David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent of The Times, examines the reputation of murdered loyalist terror boss Jim Gray - but says his killing should not escalate existing feuds in loyalist movement:

What was Jim Gray's reputation in Belfast?

Jim Gray was a flamboyant and feared leader of the Ulster Defence Association in East Belfast who had recently been charged in relation to money-laundering - he was picked up as he was apparently attempting to leave the country with a 10,000 euro money order and £3,000 in cash. The police were investigating him as part of a wider investigation into money-laundering, fraud and corruption by paramilitary organisations.

He was also said to have been involved in drug-dealing on a large scale and was regarded as a ruthless man who ruled part of East Belfast with an iron fist, with a number of trusted lieutenants around him. And his nickname was "Doris Day" because of his image: he had a permatan, wore flashy gold jewellery, had dyed blond hair and drove big and flashy 4X4 vehicles.

He was not the best known UDA leader - that was probably Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, now living in Bolton, Lancashire. His fame was not on the same scale as Adair's, but within the waters in which he swam he was probably equally feared and well known.

Is this part of an escalating feud or a settling of debts?

I think its probably the latter, although it's always hard to say because loyalist paramilitary groups are so unpredictable. Police say that their major line of inquiry is that the UDA killed him, so that implies it was internal housekeeping. There have been six arrests so far and the investigations are at an early stage, but the main hypothesis was that the murder was committed by the organisation of which Gray had been a leading member - Brigadier for East Belfast.

Could he have been killed to silence him?

He was released on bail only recently and there were rumours - the sort of rumours always generated when someone is released from police custody - that he had done some sort of deal and was going to turn informer. So it is possible that the decision was taken by the UDA to prevent him doing that. The police say that they were not providing him with protection and were not keeping him under surveillance.

Will this have a knock-on effect on the peace process?

I doubt it, but it does demonstrate the fragility of loyalism at the moment. We have a situation where the Government no longer believes that the UVF, the Ulster Volunteer Force, is observiing a ceasefire after its feud with the breakaway Loyalist Volunteer Force. But the UVF appears completely unperturbed by that.

I think we are in for a longer period of unrest. As for this killing, I don't think there will be much of a reaction. If you work on the theory that there was a decision by the UDA to kill Jim Gray, then that decision will be acknowledged and accepted by senior UDA members.

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