Kevin McGuigan murder: Police chief to hold briefing on investigation

Northern Ireland’s senior police officer believes the IRA still exists, Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has claimed.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell has called for an independent assessment of the IRA’s status after the PSNI confirmed Belfast murder victim, Kevin McGuigan, was shot dead in a Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) style execution.

Speaking to RTÉ’s This Week earlier today, Coveney said it should be noted that Hamilton was clear that in an organisation sense the PIRA does not exist for paramilitary purposes.

Police have indications that the Irish Republican Army may still be active in some form a decade after its public disbandment as part of a power-sharing deal, a senior official in the British province of Northern Ireland said on Friday.

Mr Adams was speaking at the National Hunger Strike commemoration in the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.

Mr Kelly said: “The killings of Jock Davison and Kevin McGuigan was nothing to do with republicanism”.

He said that while it had been disbanded or had gone away, members remained active in “non-terrorist types of crime”.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson on Thursday indicated he will hold talks with other Executive parties about a potential Sinn Fein exclusion from the mandatory five-party coalition administration.

“Nevertheless we assess that in common with the majority of Northern Ireland paramilitary groups from the period of the conflict, some of the PIRA structure from the 1990s remains broadly in place, although its goal has radically changed since this period”.

“It is our assessment that the PIRA is committed to following a political path and is no longer engaged in terrorism”.

Sinn Féin has vehemently denied the IRA was involved in the Belfast murder last week of father-of-nine Kevin McGuigan.

“I accept the bona fides of the Sinn Fein leadership regarding their rejection of violence and pursuit of the peace process and I accept their assurance that they want to support police in bringing those responsible to justice”.

It is after the PSNI last night said they suspected IRA involvement in the killing.

However he said the part of the statement yesterday “of real concern” was that which pointed to some current or former members who continue to engage in “a range of criminal activity and occasional violence” for their own personal gain.

“The so-called group, Action against Drugs, is a criminal gang”.