MENACE IN HIS EYES BETRAYS RUTHLESSNESS
Menace in his eyes betrays ruthlessness
IT was the eyes that gave Michael McKevitt away.
Until he fixed you with his menacing stare, it was hard to imagine this balding, bespectacled man as the ruthless republican terrorist prepared to have Prime Minister Tony Blair assassinated.
Yet, as a top Real IRA member, that was the bloody extreme he was prepared to go to in his unflinching war against Britain.
A detective who interrogated him said: "There are plenty of republicans dedicated to the cause but I've never come across anyone as uncompromising as Michael McKevitt."
He was plotting a new offensive, starting with an atrocity that would be even more horrific than the Real IRA's Omagh bomb atrocity that killed 29 people and unborn twins, it was claimed during the trial.
Even though the charges against him came after the Omagh attack, McKevitt's central role in the dissident organisation made him a despised figure for victim's relatives.
Stanley McCombe, whose wife, Ann, was killed in the blast, said: "They should lock him up and throw away the key."
McKevitt was so dedicated to his cause that he wanted to branch into cyber-terrorism in a bid to wreak havoc.
His plans involved a wave of terror strikes directed at the heart of London's financial and intelligence headquarters in a bid to bring the Government to its knees.
Such ambitious schemes needed serious financing, and McKevitt, 53, knew just the man to provide the cash and weapons: Saddam Hussein.
The old Iraqi regime never did back the Real IRA and none of McKevitt's deadly tactics was put into operation.
IT was the eyes that gave Michael McKevitt away.
Until he fixed you with his menacing stare, it was hard to imagine this balding, bespectacled man as the ruthless republican terrorist prepared to have Prime Minister Tony Blair assassinated.
Yet, as a top Real IRA member, that was the bloody extreme he was prepared to go to in his unflinching war against Britain.
A detective who interrogated him said: "There are plenty of republicans dedicated to the cause but I've never come across anyone as uncompromising as Michael McKevitt."
He was plotting a new offensive, starting with an atrocity that would be even more horrific than the Real IRA's Omagh bomb atrocity that killed 29 people and unborn twins, it was claimed during the trial.
Even though the charges against him came after the Omagh attack, McKevitt's central role in the dissident organisation made him a despised figure for victim's relatives.
Stanley McCombe, whose wife, Ann, was killed in the blast, said: "They should lock him up and throw away the key."
McKevitt was so dedicated to his cause that he wanted to branch into cyber-terrorism in a bid to wreak havoc.
His plans involved a wave of terror strikes directed at the heart of London's financial and intelligence headquarters in a bid to bring the Government to its knees.
Such ambitious schemes needed serious financing, and McKevitt, 53, knew just the man to provide the cash and weapons: Saddam Hussein.
The old Iraqi regime never did back the Real IRA and none of McKevitt's deadly tactics was put into operation.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/469
Published Date: 07-Aug-03
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