The paramilitary group in Northern Ireland blamed for the murder on Monday of a member of a rival Protestant group has denied any involvement in the killing.

The Loyalist Volunteer Force, which wants the province to remain part of the United Kingdom, said none of its members or weapons were implicated in the death of Richard Jameson, a member of the rival Ulster Volunteer Force who was shot dead outside his home near Portadown in County Armagh.

The statement was phoned to a Belfast newsroom with a recognised codeword.

A BBC correspondent in Northern Ireland says that if the LVF's ceasefire were deemed to have been broken, its jailed members would cease to be eligible for early release from prison.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service