Chris Anderson - The Billy Boy: The Life and Death of LVF Leader Billy Wright

To my wonderful parents. Hugh and Nan Anderson, sadly they are no longer with us, and to my wife, Jenny, who in all the years we have been together has always stood by me come what may. Her presence has made my life complete.

Contents

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF LVF LEADER BILLY WRIGHT

Chris Anderson

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Epub ISBN: 9781780573366

Version 1.0

www.mainstreampublishing.com

This edition, 2004

Copyright Chris Anderson, 2002

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

First published in Great Britain in 2002 by

MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY (EDINBURGH) LTD

7 Albany Street

Edinburgh EH1 3UG

ISBN 1 84018 758 1

Revised and updated, 2004

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Acknowledgements

This book could not have been completed without the help of a number of people from both sides of Northern Irelands political divide. Although many of them did not identify themselves with Billy Wrights politics or modus operandi, they nevertheless realised that certain issues surrounding his death required clarification and investigation. Their kind advice and assistance to me over a six-year period proved invaluable. Their encouragement to keep going in the face of the numerous obstacles placed in my path by officialdom gave me the impetus to complete this book. I hope The Billy Boy serves to repay their faith in my ability to complete the course.

There were times when it would have been easy to give up and to admit defeat. In particular, over the past two years a number of unnerving incidents made me stop and ask myself if it was safe to pursue the unanswered questions surrounding the death of Billy Wright. Computers suddenly connecting up to the telephone system without being prompted to do so combined with telephone lines inoperative for protracted periods of time without apparent cause or explanation it all happened. Twice within a three-month period in early 2002 my computer systems were stripped of their content. First, the hard disk on my main PC was completely destroyed. Second, in a more selective intrusion, only the content of my Internet system and e-mail program on my laptop was removed. Fortunately, no information relating to my work on the book was stored on either the main PC or the laptop. Since the publication of The Billy Boy in October 2002, my telephone lines have gone down a total of four times. My computer systems have also had their content removed a further three times. On one occasion my laptop was so badly damaged that it had to be replaced.

Perhaps the most frightening incident was a phone call to my wife by someone purporting to be from the Post Office. The caller, who my wife described as having an English accent, asked for me by name and when informed that I was not present politely enquired when I would be expected home as they had a registered package for me, which they wished to deliver in person. Puzzled by the call itself and alerted by the absence of an official notification of any such package (it is normal practice for a postal official, when failing to deliver registered mail, to notify the recipient of when and where the item can be collected), my wife became concerned at the persistent nature of the enquiry as to when exactly I would return home. She contacted me and made me aware of the situation. Subsequent enquiries with the Post Office, the local sorting office, Parcel Force and other local carriers failed to uncover any registered package addressed to me. The package has yet to be delivered.

If anything, the above incidents only served to harden my resolve to finish the book. Having done so I must thank a number of people. Firstly, I must acknowledge the help and assistance given to me by Billy Wrights family. In particular to his father David, sisters Jackie and Connie and his ex-wife, Thelma. They provided me with so much useful information and detail that I would otherwise have struggled to obtain. Throughout the five years I have known David Wright, I have come to respect his honesty and integrity. In the face of what can only be described as contemptuous treatment by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his administration, David Wright has always maintained his self-respect and refused to indulge in petty point-scoring tactics. Likewise the media profession has been less than kind to the Wright family. The contrast in the coverage of the issues of concern relating to the murder of Billy Wright have received far less media coverage than other similar controversial killings. David Wright has always treated me as a personal friend, something I value greatly.

A special thanks is due to Kelvin Boyes, whose pictures appear in this book; Gerry Morriarty, Suzanne Breen and the staff of the Belfast office of the Irish Times; John Devine and Dominic Cunningham of the Irish Independent; John Cassidy, Stephen Gordon, Donna Carton, Christian McCashin, Stephen Dempster, Ivan Little, Mervyn Jess, Merion Jones and Mick OKane. A special word of thanks is also due to Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star who suggested I take on this project in the first place. Thanks also to Tim Pat Coogan, who opened doors and encouraged me as I started off in this profession and who has now written the foreword to this book.

To Jeffery Donaldson MP for his help in pursuing specific issues in relation to Billy Wrights death over the past six years. Others equally deserving of thanks are: Jane Winter of British Irish Rights Watch; Paul Mageehan, of the Committee on the Administration of Justice; Laurence McGill, consultant engineer and John MacAtamney, solicitor; Emma ONeill who worked so hard on the legal aspects of the book; Billy Wrights former associates who provided me with eyewitness accounts of the murder and of his life both inside and outside the Maze. To all his former associates, especially the late Mark Swinger Fulton thank you. To all who helped in any way with this project and who out of necessity must remain anonymous my thanks. To my good friend Junior (Mercer), whose encouragement when times got tough was much appreciated. Thanks also to Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, and in particular, Bill Campbell and Sharon Atherton, who put up with me for so long. A very special thanks also to Graeme Blaikie of Mainstream who worked so closely with me in the final stages of the book.

In this book, the majority of the quotes from Billy Wright are contained on an audiotape of Wright himself. The tape was given to me by a senior loyalist figure in mid-1998 and I still have the tape in my possession. Other quotes from Billy Wright have come through personal conversations I have had with him.

My only regrets are, despite numerous requests to the IRSP (Irish Republican Socialist Party), I never managed to obtain a face-to-face interview with Christopher Crip McWilliams. Likewise, the PUP failed to respond to a request for an interview in relation to this book. My thanks also to Jackie Mahood, who gave me a detailed insight into a number of important issues concerning Billy Wright and his politics.