Trimble welcomes RIR pledge

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble today welcomed a pledge from the British government that it had no plans to axe Royal Irish Regiment battalions as part of a scheme to cut troop levels in Northern Ireland.

He said he was satisfied after a crunch meeting with Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon that there were no plans to disband the 3,000-strong home service members of the regiment as part of the Government’s blueprint for restoring devolution to the North.