The Five Demands

Funeral for ex-UVF leader Spence (UTV)
Former UVF leader Gusty Spence has been described as “a man of war and a man of peace”, as over 1,000 mourners attended his funeral in Belfast’s Shankill Road area on Wednesday.
At the UVF founder’s request, there were no paramilitary trappings – his coffin instead draped in the regimental flag of the Royal Ulster Rifles as it arrived at St Michael’s Church.
Colleagues from his regiment formed a guard of honour, while UDA leader Jackie McDonald and past and present UVF leaders were among the mourners.
The UUP’s Michael McGimpsey and Mike Nesbitt, the former head of the Civil Service Maurice Hayes, and former PUP leaders Brian Ervine and Dawn Purvis also attended.
It was Ms Purvis who paid tribute to Gusty Spence, saying he was “a man of war, he was also a man of peace” and adding that he was frank about his past.
But she also said he often shocked his loyalist contemporaries with his willingness to build bridges between working class Protestants and Catholics.
“My experience of Gusty was as the whole man. A man once involved in conflict. A man who worked tirelessly for peace,” Ms Purvis told the congregation.
“A man committed to social and economic justice and equality and a man absolutely devoted and committed to his wife and family.”
Mr Spence’s eldest granddaughter Louise also paid tribute during the service.
“A lot has been said about Gusty, some good, some not so good. This is nothing new to the family. We knew who he was and who he wasn’t,” she said.
“He was a man who loved his wife with every ounce of his body … To those who have been touched by the conflict here, he would say: ‘Learn from your experiences’.”
Gusty Spence spent 18 years in jail of the murder of Catholic man Peter Ward – a killing he always denied. The case is now being reviewed.
Although a loyalist godfather, the 78-year-old is also credited with having turned from violence to play a major role in the peace process in Northern Ireland.