Belfast Telegraph

This is a simple but powerful front page where the shocking picture tells the story. UVF killer Gary Haggarty has been in witness protection since 2009 when he turned supergrass (informer). He was flown back to Belfast to give evidence in the trial of Belfast man James Smyth (57), who is accused of killing Eamon Fox, a father-of-six, and Gary Convie, a father-of-one, in May 1994 as they sat in a car eating lunch. It is the highest-profile court case in Northern Ireland this year and given the nature of the witness, security was a huge concern. An application to the court to have the witness shielded by a screen was refused, but the presshad to undertake not to describe Haggarty's appearance or use any court artists to give an impression of Haggarty''s current look.

Despite this, somehow a gang of masked men not only showed up at court but made their way into the courtroom and sat through the whole first morning's evidence, with Haggarty in full view. Only in the afternoon were they asked to remove their masks. There was disbelief that this could happen in open court, especially given the highly-sensitive nature of the case and the focus on security. Our initial coverage sparked debate in the media and eventually the Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan admitted the events were unacceptable and asked the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) to identify how this incident occurred. And that was the question on everyone's lips, from the media, to local politicians right up to the Secretary of State: everyone wanted to know, how could this happen? Until an explanation is offered, the media will continue to ask how a gang of masked men could sit for three hours in a packed courtroom staring at a witness who was deemed so high-risk he was flown in and out of Belfast by private jet.