Finucane suspect shot dead

Police informer William Stobie, accused of murdering Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, was shot dead today.

Self-confessed Special Branch agent Stobie, 51, was shot at close quarters outside his flat in Forthriver Road, north Belfast, where he lived with his commonlaw wife. The murder comes weeks after his trial for his part in the 1989 killing of Mr Finucane, who represented IRA members, collapsed when the prosecution's key witness refused to give evidence. A formal verdict of not guilty was returned by the Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, against Stobie, a former Ulster Defence Association quartermaster.

Alan McQuillan, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said the victim was shot as he approached his car shortly after 6am. "It's too early to speculate about what's going on here or how many gunmen were involved.

"But we will be doing everything we can to investigate this and bring the people responsible to justice." Former associates in the UDA were today being blamed for the killing.

Special Branch is said to have warned Stobie last week that his name was on a death list but assured him he would come to no harm. It was claimed today he had also been given assurances by the UDA that he would not be harmed.

But within an hour of Stobie's death, an associate said: "He was living in fear of loyalists. I have no doubt the UDA were responsible."