Loyalist killer who ‘murdered Catholics for being Catholics' marries a Catholic
Ex-UVF man Jimmy 'Shades' Smyth ties the knot at Antrim hotel
UVF killer Jimmy 'Shades' Smyth was all smiles as he tied the knot with his Catholic bride yesterday.
The loyalist, who has been linked to numerous sectarian murders, got hitched to his wife, who we are not naming, at the Dunsilly Hotel in Antrim.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Sturgeon: MSPs probing me 'took direction' from Salmond
Writing in the chapter 'Alex Salmond', Ms Sturgeon said that the work of the Scottish Parliament committee set up to investigate the Scottish Government's handling of the original complaints against her predecessor created the 'most intense' feeling of being on trial. READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Rapist Isla Bryson is 'biological male' Nicola Sturgeon memoir on sale three days before embargo Ms Sturgeon said: 'If it sometimes felt to me like a 'witch-hunt', it is probably because for some of them [MSPs on the committee] that is exactly what it was. 'I was told, and I believe it to be true, that some of the opposition MSPs were taking direction from Alex himself - though possibly through an intermediary - on the points to pursue and the questions to ask.' Ms Sturgeon described giving evidence to the committee on March 3 2021 as not just a 'gruelling experience' and 'brutal episode' of her life but a 'cathartic one'. She wrote: ' the significant number of people who tuned in to watch the chance to see for themselves how partisan some of the committee members were being.' Giving evidence, Ms Sturgeon told the committee she did not become aware of any allegations against Mr Salmond until 2018 and described this as the 'moment in my life that I will never forget'. The committee was set up after a judicial review in 2019 concluded that the Scottish government's investigation into Mr Salmond's alleged misconduct was unlawful, unfair and tainted by apparent bias. Mr Salmond, who died of a heart attack last October, was later awarded more than £500,000 in legal expenses. He was subsequently cleared of 13 sexual offence charges in 2020, including attempted rape. Later in her book, Ms Sturgeon suggests that Alex Salmond leaked details about the investigation into sexual misconduct claims made against him- something fervently denied by his supporters. The former first minister also claimed her predecessor was 'determined to destroy her' and he "died without reckoning with himself", adding that he was a "man who was not prepared to look honestly at himself in the mirror". Ms Sturgeon denied releasing details about the probe, or having any knowledge of who did, however, she added it would have been "classic Alex" to have been behind the leak. Alba party leader Kenny MacAskill has since called her a "hypocrite" while the party's former general secretary, Chris McEleny, described the ex-SNP leader's claim as a "fabrication". MacAskill recently called for a public inquiry into the handling of sexual misconduct complaints against Mr Salmond, who he took over from as Alba party leader.
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Nicola Sturgeon ‘still friends' with disgraced text-pest Derek Mackay despite schoolboy scandal
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon still counts shamed ex-Nats minister Derek Mackay as a 'friend' him being outed for pestering a schoolboy with creepy text messages. Disgraced Mackay was forced to quit after The Scottish Sun exclusively revealed he was pestering a 16-year-old schoolboy with creepy text messages. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 21: Finance secretary Derek Mackay and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon arrive at the Scottish Parliament during final stage of Scottish Budget on February 21, 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The final debate on the Budget Bill took place ahead of the crucial vote at decision time later today. (Photo by […] Credit: Getty 4 270-online-messages-finance-secretary-917337482 Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk The former first minister said she went into 'a bit of denial' about the allegations and spared the then-finance chief the walk of shame past his colleagues. She also told how the disgraced Nat was 'chalk-white and almost totally uncommunicative' when she pressed him on the allegations. Ms Sturgeon wrote: 'I went into a bit of denial initially, thinking it couldn't possibly be true. Could it? 'Normally, if a minister got into bother, they'd be summoned to my office, but on this occasion, with some misplaced empathy perhaps, I felt I didn't want to put Derek through the ordeal of walking through my outer office, past staff who already had wind of what was afoot. 'So I went to find him instead. He was in his office, a copy of the budget speech he would never deliver sitting on the desk in front of him. He was chalk-white and almost totally uncommunicative.' But after our story went live, the ex-Nats chief said there was no doubt Mr Mackay had to quit his post. She wrote: 'I was back at Bute House when the Sun story went online, late that evening. I felt sick as I read it. 'The messages were published in full and were not open to benign interpretation. 'They would be seen by any objective reader as Derek trying to engineer reasons to meet with the boy and to strike up a relationship with him. 'Given the age difference and the power imbalance, it was impossible to describe the exchanges as anything other than inappropriate. I had received and accepted Derek's resignation within the hour.' Nicola Sturgeon admits mistake on gender ID battle in bombshell TV interview The former Finance Secretary was forced to quit in February 2020 when we revealed he told a 16-year-old lad he was 'cute' and invited him to dinner while bombarding him with 270 online messages. We told how Mackay pestered the lad in private on Instagram and Facebook over six months between August 2019 and February 2020 after contacting him out of the blue. At one point, powerful Mackay told the boy: 'And our chats are between us?' Opposition leaders at the time slammed Mackay's 'predatory' behaviour – though police ultimately did not take action – and now-ex SNP MP Joanna Cherry KC hit out at his 'totally unacceptable grooming behaviour'. Despite this, Ms Sturgeon claims she still considers Mr Mackay a 'friend' after he 'rightly paid the price' for his actions. She wrote: 'However, he had made a serious mistake and, rightly, paid the price. He eventually got his life back on track and, though it would be a few years before I spoke to him again, I still count him as a friend.' 4 08/08/2025 – SCOTLAND – The interview, conducted by Julie Etchingham, airs on Monday, 11 August at 7¿pm across ITV. This interview provides a rare chance to hear directly from Nicola Sturgeon following her resignation in March¿2023 and ahead of her memoir launch. It promises a blend of candor, introspection, and reflection on her political legacy, […] Credit: Unpixs
