Having been the main witness in the trial of a leading Provisional Irish Republican Army member in the early 1990s, Robb subsequently made a number of allegations about collusion between the British security forces and the loyalist paramilitaries.
Robb, who was working as a graphic designer at the time,[1] made the headlines, albeit without his name being revealed, in 1993 when he gave evidence at the trial of Colin Duffy, who was charged with the murder of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) soldier John Lyness.
[7] A rumour even circulated at the time that Robb, acting under orders from Wright, had been passing on details of the PUP's meetings to Ian Paisley in an attempt to damage UVF cohesion.
During the subsequent trial, the court was told that Robb led a double life, combining his political activism with a role as a travelling fundraiser for the UVF around Scottish pubs and Orange halls.
[3] The PUP initially claimed that Robb had been set up as part of a sting operation by the intelligence services, although the arrest and subsequent trial of a member of their talks delegation proved embarrassing for the party.
[2] Nelson argued that Robb had been dishonest and therefore unreliable as he had consistently denied any knowledge of the UVF and yet had been under surveillance by the security forces for some time for his work on behalf of that organisation in Scotland where he had settled after the Duffy trial.
[12] Robb had briefly worked on a building site but had been fired after Catholic co-workers complained about his loyalist tattoos, whilst he also saw himself banned from Ibrox Park, the home of Rangers F.C., after spitting at a rival fan and shouting sectarian abuse at Celtic F.C.
[12] Robb had been waiting in his Ford Fiesta car on Gartloch Road in the Ruchazie area outside an off-licence when he was subjected to what Strathclyde Police investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Alan Buchanan described as a "vicious" attack.
[18] Tollett, a 29-year-old former soldier with the Royal Fusiliers who had served in the Balkans and who claimed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, was found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.