A leading Mid-Ulster loyalist, Mark Fulton, wants to be out of prison to help the Loyalist Volunteer Force to decommission its weapons, the High Court in Belfast was told yesterday. But his bail application had to be adjourned because the necessary papers were not available, his lawyer told Mr Justice Girvan.
Fulton (38), from Hobson Park, Portadown, has been in custody since December on firearms charges.
At an earlier court when he was refused bail, it was stated that at the time of his arrest he was in possession of a certificate from the arms decommissioning body authorising him to engage in handing over weapons. Since then the LVF has handed in a batch of guns. Papers before the court yesterday stated Fulton was seeking bail for five days to allow him to use his "best efforts and endeavours with the second wave of decommissioning as the elected representative of the LVF".
The application was adjourned.