My Life in Loyalism

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My interest as an Pancánn (Yank) reading this book was to better understand Unionism and Loyalism and what it means to those who would protect it at all costs. He played an important part, while in prison in the 1980’s and later on, in encouraging the Loyalist paramilitaries towards political accommodation, instead of violence. There should be no effort to evade scrutiny and public debate, and there is an onus on all those who feel strongly to play their part in the debate. In March 2014, in an interview with the Belfast Newsletter, Hutchinson was quoted as saying that he had "no regrets" about his past in relation to the random murders of his two Catholic victims in 1974, claiming that he had helped to prevent a united Ireland by his actions. The war of words had ignited despite the fact that Hutchinson and White had enjoyed a close friendship in prison.

As a young teenager Hutchinson became involved with a “Tartan” street gang, fighting other Protestant gangs, as well as republicans and the security forces which, as they saw it, were “not prepared to interfere with republicans but were giving loyalists a hard time”. In this role Hutchinson took a leading role in the December 2012 campaign of protests and road blockades by loyalists following Belfast City Council passing a resolution to end the practice of flying the Union flag from Belfast City Hall all year round and instead to limit its use to certain designated days. He was 14 when, in 1969, many of these demarcation lines became real barricades, thrown up along the previously invisible boundaries between Protestant and Catholic areas as the Troubles began. Billy Hutchinson, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, joins Eamon to discuss the Internal Markets Bill and the consequences of a no-deal Brexit for Northern Ireland.

I can still remember him talking to Peter Taylor about the Troubles and thinking I don't particularly like this person, but reading his book and how he explains his actions makes me look at him from a completely different perspective. In my mind, that means no unionist should or could put their hand to accepting or implementing the Protocol, in any guise. Over the weekend, the Sunday Life reported that senior UVF figures have warned that loyalists will “wreck the place” and “the streets will be in flames” if any Brexit deal between the UK and EU does not meet their demands. In the book, he describes how his mother came to visit him in prison, and asked him about a Catholic man who had been killed by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). Hutchinson quotes a future UVF comrade and PUP colleague who used to invoke his father: “’Hutchie’s da was right.

As an authentic link between the UVF and the PUP, he was at the forefront of negotiations that led to the Belfast Agreement and was the UVF’s point of contact during the weapons decommissioning programme. Progressive Unionist Party leader, Billy Hutchinson: Spent 15 years in prison, but encouraged loyalists away from violence. In October 2007 Hutchinson was arrested in connection with the August 2005 murder of Catholic teenager Thomas Devlin. However, it does appear to me that there is a clear reluctance on the part of those proponents of accepting a deal to open it up to scrutiny. This acknowledged the hurt suffered by victims of Loyalist violence, something the IRA has yet to do fully.I do not think Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance have done so; rather they have inflamed tensions with their blatant disregard for the foundational principles upon which peace and our political process rests. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Both men were influenced by the example of Sinn Féin, who had demonstrated that an articulate media presence could ensure that paramilitary groups' demands might be heard.

As Brexit creates a new relationship between Loyalism and the rest of us on this island, understanding Loyalism is more important than ever. Educated and matured in prison, his account of the political upheaval and infighting of Northern Ireland's political parties is less dramatic than his youth, however, will resonate with anyone who lived through those difficult times.Hutchinson was at the time a community worker in the Mount Vernon estate on Belfast's Shore Road, the area in which it was thought the killers were based. In his treatment of the peace process, Billy Hutchinson gives much praise to the late Irish American businessman, Bill Flynn, for his support for Loyalists on their journey. William Hutchinson (July 1870 – July 1943) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke. A loyalist leader says that anger in his community is now the highest it has ever been since the 1994 ceasefires and that the Government must start taking the concerns of loyalists as seriously as those of republicans “before it is too late”. In 2013, Hutchinson announced his intention to run in both forthcoming council and parliamentary elections.

I have dissuaded others from using violence while constantly living under the threat of death myself. Under the Ireland Protocol of the Withdrawal Treaty, many of the laws to be applied the Northern Ireland will emanate from the EU, but without a democratic procedure involving elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland . The political system seems to be failing at the minute and my view is that the political system is the most important thing we have.An insider's view of the pressures on young people in Belfast and, for him, the journey from football fan, to football hooligan, to paramilitary youth leader and finally to convicted murderer. Hutchinson has conceded that some of his ideas were influenced by contact with Official IRA members with whom he studied in prison. From Tartan gang member to leading loyalist paramilitary, and from progressive unionist politician to respected Belfast City Councillor, My Life in Loyalism is Billy Hutchinson’s remarkable story.