Loyalist killer faces return to jail

A convicted loyalist murderer, released early under the Good Friday Agreement, was tonight facing the prospect of serving out eight life sentences for his involvement in a 1993 atrocity, after being convicted of taking part in a knife attack at a football match.

Stephen Irwin, 32, from Woodvale Road in Belfast, was jailed last week for four years for slashing a football supporter with a knife during trouble at last year’s Irish Cup Final.