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Nicola Sturgeon makes shock Isla Bryson admission in another partial U-turn in new book
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NICOLA Sturgeon has admitted rapists like notorious criminal Isla Bryson should "probably" not be able to choose their own gender in another partial climbdown on her self-ID crusade. The ex First Minister's remarks come after she rejected opponents' pleas in 2022 to ban men who'd sexually assaulted women from being able to change the sex on their birth certificate simply by filling out a form. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Sign up 4 Nicola Sturgeon has opened up ahead of the release of her new book Credit: ITV News 4 The former First Minister admitted she made a mistake in how she handled the gender ID row Credit: ITV News 4 Ms Sturgeon finally conceded that trans double rapist Bryson is a 'biological male' Credit: PA 4 Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay slammed the ex-Nats chief's comments Credit: Alamy In a primetime ITV interview with Julie Etchingham, the ex-Nats chief also finally conceded that trans double rapist Bryson is a 'biological male' after years of dodging the question - but still referred to Bryson as 'they', not 'he'. Asked whether she believed Bryson was a woman, she said: 'Isla Bryson identified as a woman.' But she added: 'I think what I would say now is anybody who commits the most heinous male crime against women probably forfeits the right to be, you know, the gender of their choice.' Told by Ms Etchingham that the phrase 'the gender of their choice' goes to 'the heart of' the issue of controversial gender self-ID laws passed by Holyrood but blocked by the UK Government, Ms Sturgeon seemed to backtrack and said 'that probably was not the best phrase to use.' She added: 'If you rape a woman then I think you probably, the debate about whether they should be called a woman or not probably…' Asked why she couldn't say Isla Bryson is a biological male, Ms Sturgeon said: 'They are a biological male. but that's about whether... It gets back into the self-ID thing. I should have been much more straightforward. I wasn't. "We'd lost all sense of rationality in this debate. I'm partly responsible for that.' Responding to her remarks, feminist campaigner and ex SNP MSP Joan McAlpine said: "Bryson was just as much of a male in 2023 as he is now. But Nicola Sturgeon couldn't bring herself to call him a man then. She still cannot. "She says he 'probably forfeits the right' to 'choose his gender'. She needs to take an anatomy class or look again at the photographs of him on this pink leggings. "The GRA legislation she championed allows any man to change his birth certificate on a whim, even if he has full male anatomy and is a rapist. Nicola Sturgeon reveals first look at 'midlife crisis' tattoo & says she still MISSES Alex Salmond "She rejected amendments to exclude sex offenders from the process - the only difference between then and now is she has a book to sell.' Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay, whose attempts to block rapists getting gender recognition certificates were voted down by the SNP, slammed the ex-Nats chief's comments. He said: 'Frankly, Nicola Sturgeon must be delusional if she thinks the women of Scotland will swallow this drivel. 'She arrogantly ignored all warnings that gender self-ID would be a gift to male predators like Isla Bryson. And she ordered her SNP MSPs to vote down my attempts to block rapists and other sex criminals from being able to legally change their gender by self-declaration. 'Her absurd ideological belief in self-ID collapses with her belated mealy-mouthed admission that this rapist is a man, but she still can't bring herself to say sorry for all the pain and misery she has caused. 'Let's not forget that if it was not for Alister Jack's common-sense decision to block Sturgeon's dangerous law, every rapist in Scotland would be able to declare themselves as women with the full support of the state.' And SNP MSP Michelle Thomson who was a fierce critic of gender self-ID and also tabled parly amendments to pause the granting of gender recognition certificates to rapists, said Ms Sturgeon's comments came 'far too late'. She said: 'It's far too late to concede that rapists should not be able to self-identify into the gender of their choice. 'Had she stopped to consider or engage with concerns regarding women's existing rights she would not have forced the SNP group to vote against my amendment to temporarily pause the granting of GRC's to rapists." Ms Thomson added: 'Her decision made clear that their rights should trump those of the raped. 'This was not, and never will be, the actions of a feminist.' Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill, whose sole MSP Ash Regan quit the SNP over the proposed law change, blasted Ms Sturgeon for 'staggering hypocrisy'. He added: 'She started it, she maintained it and it's damaged us all especially vulnerable and damaged women. 'To now be suggesting a change in policy when she drove it forward with gusto and rejected changes to mitigate the harm is laughable. "But change must come and the continuing legacy of her perverse policy must be redded out.'
