webofevil | Michael Stone 1

Loyalist Michael Stone planned to slit the throats of Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness when he stormed the NI Assembly, a court has heard. He has claimed his November 2006 action, which saw him detained by security staff, was “performance art”.

However, prosecution told Belfast Crown Court when arrested Stone told police he planned to kill the Sinn Fein men ... Charles Adair QC said that after his arrest, Stone said: “My intention was to walk into the debating chamber and look for where Adams, McGuinness and Sinn Fein were sitting. I would have lobbed several nail bombs to cause confusion. I planned to stab Adams and McGuinness and cut their throats.”

… After being trapped by a security guard in the doors of Stormont he lit a fuse on a bag he had and threw it into the hall, shouting that it was a bomb. The device never went off and is believed to have malfunctioned after having got damp during the torrential rain that fell that day.

The court heard that evidence, including a DVD of events at Stormont, had just come to light which both prosecution and defence would be using in the case. Arthur Harvey QC, who is defending Stone, said it would be used by him to back Stone's assertion that his actions at Stormont were performance art.

As well as the attempted murder charges, Stone is charged with possessing home-made explosives and an imitation gun with intent. He is also charged with carrying a garrotte, three knives and an axe and assaulting staff members who trapped him in the revolving doors at Stormont. [BBC]