Britain. His life is understood to be in danger from the UDA.