LONDON UDA GUNRUNNING, TARGETING BRITISH MPs & OFFERS FROM SPECIAL BRANCH| Frank Portinari, ex-London UDA Commander

The Good Listener Podcast

Frank Portinari is a former commander of the London UDA during the troubles and was eventually imporisoned after being caught buying firearms which were to used for the loyalist cause of keeping the 6 counties of Northern Ireland part of the UK.
Frank told us about his growing in working-class London in a largely Irish area and how he ended up as a Tottnem football holligan during the decades when large-scale fights between rival supporters were commonplace. Frank speaks about his various involvements with political groups including, at one stage, the National Front who are well known for anti-immigrant and often racist views.
Frank would eventually get drawn into the Northern-Ireland conflict as a response to IRA bombs in England and hearing IRA chants and songs in his own London streets. He joined and would quickly lead the London-UDA (Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary group) during which time he targeted IRA members and sympathizers as well as plots to assassinate several British MPs including Ken Livingston.
Frank reveled how he had been propositioned by British Special Branch a number of times and spoke about collusion between loyalist paramilitaries including security forces passing photos of and information about IRA men.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro, growing up in Camden
06:00 Football hooligan days
11:00 Getting involved w/ National Front
22:00 Leaving National Front
28:40 JOINING LONDON UDA
46:40 Plots to ASSASSINATE BRITISH MPS
58:15 Getting caught & prison time
1:09:40 Leaving the loyalist movement
1:12:55 BEING APPROACHED BY SPECIAL BRANCH & Hearing about Loyalist/British security forces COLLUSION
1:20:40 Leaving loyalist movement II