THE son of one of loyalist serial killer Gary Haggarty's five victims has claimed the murderer should face jail and never "see daylight".
Ciaran Fox was among the relatives of Haggarty's victims who attended Belfast Crown Court yesterday to hear the killer finally plead guilty to the murders and a litany of other terrorist crimes.
Waiting outside court with their solicitor Padraig O'Muirigh, some relatives wept after Haggarty was finally been brought to justice.
Mr Fox was just 18 when his dad Eamon was gunned down with workmate Gary Convie as they ate lunch in a car by a building site at North Queen Street in north Belfast on May 17, 1994.
Speaking outside court, Mr Fox expressed his anger that Haggarty had committed murders while he was a paid police informer.
"The police knew what was going to happen and took no action to stop it," he said.
"Basically, he was just a hitman - he killed at will. Police knew my father and Gary Convie were both going to be murdered and they sat back and let it happen. And that's hard to swallow."
He also cast doubt on whether Haggarty would ever end up being a 'supergrass' and become a prosecution witness.
"This goes right to the top. There are too many people going to get their hands burnt," he said.
"His hands are deep in blood along with people he's going to expose and, because of who he's going to expose, I think it's not going to finish."
Mr Fox said he found it difficult to accept that Haggarty would receive a reduced sentence.
"He was bold as brass … It was water off a duck's back," he said. "That's the hard part, just knowing he is going to walk a free man".
"The charges he is charged with, in an ideal world, that man shouldn't see daylight."
Detective Superintendent Richard Campbell, from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch, said police had been investigating serious UVF crimes in north Belfast since 2010.
"Today's court proceedings are a milestone for the victims, their families and also for the police investigation," he said in a statement.
He said the police's thoughts were with the victims and their loved ones.
"It has been a very long, arduous and painful process for these families and I hope today's proceedings have made a significant contribution to the process of ultimately bringing closure to all the families of the victims of Mount Vernon UVF during that time," he said.
"The PSNI remains committed to moving forward and working with the PPS (Public Prosecution Service) in relation to the next stages of the investigation into Mount Vernon UVF and others who were involved with committing these offences.
"My detectives have worked hard over the last seven years to bring justice. I understand the frustrations of the families over the length of time this has taken but I have always said that it was important to take the time to get it right,'' he added.
