Loyalist killer McClean fails to secure early release

A loyalist gunman who killed two people in Co Down seven years ago has failed in an attempt to secure early release under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Stephen McClean and another LVF man were jailed in February 2000 for murdering lifelong friends Damien Traynor and Philip Allen at a pub in Poyntzpass two years earlier.

The killers thought the pub was only frequented by Catholics, but Mr Allen was actually a Protestant.

McClean's release under the Good Friday Agreement was blocked by the British government, which said he would be a danger to the public.

The LVF man successfully appealed the decision, but his victory was overturned by the British House of Lords yesterday and he must now remain in jail for the foreseeable future.