Ford in call for UDA to decommission and end all criminality

5.00.00pm GMT Sat 10th Nov 2007

Alliance Party Leader David Ford has called for the UDA to completely decommission all its weapons and end all its criminal activities. His comments come on the eve of an expected statement by the UDA on Remembrance Sunday in which they are expected to announce that they are standing down their organisation.

The South Antrim MLA said: "The UDA has been making several moves towards the standing down of its organisation in recent months.

"And the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shaun Woodward said last month that there was 'meaningful engagement' with UDA over the decommissioning of their weapons.

"But I believe that if tomorrow's statement by the UDA is to mean anything then they must stop all criminality, announce the decommissioning of all its weapons and the standing down their organisation.

"There was no justification for the organisation in the first place. It is long past time it disappeared for good."