London - Michael Stone, one of the most notorious figures among former Protestant paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, was Monday sentenced to 16 years in jail for the attempted murder of Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.

The 53-year-old former leading member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), was sentenced by Belfast Crown Court for an armed attack on the Stormont regional parliament in November, 2006.

The court heard that the dramatic attempt to storm the building was aimed at "slitting the throats" of Adams and McGuinness who were in the chamber in Belfast at the time.

As well as two attempted murder counts, Stone was found guilty of seven other charges related to the Stormont attack, including possession of nail bombs, three knives, a garrotte, an axe, and causing criminal damage.

Stone was stopped at the entrance to the building in a dramatic struggle with security guards.

Handing down sentence, the presiding judge said he had decided not to give Stone a life term on the grounds that his actions had not resulted in any serious injury.

It was also taken into account that Stone was suffering from a degenerative muscle wasting condition which would see him confined to a wheelchair in the future, the court ruled.

Stone gained notoriety in 1988 when he killed three mourners at a funeral of members of the nationalist Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Belfast.

The court dismissed Stone's defence that his attempt to gain entry to the parliament building was "performance art." (dpa)