John White (loyalist) - Ulster Democratic Party

Ulster Democratic Party

Upon his release in 1992, White joined the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and became a familiar face as the party worked with the Progressive Unionist Party to help broker a loyalist ceasefire. Indeed when the statement of ceasefire from the Combined Loyalist Military Command was read by Gusty Spence at Fernhill House in October 1994 White was one of the UDP delegates sitting alongside Spence. Initially a strong supporter of the Belfast Agreement, White was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum talks body in 1996, although he (along with the UDP as a whole) failed to gain a seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998. According to Sammy Duddy White's failure to get elected was inevitable as the savage nature of his earlier double murder had sickened even many loyalists and as a result there was a reluctance to vote for White. However White was a high profile figure in the developing tendency of loyalist politics and on 22 July 1996 he was even part of a four man delegation, along with Gary McMichael, David Ervine and Hugh Smyth, to meet Prime Minister John Major at 10 Downing Street.

Given his background within loyalism, White became the closest UDP member to Johnny Adair and began to work closely with the 'C' Company commander, much to the concern of many of his fellow UDP politicians, who saw Adair as a destabilising influence, especially in relations with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). At this point White remained committed to the Northern Ireland peace process and when word came out from the Maze that the incarcerated Adair was wavering in his support of peace White accompanied Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlam into the jail on 9 January 1998 to meet with Adair and other leading UDA prisoners to discuss their grievances. White and Adair had in fact been near neighbours during Adair's childhood, with both of their families living on the Old Lodge Road, although with thirteen years between them they only vaguely knew each other.

White, who had long been a public exponent of decommissioning accompanied Adair to meet General John de Chastelain of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning on 10 December 1999, with leading UDA members John Gregg, Jackie McDonald and Winkie Dodds also in attendance. Although the meeting ended inconclusively White had convinced Adair that decommissioning could make his name and soon afterwards Adair called a meeting of the Inner Council at which he said the UDA should decommission every weapon it had. All the brigadiers rejected the move although Adair leaned on Jimbo Simpson and another unidentified brigadier so as when a vote was taken it was tied at three votes for and three against. After the others had left Adair recalled them to a second meeting at which he did not turn up but instead sent White to read a prepared statement. In this Adair attacked his fellow brigadiers for their lack of forward vision, particularly attacking North Antrim and Londonderry chief Billy McFarland, whom he denounced as a dinosaur. Jackie McDonald dismissed the whole plan as a scam by Adair, whom he believed wanted to make himself look good to the world's media in return for giving up a load of old and spent weapons and indeed around this time Adair had already opened a new line of contact with arms dealers in Amsterdam from whom he was procuring more sophisticated weapons for his main power base of C Company.