A Tangled Web

CAVEMAN FRED...



It comes as no surprise to me that Ulster Unionist MLA Fred Cobain has poor judgement as evidenced in this story from tonight's Belfast Telegraph.



Fred has given the High Court a glowing character reference for Thomas Potts, from Dover Street in the Shankill - a former ally of Johnny Adair. He has a criminal record dating back to the 1980s, including a 1993 conviction for conspiracy to murder. He was jailed again last year for his part in an attack on the Rex Bar on the Shankill Road which sparked the 2001 feud between the UDA and UVF.



Fred's political incoherence and double standards are what I would expect from him - based on the experiences Robert McCartney and I had with him several years ago. (Dear old Fred assured us he would NEVER support an Executive containing the IRA's proxies...)



So, let's accept that Fred is a political dunce. But what are we to make of this comment from SDLP councillor Martin Morgan on Mr Cobain's judgment. "This man obviously did not merit the references that were given. I think it affects the credibility of a politician, if he is involved in providing a reference for someone who is up to his neck in paramilitary activity."



Emmm..didn't Martin's party provide a collective reference for Sinn Fein, the IRA's alter-ego, to sit in Government and that refused to exclude this gang of brownshirts when the chance presented itself? Once again we see the corrupting effect of the Belfast Agreement - politicians falling over each other to excuse terrorist's proxies. Peace in our time folks, and you know it.