Police review UDA ceasefire after violence fears

Police in Northern Ireland were tonight ordered to make a fresh assessment of a loyalist paramilitary group’s ceasefire amid fears of escalating sectarian violence.

As the British and Irish Governments prepared to announce a package of proposals to rescue the troubled Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid announced he had asked the RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan to review the Ulster Defence Association’s ceasefire.