Knight legal aid bill over £2,000
The costs came as he unsuccessfully appealed a conviction for assaulting two women in a pub in Coleraine.
Knight was a member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) gang that murdered eight people in the Rising Sun pub in Greysteel in the 1993 "trick or treat massacre."
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe was jailed for life for the murders but was released under the Good Friday Agreement in 2000.
He was sent back to prison late last year having breached the terms of his licence through the Coleraine assault of May 2008.
Now it emerges the taxpayer footed a 2,000 legal aid bill for the Coleraine man over the past two years.
East Londonderry MLA John Dallat asked the Minister of Justice David Ford to detail the cost of legal aid for the various court appearances by Knight in the last two years.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMr Ford replied: "The total cost of court appearances for Torrens Knight in the last two years amounted to 2,152.30 plus VAT.
"The sum includes the cost of fees paid to both the instructing solicitor and junior counsel as follows, 1,168.09 plus VAT 199.17 (instructing solicitor costs) and 668.12 plus VAT 116.92 (junior counsel)."