Top loyalist found dead in prison

A top loyalist paramilitary has been found dead today in his prison cell in the North.

He was found by staff at Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Mark "Swinger" Fulton from Portadown, Co Armagh, was on remand awaiting trial charged with conspiring to murder a man during a feud with rival paramilitaries.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Prison Service said the circumstances of his death were being investigated.

Fulton was a close associate of Billy Wright, leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), who was shot dead by republicans inside the Maze Prison in December 1997.

Fulton, according to loyalists today, feared for his life.

Mr John White of the Ulster Political Research Group, who knew Fulton, said: "He was afraid somebody would try to kill him. That is why he refused to mix with mainstream prisoners at the jail."