Sixth dissident suspect appears in court charged over plot to murder Johnny Adair

POLICE in Scotland have charged a sixth person with conspiring to commit acts of terrorism and murder ex-UDA members.

John Gorman is alleged to have acted with five others, who have also been charged with planning to murder Johnny ‘Mad Dog’ Adair and Samuel ‘Skelly’ McCrory.

The 56-year-old has also been charged with conspiring at a property in Cathcart, Glasgow, to commit acts of terrorism.

Gorman, from Irvine, made no plea or declaration at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody.

Martin Hughes, 34, Anton Duffy, 39, and 27-year-old Stacy McAllister, all from Glasgow; Paul Sands, 30, from Ayr; and Edward McVeigh, 26, from Portpatrick, were detained during police raids across the country last week.

Along with Mr Gorman, they are all accused of plotting to carry out a terrorist campaign in the UK.

It is alleged they tried to get hold of firearms and explosives with a view to carrying out terrorist offences, including “damage to property and murder of civilians”.

Mr Gorman appeared in private at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday. He is due to appear at a later date for full committal.

A convoy of police vehicles bring dissident republican suspects to court in Glasgow earlier this week

The other five accused appeared in court on 29 October and made no plea or declaration and were also remanded in custody.

It is alleged that they all conspired to murder Johnny “Mad Dog” Adair and Samuel McCrory, who were both senior figures in the notorious “C company” of the loyalist UDA in the 1990s and were involved in the murder of republican sympathisers.

Both men have lived in Ayrshire for several years.

The operation which saw the six people detained was led by Police Scotland and also involved the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the security service.

After the operation, Police Scotland said it had focused on the “activities of individuals sympathetic to dissident republicanism, but who are not affiliated to any specific group”.