The loyalist paramilitary, Johnny Adair, has lost his application to be released from prison in Northern Ireland.
The three-member Sentence Review Commission yesterday ruled that the convicted Ulster Defence Association (UDA) leader would remain at Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, Co Antrim, thus overturning its previous decision that he should be freed on licence.
Adair (37) is expected to appeal the ruling. His supporters are said to be prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if they fail to get the ruling overturned in the local courts.
In their ruling the commissioners said: "The applicant was likely, if released, to breach the terms of his licence." While not being able to go into detail about their reasons for reaching the decision to avoid prejudicing a possible judicial review, the ruling was based on "damaging information" submitted during last week's two-day hearing, the commissioners added.
Adair, they said, was engaged in the commission of an act of terrorism on August 21st last year, the day violence between various loyalist factions broke out on Belfast's Shankill Road after two men were shot dead by the rival Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) nearby.
The ruling concluded: "As regards the damaging information, the commissioners are persuaded by some of it that the applicant is likely, if released, to breach the terms of his licence. For the above reasons, the commissioners reach the conclusion that Adair's licence should be revoked."
A secret intelligence report submitted to the commissioners is reported as saying: "Since his [Adair's] release from prison, he has been involved in the acquisition of firearms and munitions and has demonstrated considerable military influence within the UDA/UFF." He was also suspected of presiding over a sizeable drugs empire, the report claimed.
Adair was the first person to be convicted for directing terrorism in the early 1990s. He served five years of a 16-year prison term before being released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement in September 1999.
However, he was returned to prison last August when the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, revoked his early-release licence after receiving information from senior security sources that Adair was instrumental in starting the loyalist feud and raising sectarian tensions in Belfast.
In a preliminary ruling on December 8th, the commission recommended Adair's release from Maghaberry Prison. Mr Mandelson, however, opposed the ruling. Senior RUC officers, including the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, told the hearing Adair continued to pose a serious security risk. Adair's supporters have threatened to stage street protests in response to the ruling.
Meanwhile, the head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Prof Brice Dickson, said he was concerned that his commission had not been admitted to a closed hearing by the sentence review commissioners dealing with the secret intelligence information.