Alex Kerr (loyalist)

Alex Kerr is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary. Kerr was a brigadier in the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)'s South Belfast Brigade before becoming one of the two founders of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). He is no longer active in loyalism.

According to Henry McDonald, Kerr told him he was the son of a County Donegal-born mother whose hobby was Irish dancing, traditionally associated with Irish nationalists. Kerr made his home on the Taughmonagh estate in southwest Belfast.

From this centre of Ulster Defence Association activity, Kerr established his power base as South Belfast brigadier. The position had been held by John McMichael until he was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in 1987. Jackie McDonald was chosen as McMichael's replacement by Andy Tyrie, but he was not trusted by the rest of the leadership and was removed less than a year later following his arrest for extortion, allowing Kerr to become the new brigadier. Kerr was on good terms with West Belfast commander Johnny Adair, and in July 1992 he provided a bolt-hole in Taughmonagh from which Adair and his men were to launch an attack on IRA commander Brian Gillen's Finaghy Road North home. The attack did not take place as the C Company unit had been observed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) leaving the Shankill Road and were all subsequently arrested.

From the time of its establishment in 1971 until August 1992, the UDA was a legal loyalist paramilitary organisation; it was also the largest. In the spring of 1991, a year and a half before its proscription, the UDA aligned with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and its subsidiary group, the Red Hand Commando to establish the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC). This was a group designed to co-ordinate military activity and hold ad hoc discussions about political strategy. Liaison officers were appointed to the new body by each of the three groups and Kerr was chosen as the UDA's military representative. Each group also appointed a political liaison officer with Kerr joined by Ray Smallwoods in this function.

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