Talks to quell violence 'a step forward'

Talks between Belfast Lord Mayor Alex Maskey and loyalist political representatives to quell street violence are a step forward, the Liberal Democrats claimed today.

The party’s Northern Ireland spokesman Lembit Opik was encouraged by the discussions yesterday between the city’s first Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Alex Maskey and members of the Ulster Political Research Group which provides political advice to the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association.