State Papers: Senior officials in the North 'sustained' Billy Wright and the LVF

Billy Wright who was known as “King Rat,” rejected the UVF’s ceasefire in 1994. Photo: PA

The head of the Northern Ireland Probation Service accused senior officials of intentionally bolstering the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) and its leader, Billy Wright, during his imprisonment in 1997.

Declassified documents released by the National Archives show the head of the probation service in Northern Ireland, Briege Gadd, alleged that elements within the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Northern Ireland Office were “manipulative and malign” and promoting “a right-wing and unionist agenda".