Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has written to the Secretary of State asking him to commission a fresh security assessment of the Provisional IRA and all other terrorist and paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland, informed by the PSNI and MI5, with independent scrutiny and published findings.

The last such assessment, published on 20th October 2015, concluded that the Provisional IRA continued to exist with reduced structures, including a senior leadership and Provisional Army Council.

Jon Burrows MLA said:

“Eleven years ago next week, the Government’s own assessment confirmed that the Provisional IRA still existed, with a leadership and an Army Council. The public deserves to know whether that remains the case today.

“The timing could not be more relevant. This week the UK and Irish governments received Fleur Ravensbergen’s report recommending a mechanism to move paramilitary groups towards disbandment. You cannot disband organisations you will not honestly assess. Her report, rightly given its confidential engagement, names no individual group. That makes an authoritative, published assessment of which organisations exist, and in what form, the essential foundation for any process that follows.

“Recent events surrounding Drumcree add to that need. When decisions about a lawful parade are linked to risks to the peace process, people are entitled to ask about the nature and source of those risks, and whether the Provisional IRA retains any operational capability or intent. Asking that question is not an allegation. It is precisely what an honest, published assessment should answer.

“The security assessment must apply equally to republican, loyalist and dissident groups. Sensitive intelligence must be protected, but a substantive public report would replace speculation with evidence.

“I have asked the Secretary of State to confirm whether he will commission this work and to set out a timetable for publication.”