Police in Scotland are treating the death of exiled UDA member Sam 'Skelly' McCrory as "unexplained".
The 57-year-old is believed to have died after suffering a fall close to his home in the Scottish town of Ayr at around 5.45pm on Sunday.
Police say he was taken to hospital but died a short time later.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman last night said:"The death is currently being treated as unexplained, however there does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances at this stage, and enquiries are continuing.
"A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal."
McCrory was a close ally of former UDA 'C' Company boss Johnny Adair.
The pair fled west Belfast in the aftermath of a bitter loyalist feud that resulted in the 2003 murder of South East Antrim UDA commander John Gregg.
After travelling to the west of Scotland, McCrory settled in Ayr with Adair putting down roots in nearby Troon.
The childhood friends were part of a skinhead band during their youth and later joined the UDA.
While Adair rose to lead the group's notorious 'C' Company in the Shankill Road area McCrory gained a reputation for violence.
He has been linked to the murder of pensioner Francisco Notarantonio in 1987 and in 1992 he was part of a UDA hit squad intercepted as they made their way to kill senior republicans Brian Gillen and Martin Lynch in Belfast.
He later became a senior UDA figure in the H Blocks and as the peace process unfolded, he was among a group of loyalists who held talks with then secretary of state Mo Mowlam.
McCrory continued to side with his friend Adair during several years of loyalist feuds around two decades ago and the friends later fled the north.
After travelling to Scotland he became a gay rights activist and regularly attended Pride parades throughout Britain.
During their years of exile, both and McCrory and Adair often courted the limelight and took part in an episode of Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men series.
In 2015 three men were convicted in Scotland of plotting to kill McCrory and Adair.
In 2019 he admitted exposing himself in public before launching into a homophobic tirade in Ayrshire, Scotland.
A court heard that McCrory acted in an aggressive manner, shouting, swearing and making rude remarks during the incident.
The unexpected death of the former loyalist has shocked close family and friends with several last night posting tributes on social media.
