UPRG withdraw support for police

The UPRG in the north west say they are withdrawing support for the police

The Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) have said they are withdrawing support for the police in Londonderry and north Antrim.

The group, which has links with the UDA, has also withdrawn support for the political institutions after consulting with grass roots loyalists in the area.

In a statement the UPRG said the decision came after "the demonisation of loyalism in the region".

It also said the PSNI operated a "green agenda throughout the north west".

On Wednesay, the group said the move should "serve to remind all politicians that Northern Ireland is not about the city of Belfast alone".

"In 1998 we were told that no section of the community would be left behind in building a new Northern Ireland. However, since then, grass roots loyalist communities in the north west have been ignored and allowed to wallow in poverty, destitution and squalor.

"The issues facing loyalists in North Antrim and in Londonderry are completely separate to those faced by loyalists in the urban expanse of Belfast and surrounding areas."

Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson said the move was "a pathetic whinge on behalf of a discredited criminal gang".

Coleraine councillor Billy Leonard said it would lead to "greater community concerns and tensions" in the Coleraine area following the murder of Kevin McDaid in May.

In June the UDA said it had started to decommission its weapons following the news that the UVF and Red Hand Commando had completed the process.