24 Facts About Lindsay Robb

Lindsay Robb was a Northern Irish loyalist who was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force before defecting to the Loyalist Volunteer Force.

Lindsay Robb, who was working as a graphic designer at the time, made the headlines, albeit without his name being revealed, in 1993 when he gave evidence at the trial of Colin Duffy, who was charged with the murder of Ulster Defence Regiment soldier John Lyness.

Lindsay Robb's evidence helped to ensure a guilty verdict for Duffy, who was handed a life sentence.

Lindsay Robb had provided the evidence anonymously and appeared in court behind a curtain during the trial.

Lindsay Robb was identified only as "Witness C" during the trial.

However, Lindsay Robb first came to prominence with the PUP, serving as a member of their negotiations team during the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Lindsay Robb was arrested in Scotland soon after the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire for his role in the smuggling of weapons for the UVF.

From his base in the "Tam Bain" pub in Laurieston, Falkirk, Lindsay Robb had recruited a gang of supporters to help him smuggle arms into Northern Ireland.

Lindsay Robb had visited Liverpool, where he purchased guns, but was followed by police who eventually stopped Lindsay Robb and arrested him in Airdrie.

The PUP initially claimed that Lindsay Robb had been set up as part of a sting operation by the intelligence services, although the arrest and subsequent trial of a member of their talks delegation proved embarrassing for the party.

Lindsay Robb changed in his physical appearance from being conservative and clean-cut to "someone who looked like a shaven-headed, muscle-bound thug".

Lindsay Robb's conviction was used by Colin Duffy's lawyer Rosemary Nelson to get her client's life sentence overturned, with the evidence provided by Lindsay Robb ruled to be unreliable.

Nelson argued that Lindsay Robb had been dishonest and therefore unreliable as he had consistently denied any knowledge of the UVF and yet had been under surveillance by the security forces for some time for his work on behalf of that organisation in Scotland where he had settled after the Duffy trial.

Lindsay Robb was the first LVF-aligned prisoner to be released under the terms of the Agreement.

Lindsay Robb moved with his family to Airdrie and worked as a gardener.

Lindsay Robb had briefly worked on a building site but had been fired after Catholic co-workers complained about his loyalist tattoos, whilst he saw himself banned from Ibrox Park, the home of Rangers FC, after spitting at a rival fan and shouting sectarian abuse at Celtic FC striker Pierre van Hooijdonk.

In 2000 Lindsay Robb gave an interview to the Sunday Herald in which he claimed the Royal Ulster Constabulary had colluded with loyalists to ensure the imprisonment of Duffy.

Lindsay Robb claimed that the RUC had approached the UVF in Lurgan asking them to provide a fake witness who would testify that Duffy had been at the scene of Lyness's murder.

Lindsay Robb's claims were endorsed by senior figures within the UVF, who confirmed that they were keen to get rid of Duffy and felt that the deal implied that the police would "go easy" on the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade.

Lindsay Robb died at the end of 2005 after being stabbed in what was described as a "frenzied attack" in the east end of Glasgow.

Lindsay Robb had been waiting in his Ford Fiesta car on Gartloch Road in the Ruchazie area outside an off-licence when he was subjected to what Strathclyde Police investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Alan Buchanan described as a "vicious" attack.

Lindsay Robb had tried to run away, screaming out "Help me, help me, I'm dying" as he vainly attempted to ward off the knife-wielding attacker who tripped him up, and then stabbed him 22 times as he lay on the ground.

Lindsay Robb's body was found dumped around half a mile away from where the attack initially occurred.

Lindsay Robb was rumoured to have been carrying a substantial sum of money at the time he was killed.