Editing Loyalist feud (section)

===1972–1974===
From its beginnings the UDA was wracked by internal problems and in 1972, the movement's first full year of existence, three members, Ingram Beckett, John Brown and Ernest Elliott were killed by other UDA members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1972.html|title=CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths|first=Malcolm|last=Sutton|website=www.cain.ulst.ac.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514143657/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/1972.html|archive-date=2011-05-14}}</ref> The main problems were between East Belfast chief [[Tommy Herron]] and [[Charles Harding Smith]], his rival in the west of the city, over who controlled the movement. Although they had agreed to make compromise candidate [[Andy Tyrie]] the leader, each man considered himself the true leader. Herron was killed in September 1973 in an attack that remains unsolved.<ref>[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch73.htm A Chronology of the Conflict - 1973] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004014811/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch73.htm |date=2017-10-04 }}, CAIN Web Service</ref>

However, with Tyrie confirmed in overall control of the UDA, Harding Smith initially remained silent until, in 1974, he declared that the West Belfast brigade of the movement was splitting from the mainstream UDA on the pretext of a visit to [[Libya]] organised by Tyrie in a failed attempt to procure arms from [[Muammar Gaddafi|Colonel Qadaffi]]. The trip had been roundly criticised by the Unionist establishment and raised cries that the UDA was adopting [[socialism]], and so Harding Smith used it re-ignite his attempts to take charge.<ref>McDonald & Cusack, ''UDA'', pp. 85-86</ref> Harding Smith survived two separate shootings but crucially lost the support of other leading [[Shankill Road]] UDA figures and eventually left Belfast after being visited by North Belfast Brigadier [[Davy Payne]], who warned him that he would not survive a third attack.<ref>McDonald & Cusack, ''UDA'', pp. 86-87</ref>