A former loyalist prisoner whose taxi business was destroyed by paramilitaries has lost his legal challenge against being refused compensation.
Jackie Mahood had at first sought up to £400,000 for repeated attacks which forced the closure of his north Belfast depot.
Mr Mahood, 55, launched High Court proceedings after Secretary of State Shaun Woodward decided it was not in the public interest to make a discretionary award.
He was refused a discretionary payment under the criminal damage compensation scheme due to terrorist convictions which saw him jailed for 15 years in 1975.
The father-of-three was said to have run the most successful taxi firm in his area before staff received death threats and 24 cars were attacked.
Paramilitary gangs attempting to muscle in on his business were blamed for the intimidation campaign which wrecked his Call-A-Cab company.
The court heard that following his release he became heavily involved in peace work, including a role on the Loyalist Commission which negotiated a truce between rival paramilitary factions.
A number of prominent unionist politicians were said to have lobbied on his behalf.
During the case, it emerged that a senior official within the Northern Ireland Office was asked to "sound out" DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson, who made representations on behalf of Mr Mahood, about his views on a possible payment of £40,000.
It was stressed however by Chris McCabe, then working with the NIO's political affairs section, that the secretary of state had not made up his mind about any pay-out.
Following the meeting in 2008, Mr Donaldson texted Mr McCabe back to say Mr Mahood was not interested in receiving £40,000.
© UTV News