A man accused of plotting to kill Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair asked a Celtic striker for his dad's help getting guns, a high court has heard.

Anton Duffy (39) is one of four men accused of trying to murder the former high profile figures in the Ulster Defence Association's (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters, Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair and Sam McCrory.

They deny all the charges.

Anton Duffy (38) and John Gorman (57) allegedly conspired to murder Johnny Adair and Samuel McCrory, between August 2010 and October 2013.

Martin Hughes (35) and Paul Sands (31) are alleged to have assisted on the second charge.

The revelations were made as the trial heard the accused were recorded by police in surveillance operations during which Duffy's house was bugged.

According to the Scottish Daily Record it was claimed that Duffy approached striker Anthony Stokes in the Brazen Head pub in Glasgow to ask if his father could help him get a supply of firearms.

Regulars in the Glasgow Pub reacted furiously, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

A conservation recorded after he returned from the pub on September 1, 2013 was played to the court.

The court heard 1,300 hours of covert tapes were recorded during the operation codenamed Operation Hairsplitter.

The trial before judge Lady Scott continues.

Profile

Former UDA and UFF paramilitary Johnny Adair was ousted from his Shankill power base in a loyalist feud in 2002 after Adair tried to take control of the terrorist organisation. He and his friend and sidekick Sam McCrory were exiled, and eventually ended up in Scotland. Adair was the first person convicted in Northern Ireland of directing terrorism. McCrory is now a gay rights activist.

Irish Independent