LVF distances itself from Johnny Adair

The Loyalist Volunteer Force has issued a statement distancing itself from renegade UDA commander Johnny Adair.

The statement follows a UDA threat against Adair's associates, whom the paramilitary organisation has accused of murdering John Gregg, its south-east Antrim commander, on Saturday.

Johnny Adair was expelled from the UDA last year for siding with the LVF during a feud between the two groups.

The LVF statement released this afternoon said the organisation had no wish to get involved in the current dispute between Adair and the mainstream UDA leadership.

Earlier today, Adair's former associates in the UDA's "C" Company in west Belfast also issued a statement saying they no longer recognised his leadership.