Winston Irvine pleads guilty to firearms offences

Winston 'Winkie' Irvine was due to go on trial on Monday

Leading loyalist Winston Irvine has pleaded guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.

Irvine, 49, of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast and co-accused Robin Workman, 53, of Shore Road in Larne, County Antrim, were due to go on trial at Belfast Crown Court in front of a judge sitting alone without a jury.

However, following legal discussions, lawyers for both men made applications for their clients to be re-arraigned on all charges they faced.

Standing in the dock, both men entered guilty pleas that they possessed firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.

They also admitted two counts of possessing a handgun without a certificate, one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a firearm without a certificate.

Workman further pleaded guilty to possessing a .177 calibre air rifle without holding a firearm certificate.

All of the offences were committed on 8 June 2022.

Custody threshold

The defendants had previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were first arraigned in August.

Judge Gordon Kerr KC said that as the offences automatically passed the custody threshold, Irvine and Workman were entitled to have pre-sentence reports prepared on them by the Probation Board NI.

Defence lawyers for Irvine and Workman said they would not be seeking pre-sentence reports for their clients ahead of sentencing and would be providing the court with their own documents in due course.

There were no objections from the prosecution to the defendants remaining on bail.

Irvine and Workman are due to be sentenced on 23 January.

No details were given in court on Monday on the circumstances surrounding the offences.

At hearing at Belfast Magistrates' Court in June, the court was told police said Workman transported a quantity of weapons and ammunition to the Glencairn area of Belfast in his van, which police believed were then put into the boot of Irvine’s Volkswagen Tiguan car.

A short time later Irvine’s vehicle was stopped by police in Disraeli Street.

When he was asked if there was anything in the car that he could not account for, Irvine replied “bag in the boot”.

A long-barrelled firearm, two suspected pistols, several magazines and a large quantity of ammunition were discovered inside a holdall in the boot.

'Trusted interlocutor'

Irvine made no comment during police interviews.

He provided a prepared statement, claiming: "I have developed a reputation as a trusted interlocutor engaging with the community on key outstanding issues in relation to the Northern Ireland peace and political process.''