Former terror boss Johnny Adair has said he knows nothing about the UDA murder of teenager Damien Walsh and will not meet with the victim’s family.
‘Mad Dog’ also said he would not engage with any truth commission in the wake of the government’s proposed Troubles amnesty.
On Friday, Damien’s grieving mother called on the former terror leader to “divulge whatever information” he may have about the attack on her son, who was gunned down by Adair’s notorious UDA/UFF C Company in 1993.
Marian Walsh said: “For the sake of achieving a peaceful situation in Northern Ireland, I think he should divulge whatever information he has and take it from there.
“Stand up, man up and let us know what happened and who was involved.”
However, speaking to this newspaper, Adair, who was jailed for 16 years in 1995 for directing terrorism, said he would not be meeting with anyone to discuss the murder because he had no knowledge of it.
“I understand how the family is feeling, but it’s absolutely nothing to do with me. I don’t know how my name has been linked in any way, shape or form to it,” he added.
“I cannot talk about something I have no knowledge of and I’m sorry that I can’t help anybody there.
“The problem is that Johnny Adair’s name is synonymous with C Company.
“I have no regrets about being a member of C Company at the time. I received a prison sentence for membership of that organisation.
“But the problem with me is that every time they are mentioned, because I have a wee link to it... obviously, if something is carried out by them, the finger of suspicion and blame is pointed at myself.
A report published by Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson last week found there were “significant investigative failures” and evidence of “collusive behaviours” by police in relation to the murder and their decision to suspend surveillance of the gang responsible in the days before the shooting.
While she found no evidence the police had advance knowledge of the attack or could have stopped it, her report said that the decision to stop a surveillance operation “indirectly contributed” to the UDA gang being able to operate without constraint.
Stephen ‘Top Gun’ McKeag, one of Adair’s lieutenants, is believed to have been the gunman who shot the teenager.
The terrorist, who is believed to have killed at least 12 people, died in 2000 after taking a lethal combination of painkillers and cocaine.
Despite the government’s proposed amnesty for Troubles-related killings, Adair said he would not be divulging any C Company secrets and would not engage with any truth commission in the future.
He believes the government’s motivation for the amnesty is not protecting veterans but burying information linked to Operation Kenova, an investigation into the notorious IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci.
“The British government’s main objective is to not let any information from Operation Kenova get out,” he said.
“Although they’ve pumped £8million into it to date, there’s a lot of dirt and filth that British intelligence don’t want aired in public. I believe that is one of the major reasons why they are pressing ahead with this amnesty — they don’t want the details of that investigation made public.
“They know it would be damning because Freddie Scappaticci is at the centre of it. He was the head of the [IRA’s] ‘nutting squad’ and was responsible for countless murders.
“If the truth be told, I think the British government would be embarrassed and would have a lot of questions to answer, which is why all this is happening.
“They don’t want people to know the dirt — and it was dirty, stinking in some instances. I believe that a truth commission would only cause more heartache and pain for the victims and their loved ones.
“It’s not going to bring the victims back from all sides, it’s only going cause more hurt, pain and misery to the families. That’s my opinion.
“It’s not something I would engage with. I don’t believe it would solve anything and I don’t think it would put anything to bed.
“It would only cause more sorrow and that’s why I wouldn’t take part.”
