Politics

Al Jazeera Investigation Links Turning Point UK to Convicted UVF Member

By Al Jazeera Investigative Unit

An Al Jazeera investigation has revealed that Allan Nesbitt, a convicted criminal and member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), is linked to Turning Point UK (TPUK), a right‑wing student group in the United Kingdom. The investigation, titled *Contract Killers and the Far Right*, began in 2021 when an undercover Al Jazeera reporter joined TPUK, an independent offshoot of the U.S. activist group Turning Point USA. TPUK has close ties to senior members of the British Conservative Party and Reform UK, and its CEO, Jack Ross, stood as a Conservative Party candidate in 2023.

During the investigation, Ross introduced the reporter to Nesbitt, who is from Glasgow, Scotland. Ross was filmed agreeing to pay Nesbitt thousands of pounds to stage a fake political rally supporting the lifting of UK sanctions against Zimbabwe. Ross also told the reporter that, for a certain amount, Nesbitt and his contacts could arrange physical attacks, including violence and murder.

To test Ross’s claims, the reporter fabricated a story about a business dispute with a fictional rival. In a private meeting in a London hotel, Nesbitt said he could arrange whatever was needed, including killing the fictional person, and that he had previously carried out violent acts. He showed the reporter a shotgun, a pistol, and live ammunition to demonstrate his capability.

Nesbitt explained that money paid for such killings would be used to arm the UVF in Northern Ireland. He said he had been involved in smuggling weapons into Ireland for many years, referring to the period of The Troubles, when Catholic and Protestant groups fought over Northern Ireland’s status. The UVF, a Protestant loyalist group, was responsible for over 500 killings between 1966 and 1999, including the 1971 McGurk’s bar bomb massacre and the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings.

After the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the UVF transformed into a more traditional criminal gang, according to journalist Patricia Devlin. Former deputy director of the UK’s National Crime Agency, Roy McComb, said that the history of loyalism between Northern Ireland and Scotland includes evidence of firearms trafficking and intelligence sharing.

The investigation also uncovered links between TPUK and other far‑right agitators in the UK, including groups involved in protests against migrants and LGBTQ+ rights. Senior analyst Ciaran O’Connor of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue described TPUK as aligning with these groups to mobilise support and demonise asylum seekers.

A former UVF member told Al Jazeera that the far right in the UK is a “toothless tiger,” but that connections to groups like the UVF could change that. Al Jazeera notified Scottish police about Nesbitt and his weapons for public safety. Jack Ross denied the findings, saying everything he said to the undercover reporter was not serious. No other parties responded to inquiries. The full Al Jazeera investigation can be viewed online.