Loyalist meeting ‘useful and constructive’, says Murphy

The Government has described Tuesday’s meeting with some of Northern Ireland’s leading loyalist figures as “useful and constructive”.

Following the meeting with the Ulster Political Research Group, and the PUP on Monday, the Secretary of State, Paul Murphy said there had been a “very serious discussion on a wide range of issues of concern to the loyalist community, and of the process by which they could be addressed”.

He said: “It was also made clear that paramilitary activity had to end and that the issue of decommissioning must be dealt with. We agreed to maintain contact and continue the dialogue.”

The UPRG's Frankie Gallagher said discussions centred on where loyalism would like to be in five to 10 years and that his delegation had told the government that loyalists felt left behind by the peace process.

Members of the Ulster Defence Association leadership including Andre Shoukri, Jackie McDonald and Billy McFarlane joined Mr Gallagher at the talks.

Yesterday’s discussions followed last week’s handing over of the second Independent Monitoring Commission report on continuing republican and loyalist paramilitary activity to the British and Irish governments.

The UDA is currently one of those groups whose ceasefires are not recognised by the government because of what it perceives as ongoing paramilitary activity by that organisation.

(MB)