News

TUV poll agent served jail term for AK47 loyalist stunt

THE election agent for a TUV Westminster candidate has a conviction for operating an armed loyalist roadblock.

Gary McDonald, pictured, the election agent for Mid-

Ulster hopeful Gareth Ferguson, spent a year in jail for his role in a roadblock involving masked men in Portglenone, Co Antrim on July 12 2003.

McDonald, of Innishrush Road in the village, admitted using a deactivated AK47 assault rifle to stop motorists.

Thomas O'Hara and his son Thomas jnr, from Cullybackey, were travelling through Portglenone separately when they were stopped. A gun was put to Mr O'Hara snr's head and the trigger pulled.

Yesterday Thomas O'Hara jnr said what had happened was "still raw" and it was a case of "double standards".

"I think it's a downright dis-grace that the TUV say they are standing up for victims. But it seems that if you're Catholic, you don't matter," he said.

At their trial, McDonald and two others claimed they were protecting an Orange arch.

They were each given three-year suspended jail terms in October 2005. The sentences sparked outrage among nationalist politicians.

However, in 2006 the Appeal Court deemed those sentences too lenient and imposed a two-year custodial term on each defendant. They spent a year in jail, allowing for 50 percent remission.

The Irish News did not receive a response to requests for comment from either Gareth Ferguson or the TUV.

? Story in full ? P5