Police in England are believed to be investigating the possibility that a member of a loyalist or republican paramilitary grouping was employed as a "hitman" to murder TV presenter Jill Dando. Ms Dando (37), was shot dead outside her London home over three months ago. No motive has been established.
According to a Sunday Times report, detectives met their Irish counterparts recently to compile names of republican and loyalist paramilitaries who they believe may be operating as contract killers in Britain. A police source is quoted in the newspaper as saying: "Our officers attended a conference and met police involved in the investigation to nominate suspects for the crime."
Yesterday's Sunday People reported that a Russian mafia leader may have been behind the killing. According to the report, the man met Ms Dando while she was in Cyprus and that he became enraged when she spurned his advances.
The announcement last week that bullets found at the murder scene had distinctive markings - consistent with the type of ammunition used by elite Russian special forces - has lent weight to speculation that the murder was a professional "hit".