The Ulster Volunteer Force has condemned the murder of a Northern Ireland loyalist that has been blamed on members of the paramilitary group.
The group issued a statement saying it was “seeking answers” to the fatal beating and apparent stabbing of Ian Ogle, a 45-year-old father of two, outside his home at Cluan Place in east Belfast on Sunday night.
“Whoever did it did not do it in the name of loyalism or the UVF. Actions of this sort undermine the positive transformation which is taking place with the organisation and we distance ourselves from the appalling act on a popular member of our local community. We send heartfelt condolences to the wider family circle.”
Police are reviewing security camera footage as part of the investigation into the murder, which has prompted an outcry against the UVF. Detectives appealed for witnesses and people with dashcam footage of the incident or aftermath to come forward.
A member of Ogle’s family recorded and posted online a graphic scene in the aftermath of the attack: he lay on the ground bleeding while a female voice cried out that UVF members had stabbed her father.
Four people were arrested in connection with the attack. Two men aged 31 and 45 were released on bail on Monday. Two women aged 35 and 36 remain in custody.
The Belfast Telegraph on Tuesday reported that a long-running feud erupted in pub brawls on Sunday, resulting in UVF members forming a “punishment squad” to seek a relative of Ogle. The group, thought to number five men, could not find the target so instead attacked Ogle as he stood outside his front door.
“It has been barbaric and the level of violence, the level that was used, was a disgrace,” George Dorrian, a Democratic Unionist party councillor who knows the family, told the BBC. “People just could not believe the sort of violence that was used upon this man.”
Ogle, known as “Big O”, was well known around Cluan Place and had acted as a spokesperson for the loyalist community, serving as a member of the Ulster People’s Forum, which was set up during loyalist flag protests in 2012.
By Tuesday afternoon, a GoFundMe page to help his family cover funeral expenses had raised more than £7,000. “Always had a cheeky grin and a kind word for everyone. This was murder by cowards too afraid to face him like the kind of man he was,” said one dedication.
Relatives, friends and supporters are due to hold a vigil on Wednesday evening. “This is a gathering/vigil of support for the entire Ogle family, to show our support as a community and send a clear message to these gangsters shaming East Belfast enough is enough,” said a Facebook post advertising the event.
The UVF was one of the deadliest paramilitary groups during the Troubles. It called a ceasefire in 1994 but has been linked to murders, organised crime and vigilante “punishment attacks”.
