UDA group needs £8.5m to disband

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One of the UDA's most notorious units has said it wants to disband, but it wants the government to give it £8.5m to help the process.

The South East Antrim Brigade of the UDA has been responsible for dozens of murders throughout the Troubles.

It said it now wants to become a community development body.

The leadership is backing a new group, Beyond Conflict, to deal with drugs, paramilitary activity, race relations, interface violence and unemployment.

Paramilitary activity

The UDA leaders want the government to provide the funding for these initiatives, which it claims would create 74 jobs.

Tommy Kirkham, a spokesman for Beyond Conflict, said he believed its plans could bring about an end to loyalist paramilitary activity in the south Antrim area.

The group said it would cost about £8.5m to implement all of its plans.

It will now present its plans to the government and ask for funding.

However, it says this is not a prerequiste for ending paramilitary activity.