William Stobie

William "Billy" Stobie (1950 – 12 December 2001)[4] was an Ulster Defence Association (UDA) quartermaster and RUC Special Branch informer[3] who was involved in the shootings of student Adam Lambert in 1987 and solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989.

[10] At the Stevens Enquiry ("Overview & Recommendations"), Stobie admitted supplying the guns for the attack and driving Stephen Harbinson[11] in the getaway car.

[12] Stobie's informing did not go unnoticed and in May 1992 he narrowly avoided being killed by other members of the West Belfast Brigade who suspected he was a "tout".

[13] On the evening of 21 May 1992, Stobie was called to the house of Jackie Thompson on Snugville Street where a party was being held with Adair and fellow UDA members Donald Hodgen, Tommy Potts, and others in attendance.

In June that year, journalist Ed Moloney published Stobie's version of the circumstances of Finucane's death.

[citation needed] In 2001, Stobie let it be known that he would be willing to testify at an inquiry into Finucane's killing, stating that he would not name loyalists but would name their RUC "handlers".

By declaring that he supported the Finucane family's demand for a public inquiry, he effectively made himself a target for his former UDA comrades.