In response to yesterday's paramilitary statement, carried on the News Letter's front page, the Alliance Party, Sinn fein and SDLP all condemned the UDA.

They also raised concern about the belligerent language in the statement, which talked of taking the battle to republicans.

And, in the case of the SDLP, they called for the Government to move against the organisation.

Alliance North Down MLA Stephen Farry said: "It is hard to conceive of a less appropriate organisation than the UDA to campaign on behalf of British values.

"I prefer to speak in terms of liberal values, but insofar as there are British values, they follow the general principles of respect for the rule of law, democracy and human rights. By contrast, the UDA stands for brutal sectarian murder and the oppression.

"It really is time that the UDA not only decommissioned their weapons but their organisation altogether. They never had any role to play in Northern Ireland."

Frankie Gallagher of the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) defended the statement and criticism that it has spoken of facing down republicans on a new "battlefield" and re-training members.

He explained this was purely training in the realms of education, community work, business and PR, nothing more sinister.

The battle was non-violent and against a Sinn Fein bid to eradicate British culture.

The UDA said republican "racism, ignorance and bigotry" has been exposed, particularly during protests at the recent Armed Forces homecoming parade.

Sinn Fein West Belfast MLA Jennifer McCann said: "This statement from the UDA is disingenuous. It highlights is the fact that they, and indeed many other unionists, have not even begun to understand where nationalists and republicans come from in relation to the RIR and British Army. The fact that these remarks were made at a Poppy Day event hosted by a loyalist organisation speaks volumes."

The UDA's use of language would obviously be a concern, she concluded, as they remain an armed organisation.

SDLP East Londonderry MLA John Dallat said unionism and the British security establishment must face up to the loyalist paramilitaries once and for all.

He said: ""The latest belligerent bluster from the UDA cannot go unchallenged. We have a First Minister and Deputy First Minister who should be providing leadership and we have a British minister in charge of our security. Yet an armed paramilitary group can state without repercussions that it is getting ready to do battle, that it is training in the skills to defend unionist communities. That is a scandal in any democracy."