Man to face court over Haddock murder bid

A man will appear before a magistrate in Belfast today accused of trying to kill rogue loyalist Mark Haddock.

The 36-year-old suspect was charged by detectives investigating the shooting in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.

Haddock (aged 37) was hit six times after getting out of his car for a meeting on the Doagh Road last Tuesday.

Haddock is still seriously ill in hospital following the attack, which came while he was on trial for the attempted murder of a nightclub doorman.

The loyalist, who once ran the Ulster Volunteer Force-controlled Mount Vernon estate in north Belfast, has also been under investigation by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan.

She is probing claims that Special Branch officers allowed loyalist paramilitaries to kill without fear of prosecution.

Haddock is understood to have spoken to detectives hunting the gunmen who opened fire on him.

Police arrested two men over the shooting and carried out searches in Mount Vernon. The second man was later released without charge.