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A loyalist supergrass who admitted the murders of five people among hundreds of offences has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

However Gary Haggarty, 47, will not serve them in jail as he was released in May 2018.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the original six-and-a-half year sentence given to Haggarty was too lenient.

He was a former leader of an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) unit in north Belfast.

Haggarty was also a paid police informer for 11 years.

After turning state witness in 2009, he provided information on 55 loyalist murders and 20 attempted murders in the course of 1,015 police interviews.

However, only one man is to be prosecuted, for two murders, on the back of the evidence.

The vast majority of people named by Haggarty in his police interviews will not face prosecution amid state concerns about a lack of supporting evidence.

Witness protection

Haggarty was given a 35-year jail term reduced to six-and-a-half years for helping the police.

In May 2018, it emerged that he had been released from prison and put into a witness protection programme in a secret location outside Northern Ireland.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal considered that the minimum term before taking into account mitigating factors was 40 years.

It said after applying the appropriate discount for the pre-agreement disclosures, a 60% reduction under the 2005 Act and a 25% discount for the plea results, a tariff of 10 years was appropriate.

The court said it was satisfied that the sentence of six-and-a-half years was unduly lenient "given the catalogue of infamy and murder of which he was guilty".

It said the 10-year sentence "represents a very considerable discount from a 40-year starting point and provides a generous incentive for those who are prepared to assist in combating terrorist violence".

Haggarty admitted murdering:

He also admitted five attempted murders, including against police officers, 23 counts of conspiracy to murder and directing terrorism.