NORTH Belfast victims' campaigner Raymond McCord has described scenes of masked men inside a courtroom as a "disgrace".
Masked men appeared in the public gallery during a trial connected to the UVF killing of two Catholic workmen in 1994. Dramatic images of the masked group entering and leaving the court caused outrage in political and legal circles.
State agent Gary Haggarty spent three days in the witness box at Laganside Courts being cross-examined about evidence he provided against James Stewart Smyth (57).
Smyth denies shooting dead Eamon Fox (41) and Gary Convie (24) in May 1994.
They were on a building site at North Queen Street when the UVF opened up with a Sten machine-gun, killing them as they ate lunch in a car. Another man sitting in the back of the vehicle escaped injury.
As Haggarty have his evidence, a number of individuals sat at the back of the court with their faces covered for a time before the judge warned that anyone concealing their face would be removed.
Raymond, who was in attendance supporting the Fox/Convie families, questioned how the events were allowed to happen.
"A mob of UVF thugs arrived with hooded tops, masks and scarves covering their faces," he said.
"The police, after me asking them why they were allowing this to happen, told me it was none of their business. It is a disgrace.
"Inside the actual court there was an incident between me and a UVF thug when he was abusive to me and I had to put him in his place. The police did nothing.
"Again out in the corridor another incident happened when a squad of UVF thugs tried to intimidate an individual and again I had to interfere and told them to shut up and move. The police were feet away."
Raymond has called for an apology to be made to the families of Eamon Fox and Gary Convie.
"The courts and the Lady Chief Justice should be apologising to the Convie and Fox families and asking them what is it needs done to make them feel safe inside and outside the court," he said.
"I went to support the families, not to do what the police should have been doing and that's ensuring the UVF thugs aren't allowed to intimidate or abuse anyone."
