The former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) has said that loyalists can no longer trust the government.
Brian Ervine was speaking to the Good Morning Ulster programme on Friday after reports that a Stormont Committee have asked for the minutes of a meeting which took place between the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons.“The problem is we can’t trust that the union is safe and we can’t trust government,” Mr Ervine said.
Mr Ervine was leader of the PUP from 2010 to 2011.
When asked why the LCC met government ministers, Mr Ervine said: “The real question is, is there any confidence in government? Is there any trust in government anymore?
“This means we are going to have these paramilitary groups continue in the background waiting on a time when they may be called upon.”
The Department for Communities confirmed that the minister met the LCC “to discuss economic and social deprivation in unionist communities”.
The LCC includes representatives from paramilitary groups the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA).
Remind me again why we care about the opinions of people linked to drugs, prostitution, protection rackets and practically every other ill in our society?
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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