Peace process 'dead for UDA terrorists'

All but one battalion of the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland now opposes the peace process, it is claimed.

Five out of the Ulster Defence Association's six brigades have lost faith in the Good Friday Agreement, according to senior security sources.

The loyalist terror group has been accused of unleashing a fresh wave of pipe bombings against Catholics in several parts of the province and being behind two sectarian murders last month.

Claims are also being made about heightening levels of criminality within the UDA, as the funeral took place of former UDA commander George Legge, believed to have been murdered by ex-comrades.

A high-ranking security source said: "The truth is that probably as we stand now five out of six brigades are not for the peace process. Even the sole brigade not openly hostile to the Good Friday Agreement has adopted that position because they think it keeps a mask over their criminality. It is not that they are devoted to peace."

The UDA's rejection of the political process has been prompted by a belief that there has been no benefit to its members. The organisation's political wing, the Ulster Democratic Party, has no representatives in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

UDP leader Gary McMichael acknowledges parts of the UDA have lost confidence in the peace process, but rejects the assessment that the organisation is opposed to peace.

"I think there are geographic areas within the UDA which has been historically opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, such as south east Antrim and north Antrim and I don't see any indication that has changed," he said.

Mr McMichael, who has committed himself to supporting the agreement, is meeting UDP members in Lisburn, County Down, to discuss whether the party should change direction.