A leading Belfast loyalist who took part in the 1994 political talks at Stormont was last night critically ill in hospital after being shot in what may have been an internal loyalist dispute. Some loyalist sources, however, were blaming criminals and denying any paramilitary involvement. The man, named locally as Mr Jackie Mahood, was shot in the head by two masked gunmen in a taxi office he owns on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.
He was a member of a Progressive Unionist Party delegation which took part in exploratory talks at Stormont Castle in late 1994 and 1995. it is believed that he left the party last year following a disagreement.
The RUC ruled out any republican involvement in the shooting and said they were following a "definite line of inquiry". A spokesman refused to comment on motives for the attack.
Mr Billy Hutchinson of the PUP, the UVF's political wing, said he hoped that loyalists were not involved in the attack but he could not be sure. He was certain that the shooting was not the result of a feud between the UDA and the UVF. He appealed to loyalists to remain calm and adopt a "wait-and-see" approach.
Mr Ian Paisley jnr of the DUP said that if it transpired that loyalists were responsible, it was quite clearly a feud and the shooting would call into question the continued presence of the PUP and the Ulster Democratic Party at the Stormont talks.
He condemned the shooting as "a contemptible outrage" which showed the need for decommissioning. "There can be no justification for brutalising an individual in this way," he said.
Mr Mahood, who is in his 40s and married with children, was said to be in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital. He working in a room upstairs with a woman colleague in the "Call-A-Cab" depot when he was shot. Two masked gunmen entered through an unlocked back door around 5 p.m. They shot Mr Mahood several times in the head and face. He is believed to have been hit three times. The ambulance crew found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood. The woman in the room was not harmed.
Threats had been made on his life before, according to security sources. The RUC assistant chief constable, Mr Bill Stewart, condemned the shooting, which he described as "a senseless act". Last year, another loyalist, Mr Tommy Stewart, was shot dead in an internal dispute.