Executed man 'not linked to the LVF'

A man murdered in Belfast as part of a loyalist feud was not a member of one of the organisations involved in the power struggle, it was claimed tonight.

Craig McCausland, 20, died in hospital on Monday, hours after being shot in his home in the north of the city.

Police said at the time Mr McCausland was killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force who believed he was a member of the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force.

But detectives investigating the murder were not convinced he was a member of the LVF and the organisation said tonight he was not.

The Press Association was told by an intermediary: “The LVF want to make it clear he did not belong to that group. He was not connected or linked and never has been.

“They cannot understand why someone kill him and link him to them. There were no links, no association, nothing.”

Mr McCausland was shot in his Dhu Varren Park home by a hit squad which drove up to his home, smashed their way in and shot him and them made off again in the silver Peugeot 405 which was later found burned out.

Police branded the killing a “ruthless execution” which was believed to have been carried out after a man was shot and seriously injured while he was out talking his dogs. The LVF was said to be behind that attack.

Earlier this month loyalist paramilitaries were blamed for the murder of Jameson Lockhart, also from north Belfast, who was shot as he drove a lorry in east Belfast. The UVF was also linked to that killing.

The LVF intermediary claimed the UVF had been behind eight or nine shootings despite a “no first strike” agreement.

“You can’t say this organisation is on ceasefire, it’s all down to them."