A FORMER member of the IRA has told an Old Bailey jury that he intended only to knee-cap his victim. Mr Michael Boyle (48) denied any intent to kill Mr Tony Brindle, whose family was involved in a "murderous feud" with another south Londoner called Peter Daly.
The court has heard that a Dublin criminal, George Mitchell, a friend of Mr Daly's, hired Mr Boyle as hitman.
Giving evidence, Mr Boyle claimed "coercion" by Mr Mitchell led him to go through with the gunning down of Mr Brindle outside his home in Rotherhithe, London, on September 20th, 1995.
Mr Boyle, a Garda informer, has said he hoped the police, who had him under surveillance at the time, would intervene to prevent the shooting.
However, he was allowed to hit Mr Brindle with two bullets before police marksmen opened fire, hitting Mr Boyle with five shots.
Mr Boyle claims Mr Mitchell had made menacing moves towards his girlfriend, referred to as `A'. He feared that if he did not follow Mr Mitchell's orders to shoot Mr Brindle, his girlfriend would be "injured or killed".
Mr Boyle said: "I was only there (in south London) because of the pressure I was under. If I wanted to kill Brindle ... I would have chosen a pump-action shotgun because it would have been impossible to miss from that distance."
Towards the end of his testimony Mr Boyle spoke about his involvement in the IRA and the INLA.
He said he had believed in the aims of the IRA but believed they could be achieved in a way that would be "less dangerous to the public. I thought there were easier ways of achieving our goals".
Mr Boyle said he "eventually fell out" with senior members of the IRA and left the organisation in the early 1980s.
He then went on to join the INLA which, he said, fell apart in the mid-1980s.
Mr Boyle's barrister, Mr George Carter-Stephenson, asked: "At the time you were a member of those organisations did you believe in their objectives?"
He replied: "I did."
Returning to the shooting, Mr Boyle said that in August 1995 he was still in contact with the Garda and had given them the address of a "safe house" in south London containing guns and ammunition. "I was still trying to get the situation resolved and trying to extricate myself from it, but by then my trust of those particular members of the Garda had gone."
Mr Boyle said when he shot Mr Brindle he had been aiming for a "non-fatal" part of his body and basically wanted to carry out a knee-capping.
Asked if from his knowledge of punishment attacks in Ireland people ever died from kneecappings, Mr Boyle replied: "No."
Mr Carter-Stephenson asked Mr Boyle if he had been part of a team intent on murder, along with his co-defendant Mr David Roads (51) - his alleged "quartermaster and armourer" - Mr Boyle replied: "He wasn't part of a team I was involved in, in the sense of organising and preparing the attack. If I wanted someone to assist me in this attack it would have been someone from Ireland."
Mr Boyle, of Tyrconnel Road, Dublin, denies attempted murder and two counts of possessing firearms with intent to endanger life.
Mr Roads, of Croydon, London, denies attempted murder, eight firearm offences, possessing an explosive substance, handling stolen goods and having a false instrument.
The trial continues.