The Ulster Defence Association today pledged to complete a planned transformation away from violence.

Top Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri walked out of court today after police lost their bid to have him sent back to jail.

A judge will decide today whether to send top Belfast loyalist Ihab Shoukri back to jail.

Loyalists arrested during a raid on a Belfast bar were meeting to plan an end to all Ulster Defence Association crime and violence, a court was told today.

PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde is seeking to have a prominent Belfast loyalist returned to jail for attending an alleged UDA meeting in the city last week.

Northern Ireland Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is seeking to have top loyalist Ihab Shoukri sent back to prison, it was revealed tonight.

President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin were urged today to end all further contact with the leadership of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association.

Leading loyalist Andre Shoukri has pleaded not guilty to charges of blackmail, intimidation and money laundering, Belfast Magistrates Court was told today.

Police in Belfast today mounted a huge security operation outside the city’s magistrates’ courts as supporters of leading loyalist Andre Shoukri gathered in a show of solidarity with him.

A top loyalist paramilitary was charged today with blackmail, intimidation and money laundering.

A loyalist paramilitary chief and his mother were both being questioned by police in Northern Ireland tonight after detectives launched a major operation against organised crime.

A Belfast loyalist has asked to be kept in jail.

Security sources in the North have claimed that the Ulster Defence Association’s new commander in north Belfast is intent on ethnically cleansing Catholics from a flashpoint area on his turf.

A leading north Belfast loyalist was today imprisoned for six years on firearms charges.

A top Belfast loyalist was charged tonight with murdering rogue paramilitary Alan McCullough.

The brother of leading loyalist Andre Shoukri appeared in court in Belfast today, charged with murdering UDA victim Alan McCullough.

Two men were arrested today by detectives investigating the murders of UDA boss John Gregg and another man in the docks area of Belfast, police said.

Feared loyalist paramilitary boss Johnny Adair today showed his support for a close associate who appeared in court on gun charges.

One of the top loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast was today charged with gun offences following a major security operation.