In the almost identical letters read out at his Belfast Crown Court trial, sent to the Belfast Telegraph and London Evening Standard, 53-year-old Stone writes that he will be in one of two positions: in police custody “with the events surrounding my arrest ensuring that I spend the rest of my natural life in prison” or “that I am deceased”.

The letters continue: “The latter in all probability as I don’t intend withdrawing from my mission as I did on the 16th of March 1988, when as now a freelance-dissident loyalist paramilitary I set out to assassinate the irish Republican war criminals Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

“I pen these details to ensure that there is no confusion as to the objective of my mission.”

Stone, of no fixed address, denies attempting to murder Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness as well as 12 other charges of possessing nail and pipe bombs with intent, possessing three knives, an axe and a garrotte and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence.

Armed with an imitation gun, knives, a hatchet, nail bombs and pipe bombs, Stone tried to storm Parliament Buildings on November 24 2006 when the offices of the First and Deputy First Minister were to be designated.

However, Stone claims the incident was part of a performance art plan.

In the three-page letter, written in block capitals, Stone denounces the Sinn Fein leadership as “despots” and as “sectarian bigots unworthy to hold political power in any form of democracy in Northern Ireland – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER”.

In an apparent address to what Stone describes as “the great and good, the pious and self-righteous to whom Ulster’s Troubles have been ‘a nice little earner’”, he tells them to think before they “queue up for your ten-second condemnation of my actions” and adds: “Condemn me if you are willing to die for your political beliefs, your country for Ulster – if not, put up or shut up".

He continues: “To my former loyalist comrades, those men and women who put their lives on the line in defence of Ulster – keep your powder dry”.

Stone concludes the letter “not a round, not an ounce, lose the golf balls, long live Ulster” and signs in his own name with a finger print in ink beside his signature.

However, the letters also have a further two pages, where Stone outlines his apparent plan and the “equipment” he intends to use.

In what appears to be an inventory, he writes: “1 x replica handgun (to bluff my way past the two security guards stationed at a desk behind a walk-through metal detector)

“1 x large ‘flash-bang’ device (device to be ignited in the centre of the large hall. Warning given.

“7 x nail bombs ,3 x knives, 1 x axe, 1 x garrotte, body armour vest.”

Stone adds: “I’m outgunned, but I wouldn’t have it any other way – for God and Ulster” and he signs this portion of the letter “Flint”.

Contained within the last two pages was a claim that he intended to use the ‘flash-bang’ device to “create panic and confusion” so that he could “move down the long corridor on my left towards the debating chamber and the two targets”. The document says that if they were not in the chamber, “I will proceed through the large hall and make my way to the Sinn Fein office which is located on the first floor”.

The court has already heard that the letter sent to the Belfast Telegraph was seized by police in December 2006 and was held in an exhibit file until recently, while the letter sent to the Evening Standard was not recovered until two weeks ago.

Under cross examination from defence QC Arthur Harvey, Detective Constable Cord said he had “no idea at all” why the lead concerning the letters was not followed up, given that Stone mentioned them during police interviews.

The lawyer revealed to the court that the name ‘Flint’ came from a film in which James Coburn played a “spoof” agent, and he put it to the officer that “in other words, it’s an indication that this is a spoof”. DC Cord replied: “I can’t answer that.”

Later, the court heard that during two police interviews, Stone maintained his claims that he had “two men — two targets” and also that he was “willing to die for what I believe in”.

At the very outset of his first interview, Stone tells officers he was acting alone as a “dissident loyalist” and that in going to Stormont he went to “specifically assasinate Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness” and to disrupt the start of what he described as a “bastardisation of a government”.

He goes onto detail how he got to Stormont “on public transport”, how it took him almost two hours to walk up to the building itself, and how a guard disturbed him spraying graffiti on the walls.

Reading from the transcript of the interviews, Detective Constable Leslie Murray said Stone told officers he had the ‘flash bang' device to cause confusion and was carrying the knife which he intended to use to “cut their throats — it was personal”.

He told police he was wearing a bullet proof vest because “I was counting that they (Adams and McGuinness) had to book their personal firearms in somewhere” and because inflicting a head-shot is more difficult than “shooting pieces of paper” at the gun range.

Maintaining that he was acting alone, Stone claimed that “to be honest, if the UDA had known I was up to anything, I would be in a skip”, and he told police that although he had no problem with their backing the peace process, “I find it unacceptable that war criminals will hold positions like the last time”.

Referring to the last attempted devolved government, Stone said: “Trimble was running it... he never told me to take action”, but then added that “Ian Paisley told me my whole life the balloon has gone up, it's war, it's this, it's that, and like a gullible young man, I believed him, but I couldn't believe he would share power with the shinners”.

“I'm very political you know,” declared Stone, “I'm not the f***** village idiot.”

The trial continues.