New reporting body ‘a step towards ending criminality of paramilitaries’ says James Brokenshire

The creation of a body to report on paramilitaries in the North marks a decisive step toward ending their criminality, the region’s secretary of state has said.

James Brokenshire pledged his support for efforts to end all forms of paramilitary activity with the new monitoring panel to assess the scale of the problem and monitor efforts to stamp it out.

The Independent Reporting Commission (IRC), jointly formed by the UK and Irish governments, will provide external scrutiny on efforts to deal with paramilitarism. It was one of the measures agreed in last year’s Fresh Start Agreement between the two governments and Stormont’s leaders.