As Ulster's hard man ponders his future, his past is set to haunt him

Billy Wright, known as King Rat, is a child of the troubles. Born in 1960, he was 15 years old when one of the formative events of his life took place not far from where he lived in South Armagh - the Whitecross massacre.

On a January night in 1976, a gang of IRA gunmen stopped a busload of workmen, weeded out the Catholics, and opened fire on the Protestants. Ten men were killed.

Republicans argued that the incident was an attempt to shock loyalists into ending a wave of attacks on Catholics in the county. If so, it could hardly have been more counter-productive, for it led to the young Wright joining the Ulster Volunteer Force. The Catholic community has paid heavily ever since.

Mr Wright has had two spells in prison and gone through a religious phase as a lay preacher. But during much of the 1980s and 1990s he built his reputation as a militant. He is the latest in a long line of paramilitaries who become figures of notoriety and fascination but also causing fear and hatred in great measure. Such people often become marked men and end up dead or in prison. Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, of the Ulster Defence Association, has been jailed for 17 years; Jim Craig of the same organisation was killed by his own men; Dessie O'Hare, of the Irish National Liberation Army, has been put behind bars for 40 years; John McKeague, a loyalist, was killed by republicans.

One of the factors which propelled Mr Wright to his current notoriety was the journalistic invention of his nickname, "King Rat".

Using it meant that local newspapers felt free to write about this figure, building him up to almost mythical proportions. Mr Wright was not usually named, but everyone knew that King Rat was Billy Wright, and the stream of publicity built up his image.

His militancy increased as three relatives - his father-in-law, brother- in-law and an uncle - were killed by the IRA. He has lived most of his life in the town of Portadown, scene of this summer's stand-off at Drumcree and known as one of Northern Ireland's most bitter towns and the centre of one of its most violent areas.

The early 1990s brought an upsurge of loyalist violence around Portadown, with Mr Wright as a prime suspect for many of the killings. He is known as a cold and clever man who gives nothing away under police interrogation.

As his reputation grew, the IRA made several attempts to kill him, but he has turned his house into a well-protected fortress and is careful about where he goes and sleeps.

When the loyalist organisations declared their ceasefire in October 1994, two months after the IRA cessation, Wright at first supported the move. But within months he became restless with inactivity and was increasingly critical of the UVF leadership.

The organisation's chiefs in Belfast have maintained their ceasefire even after the collapse of the IRA's, and have furthermore taken a political line more moderate than that of the mainstream Protestant parties, such as David Trimble's Ulster Unionists.This has clearly not been to Mr Wright's liking.

He received a wave of publicity when he and his associates featured prominently at Drumcree, then later figured again in the news when it emerged that he had met Mr Trimble during the stand-off. Mr Trimble has said he asked Wright to use his influence to keep things calm.It is reported that a close associate of Mr Wright was ready to drive a mechanical digger at the obstacles at Drumcree and into the RUC lines.

It did not happen, but some miles away a Catholic man was shot dead in an attack which is believed to be the work of the UVF. Mr Wright and some associates were questioned about the killing by police but released without charge.

The murder was regarded by the UVF leaders as a flagrant breach of the loyalist ceasefire and led to the announcement at the start of this month that its mid-Ulster unit was being disbanded.

When it became evident that the unit would not meekly accept this, the death threat was issued against Mr Wright, making it clear that his fame would not protect him.