LOYALIST paramilitary turned supergrass Gary Haggarty is to appear in Belfast Crown Court this morning to face more than 200 charges, including five counts of murder.
The charges, which include murder, attempted murder, possession of firearms and directing terrorism and are linked to UVF activity spanning a16-year period in the 1990s and 2000s.
The 44-year-old loyalist was due to be arraigned in December last year but the case postponed to allow further consideration to the huge volume of material in the case.
Haggarty was interviewed 1,100 times over a period of four years, producing 12,000 pages of testimony.
The adjournment followed on from a previous court challenge when his legal team questioned the "propriety" of prosecuting a man they say worked as a state agent, claiming in some cases he was acting under the direction of his handlers.
Haggarty, whose address is listed as c/o the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has not been required to appear during previous hearings but is expected to be presented today amid a heavy police presence, to enter his plea to the charges.
