A former member of the notorious Shankill Butchers gang has been spotted putting up a UVF flag on the Shankill Road.
The picture of Eddie McIlwaine preparing the purple UVF flag emerged on Friday, before he took part in the Orange Order’s Whiterock parade the following day.
He previously served an eight-year sentence in 1979 for his part in the paramilitary gang, which included many members of the UVF, which murdered more than 20 people.
Although never convicted of murder, he was successfully prosecuted for kidnapping, assault, possessing weapons and intent to endanger life.
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During his time in the gang between 1975-77, he was also part of a group who abducted Gerard McLaverty, a Catholic man who was left for dead after being beaten with a nail-embedded stick and having his wrists slashed.
Surviving against the odds, his testimony helped put McIlwaine and other Shankill butchers behind bars.
In recent years, McIlwaine has regularly been spotted taking part in Orange Order parades, with the institution defending his involvement as he had never been convicted of murder and had served his prison term.
Having been released in 1983, he later survived an attempt on his life in 1991 when the Irish People’s Liberation Organisation shot him when he was driving a black taxi in Belfast.
In 2013, pictures emerged of him taking part in the UVF’s 100th anniversary parade while wearing a UVF armband “UVF West Belfast 1” as well as a medal said to have been awarded for his time in prison.
The Belfast Telegraph also reported he took part in Saturday’s Whiterock parade in west Belfast.
A Parades Commission ruling prevented around 1,000 marchers crossing the peaceline at Workman Avenue, but were instead re-routed to the Springfield Road.
The annual Whiterock parade was again prevented from crossing the peaceline at Workman Avenue, with the marchers re-routed onto the Springfield Road.
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