PRC-UTE
15th January 2005, 10:41
Neighbours move out as neo-Nazis rally to Adair's side
times
January 12, 2005
Neighbours move out as neo-Nazis rally to Adair's side
By David Lister in Belfast and Russell Jenkins
THEY look like a cross between the Hitler Youth and the Village People
on
steroids, but a group of camp-looking German neo-Nazis may offer the
only
hope of salvaging the once-proud reputation of Johnny Adair, the
notorious
loyalist terrorist.
It is not so long ago that Adair, 41, who was released from prison on
Monday
and is now living in a suburb of Bolton, was worshipped by thousands of
extremists across Northern Ireland and honoured with the nickname "Mad
Dog".
But is is a measure of how far Adair has fallen that the only people
now
brave enough to voice their support for him are a group of about 20
skinheads in Dresden, the former heartland of Hitler's Third Reich.
As Adair recovered from a late-night party with some of his former
cohorts
to celebrate his release, his terrorist rivals poked fun at his friends
in
Germany yesterday and said that they would not be deterred from trying
to
murder Adair if he ever returned to Belfast.
One said that he remained the "No 1 target" for the Ulster Defence
Association, Northern Ireland's largest loyalist paramilitary group,
which
drove Adair's family and former followers from Belfast in a feud two
years
ago.
"As far as we're concerned he's a nobody, and so are these Germans,"
the
source said. The warning came as the blinds at the drab terraced house
rented by Adair's family in Horwich, Bolton, remained down and the
reinforced door firmly closed.
Inside, Adair was taking no callers. Several plain-clothes police
officers
were the only people to gain admittance, entering the house shortly
before
11am to remind Adair that they will be watching his every move. Within
half
an hour of Adair arriving a "to let" sign went up on a neighbour's
property,
prompting speculation that some residents are already fleeing their
homes.
Neighbours expressed fears about becoming caught up in a feud between
Adair
and his rivals in Belfast. One woman in Maureen's hairdresser's, close
to
the Adair home, told The Times: "I'm not too bothered about his arrival
but
the trouble is that people might be after him." Adair is now so
isolated
that even the majority of his old friends have deserted him, and the
words
of support from Germany were one of the few consolations for him
yesterday.
Extreme loyalists in Northern Ireland have long enjoyed links with
far-right
organisations in Germany, but the Dresden group has pushed this to new
limits by setting up its own special unit in homage to Adair, showering
him
with letters and even tattooing his terrorist slogans across their
bodies.
At least one was arrested by police in Germany last week as he sought
to
cross the border into France en route to England, where he had hoped to
be
at Adair's side to welcome him out of jail.
The man, who has the Adair slogan "Simply the Best" tattooed across his
back
above the insignia of the terrorist leader's "C Company", wrote to him
before setting out. He said: "We decided to salute you in Bolton on the
day
when you get out of prison. Me and two friends will come to . . . show
our
friendship to you.
"I want to know you (sic) you have now up to 20 comrades in a own (sic)
"C"
Company group in my area around Dresden. C Coy is still alive and you
are
still the chef (sic). You have our unbroken loyalty."
Adair, a former National Front supporter, told a Belfast newspaper at
the
weekend that the man, known only as "Nick", had wanted to help him
after his
release from jail. He said: "Nick is a bit disappointed that he won't
be
able to see me when I get out of jail. Nick and his friends have been
to see
Gina (Adair's wife and the kids before."
Speculation was mounting yesterday that Adair, whose "C Company" on
Belfast's
Shankill Road killed about 40 Roman Catholics in the early 1990s, may
move
abroad using the personal fortune security officials believe that he
has
amassed.
But they are concerned that it is only a matter of time before his ego
gets
the better of him and he tries to recapture his old stamping ground in
Belfast
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,...1436279,00.html (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-1436279,00.html)
times
January 12, 2005
Neighbours move out as neo-Nazis rally to Adair's side
By David Lister in Belfast and Russell Jenkins
THEY look like a cross between the Hitler Youth and the Village People
on
steroids, but a group of camp-looking German neo-Nazis may offer the
only
hope of salvaging the once-proud reputation of Johnny Adair, the
notorious
loyalist terrorist.
It is not so long ago that Adair, 41, who was released from prison on
Monday
and is now living in a suburb of Bolton, was worshipped by thousands of
extremists across Northern Ireland and honoured with the nickname "Mad
Dog".
But is is a measure of how far Adair has fallen that the only people
now
brave enough to voice their support for him are a group of about 20
skinheads in Dresden, the former heartland of Hitler's Third Reich.
As Adair recovered from a late-night party with some of his former
cohorts
to celebrate his release, his terrorist rivals poked fun at his friends
in
Germany yesterday and said that they would not be deterred from trying
to
murder Adair if he ever returned to Belfast.
One said that he remained the "No 1 target" for the Ulster Defence
Association, Northern Ireland's largest loyalist paramilitary group,
which
drove Adair's family and former followers from Belfast in a feud two
years
ago.
"As far as we're concerned he's a nobody, and so are these Germans,"
the
source said. The warning came as the blinds at the drab terraced house
rented by Adair's family in Horwich, Bolton, remained down and the
reinforced door firmly closed.
Inside, Adair was taking no callers. Several plain-clothes police
officers
were the only people to gain admittance, entering the house shortly
before
11am to remind Adair that they will be watching his every move. Within
half
an hour of Adair arriving a "to let" sign went up on a neighbour's
property,
prompting speculation that some residents are already fleeing their
homes.
Neighbours expressed fears about becoming caught up in a feud between
Adair
and his rivals in Belfast. One woman in Maureen's hairdresser's, close
to
the Adair home, told The Times: "I'm not too bothered about his arrival
but
the trouble is that people might be after him." Adair is now so
isolated
that even the majority of his old friends have deserted him, and the
words
of support from Germany were one of the few consolations for him
yesterday.
Extreme loyalists in Northern Ireland have long enjoyed links with
far-right
organisations in Germany, but the Dresden group has pushed this to new
limits by setting up its own special unit in homage to Adair, showering
him
with letters and even tattooing his terrorist slogans across their
bodies.
At least one was arrested by police in Germany last week as he sought
to
cross the border into France en route to England, where he had hoped to
be
at Adair's side to welcome him out of jail.
The man, who has the Adair slogan "Simply the Best" tattooed across his
back
above the insignia of the terrorist leader's "C Company", wrote to him
before setting out. He said: "We decided to salute you in Bolton on the
day
when you get out of prison. Me and two friends will come to . . . show
our
friendship to you.
"I want to know you (sic) you have now up to 20 comrades in a own (sic)
"C"
Company group in my area around Dresden. C Coy is still alive and you
are
still the chef (sic). You have our unbroken loyalty."
Adair, a former National Front supporter, told a Belfast newspaper at
the
weekend that the man, known only as "Nick", had wanted to help him
after his
release from jail. He said: "Nick is a bit disappointed that he won't
be
able to see me when I get out of jail. Nick and his friends have been
to see
Gina (Adair's wife and the kids before."
Speculation was mounting yesterday that Adair, whose "C Company" on
Belfast's
Shankill Road killed about 40 Roman Catholics in the early 1990s, may
move
abroad using the personal fortune security officials believe that he
has
amassed.
But they are concerned that it is only a matter of time before his ego
gets
the better of him and he tries to recapture his old stamping ground in
Belfast
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,...1436279,00.html (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-1436279,00.html)