Court jails loyalist killer of taxi driver

A ruthless loyalist killer was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years today for the murder of a Catholic taxi driver.

Clifford McKeown, 43, shot Lurgan taxi driver Michael McGoldrick five times in the head in what the judge at Belfast Crown Court described as “a chilling execution”.

It is the first terrorist murder case to be considered under the new tariff regulations introduced two years ago.

The judge, Mr Justice Wetherup, said the murder carried out at the height of the Drumcree crisis was random and cowardly.

McKeown, who was a member of Billy Wright’s Loyalist Volunteer Force, is currently serving 12 years for firearms offences.

Under the terms of the Good Friday agreement, he can apply to the Sentence Review Commission for early release.

His lawyer told the court that his client would be appealing against today’s decision.