I normally look for a more reliable source than the Daily Ireland before posting about this, but Google News has failed me I'm afraid. A teenage witness to the Michael McIlveen murder in Ballymena has had to withdraw from school in his GCSE year due to police advise that his life might be in danger.

Christopher Graham's older brother (Paul, 27) was attacked and beaten by loyalists a fortnight ago.

Despite some sick fuckers circulating a video of the attack on Michael McIlveen, and others scrawling "Fuck MickyBo" on a tricolour that was burned on a bonfire, I cannot reiterate enough how disgusted I am (as, I imagine are the vast, vast majority of people in Northern Ireland, nationalist and unionist alike) over the murder and these subsequent events.

Those involved aren't acting as loyalists, they're acting for themselves. They carried out a random, mindless, savage attack which resulted in the death of an innocent child and now they're trying to save their own asses the only way they know how - intimidation. Thankfully Christopher Graham's father has said that they won't be dropping their statements. I'm sure the police will do everything they can to bring the killers to justice, and I just hope it's enough. I can't make this clear enough: the sooner they're in a cold, hard cell the better.