 Tommy Irvine, who replaced Lyttle as West Belfast Brigadier, favoured a less centralised structure to the Brigade and gave more of a free hand to the more violent-minded younger men such as Spence, Adair and Mo Courtney.Irvine made Spence military commander of the West Belfast Brigade, although only a few weeks into this role Spence's Stevens Inquiries arrest came.Irvine was himself arrested in August 1990, and following his incarceration was very briefly replaced by Ken Barrett.