Inquiry hears plan to kill Wright

Billy Wright was shot dead in the Maze prison in 1997

A former senior PSNI officer has said he would be amazed if political figures had not been made aware of intelligence about a desire to kill Billy Wright.

At the inquiry on Tuesday into the former LVF leader's death, intelligence from a security service agent handler was presented.

It outlined discussions within the INLA to kill Mr Wright and was received months before the murder.

Sam Kincaid said it should have led to details being passed on.

Mr Kincaid was appointed Assistant Chief Constable in 2001 and retired from the police in 2006.

He said the information should have been passed on to the prison service and to the district police commander in the area.

It is not yet clear who did see the intelligence.

Wright was shot dead in the Maze prison by members of the INLA in 1997.

Last month, DUP MP Rev William McCrea, told the inquiry a government source told him of a threat to kill the loyalist leader a month before he was murdered.

The Rev McCrea said he did not tell police about the threat at the time because he did not know who he could trust.

Wright's killers, Christopher McWilliams, John Glennon and John Kennaway were jailed for life but later released under the Good Friday Agreement.

The inquiry was set up following an investigation by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory into allegations of collusion by the prison service and other authorities.