John White (loyalist) - Ulster Freedom Fighters and The Paddy Wilson Killing

Ulster Freedom Fighters and The Paddy Wilson Killing

White was credited with inventing the "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF) covername adopted in 1973 in order to help the UDA to avoid being outlawed. He claimed that the UDA had become too bloated, having as it did around 30,000 members, to act efficiently and that it was felt there was a need to separate off a hardcore of militants who were "willing to take the war to the IRA". When Peter Taylor replied that the majority of UFF victims were in fact Catholic civilians, White responded that the UFF felt that by killing non-combatants the Catholic community might force the IRA to surrender. He was the UFF's "Captain Black", a pseudonym often used for press statements, and that organisation admitted, without naming him, that he had been involved in murders. Amongst these was the brutal killing of the Roman Catholic Social Democratic and Labour Party Senator Paddy Wilson, who was stabbed to death and had his throat cut in 1973 along with Irene Andrews, Wilson's Protestant secretary. Their bodies were found dumped in a quarry on the Hightown Road near Cavehill, with Wilson having suffered 32 stab wounds and Andrews 19. White would later claim that on the night of the killing he and Davy Payne had led an assassination squad with the intention of killing a Catholic and that Wilson and Andrews had just been discovered by accident rather than being actual targets.

Following the Wilson killings White was interned for a while before being released again. He was arrested for the murders in 1978 and under interrogation confessed his guilt and expressed remorse. White was handed a life sentence for the double murder soon afterwards. Initially following his imprisonment White remained an important paramilitary figure and served as officer commanding of the UDA inside the Maze. He also studied with the Open University and gained a degree in Social sciences and criminology.