NIO defends meeting with loyalist umbrella group over Brexit concerns

The Northern Ireland Office has defended meeting with an umbrella group representing loyalist paramilitary groups - reportedly over their mounting concerns regarding the impact of Brexit.
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It is reported that a hard hitting meeting took place last week when Northern Ireland Office (NIO) representatives met with the  Loyalist Community Council (LCC) with regards to grassroots loyalist concerns about the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol on British identity.

The LCC was launched in October 2015 with the backing of the three main loyalist paramilitary groups, the UDA, the UVF and the Red Hand Commando.

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SDLP MP Claire Hanna called on the Secretary of State to explain why the Northern Ireland Office is meeting a group backed by  proscribed paramilitary organisations about Brexit.

The South Belfast MP said the NIO engagement stands “in stark contrast” with the Secretary of State’s refusal to meet Ministers in relation to resource for a pension scheme for victims of the troubles.

Ms Hanna said it “beggars belief” the group was in talks with the Northern Ireland Office about trade arrangements across the Irish Sea and that the Secretary of State “needs to urgently explain” why the group is being hosted by his Department “while he continues to turn a blind eye to requests from Executive Ministers to discuss a pension for victims of the troubles. It is a perverse sense of priority”.

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland Office responded: “The NIO meets regularly with groups and individuals from across all parts of the community. It is important that we hear a diverse range of views. We will continue to engage widely to ensure that the UK government is able to meet its objectives in Northern Ireland.”

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Speaking on the Nolan Show today, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson said he was not advocating violence, but argued that the threat of violence by republicans had esnured that the EU customs border was placed in the Irish Sea and not on the Irish border.

Last week, officials from the NIO met representatives of the Loyalist Community Council (LCC) as part of the Department’s regular programme of cross-community engagement.

The Council was established in 2015 by Jonathan Powell (Chief of Staff to former PM, Tony Blair) and David Campbell (adviser to former First Minister, David Trimble). It is undersoot that the LCC is not proscribed.

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