258. The Murder of Billy Wright: Collusion or Incompetence? | William McKee
9 November 2026
About This Episode
On 27 December 1997, loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright was shot dead by INLA prisoners inside the Maze Prison. William McKee was the governor in charge that day.
In Part Two of this extended conversation, William reconstructs the events leading to Wright’s murder and examines the extraordinary sequence of security failures surrounding it.
A camera overlooking what William describes as the “kill zone” was not working. A visiting list revealing Wright’s movements reached the INLA wing. Intelligence concerning an approved murder operation was not passed to the appropriate people. A watchtower that William says should never have been left unmanned was stood down without his authority. Prison vans were also parked differently, obscuring the view of the yard.
William discusses Judge Peter Cory’s identification of nine potentially collusive acts, the subsequent public inquiry and its findings concerning fractured intelligence and serious management failures.
He also explains how the murder resulted in another death threat against him—and how Jeffrey Donaldson’s intervention ultimately helped persuade the LVF that William had played no part in Wright’s killing.
Was the murder enabled by collusion, catastrophic incompetence or a succession of mistakes? William offers the perspective of the man responsible for the prison when it happened.
Recorded in Carrickfergus.
William McKee
William McKee is a former senior prison governor and author whose career included service within the Maze Prison during the Troubles. He was the governor in charge of the prison on 27 December 1997, when loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright was murdered by INLA prisoners. William now writes and speaks about his experiences within Northern Ireland’s prison system.