Published Monday, 11 July 2011
David Miller, 39 and with an address at Upritchard Court in Bangor, was banned from the Mount Vernon estate - except or agreed visits to his mother - as part of bail conditions ahead of his trial.
He is among nine men charged with the murder of UDA leader Tommy English.
English, 40, was gunned down at his home on the Ballyduff estate in Newtownabbey at the height of a loyalist feud in October 2000.
Charges were brought against the suspects following a major reinvestigation by the Historical Enquiries Team, whose detectives centred their inquiries on the activities of an alleged UVF unit based in Mount Vernon.
Miller - who also faces a series of other charges, including UVF membership, grievous bodily harm with intent, kidnapping and wounding with intent - wanted to go into the Mount Vernon estate on Monday night, to attend the bonfire with his family.
The judge was told by Miller's lawyer that it would be his last chance for a break before his expected eight-month trial begins in September and that attending the bonfire was part of his culture.
But a prosecution barrister told Mr Justice Treacy that police had grave concerns and that it would be impossible to monitor Miller's movements as resources will already be stretched.
"Regardless of whether any bonfire in Mount Vernon passes off peacefully, the PSNI resources are going to be stretched to the absolute limit," she said.
"It's going to be impossible to police any activity."
Refusing the request, Mr Justice Treacy described it as "a wholly unmeritorious application".
He pointed to the reasons why Miller's visits to his mother were carefully agreed, saying it showed why it was necessary to keep him out of the estate at other times.
The judge told the defence: "I don't consider it is a suitable case to relax the bail conditions in the matter sought by your client who is on bail for murder and other serious offences."