Reid to declare loyalist ceasefire over

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid is today poised to announce an end to the Ulster Defence Association ceasefire.

Two weeks after agreeing to give the Protestant paramilitary organisation a final chance to end street violence in Belfast, it is believed he is ready to declare that their October 1994 truce is over.

A statement is expected to be made later this afternoon at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down.

He is also expected to announce an end to the ceasefire by the loyalist splinter group, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).

His announcement followed a new assessment of violence in Northern Ireland linked to both organisations.