James Craig (loyalist)

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James Pratt Craig (17 November 1941 – 15 October 1988) was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the latter half of the 20th century, who was a member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), and a command member of its Inner Council. He also ran a criminal large-scale protection racket from the West Belfast Shankill Road area, where he resided. Described by journalist David McKittrick as "Belfast's foremost paramilitary extortionist", Craig allegedly colluded at times with the enemies of the UDA, Irish Republican groups such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), providing them with information on key loyalists which led to their subsequent murders. Aside from controlling rackets and extorting protection money from a variety of businesses, it was claimed that Craig also participated in paramilitary murders. He was accused by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) of setting up the assassinations of...

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