Loyalist wins case for official protection

The spokesman for a controversial group campaigning on behalf of Protestant victims of republican violence has won a court battle for official protection.

Willie Frazer of "Families Acting for Innocent Relatives" brought the case after being turned down last year.

Mr Frazer is a prominent loyalist campaigner against the Good Friday agreement and claims he has been threatened many times by Republicans in South Armagh.

Despite this the British government had refused him funding to secure his home.

A judge ruled today that the government’s approach was flawed and there was a significant risk to his life.

However he refused permission on Mr Frazer’s application for a firearms licence on the basis of police intelligence he associated with paramilitaries.

In a separate case, the high court also overturned a decision not to provide County Derry Sinn Féin councillors Anne and Francie Brolly, with home protection.