Man in court on loyalist terrorist charges

A 20-year-old man has appeared in court in Belfast on loyalist terrorist charges.

A 20-year-old man has appeared in court in Belfast on loyalist terrorist charges.

The charges are linked to the flight of Johnny Adair's wife and associates from Belfast to Scotland earlier this week.

David Annesley, a painter from California Close in Belfast, was charged with membership of the Ulster Defence Association and refusing to give police information about an arrestable offence - the possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

He was remanded in custody at Belfast Magistrates Court until February 13th.

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A police officer told the court that when charged Annesley made no reply but he believed he could connect him to the charges.

They relate to Wednesday night when suspected UDA members swooped on the stronghold of Adair's notorious 'C' Company in the Lower Shankill area in west Belfast.

They arrived as the deadline set by the leadership of the UDA for Adair followers to join the mainstream ranks, get out or face death, came to an end.

At least one shot was fired by a gunman who evaded capture. One man was arrested at the scene by police who also fired one shot.

Adair's wife Gina and her husband's right-hand man John White together with up to 50 others - men, women and children - fled the area and took a ferry to exile in Scotland.

Another 20 families from the area are understood to have joined the mass exodus.

PA