Government should fund jobs not loyalist thugs in North and West Belfast - Long

2.08.57pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Jul 2006

Alliance Vice Chair, Michael Long

Alliance Party Vice Chair, Cllr Michael Long, has slammed loyalists thugs who are allegedly carrying out extortion rackets on building contractors in North and West Belfast. Cllr Long has stated that the government should be careful about providing loyalists with the £30 million mentioned in the media in previous weeks.

The Castlereagh Councillor stated: "It seems that every week a new story about loyalist thugs and their continuing criminality emerges.

"This week we learn that loyalist racketeering is destroying the economy of North and West Belfast. Builders are allegedly being deterred from working on property developments in these areas, therefore the areas are suffering greatly.

"These thugs have no regard for their country and are hell-bent on destroying the economy in their locality.

"Many people in North and West Belfast live in a climate of fear because of the aggression and intimidation of these so-called community representatives. If that is not bad enough, these individuals also want to destroy the chance that their area has to regenerate, by allegedly driving out building contractors.

"The government should be providing funding to create jobs in North and West Belfast instead of giving loyalists a pension fund.

"The fact that these same loyalists put out the begging bowl and demand £30 million from the government to retire from crime, is a sick joke.

"Criminality and sectarianism should never be rewarded by pay-offs from government. They are robbing everyone else and now they are trying to con the government into providing their pension fund.

"If the government falls for the weasel words of loyalist, and gives them £30million, it will be the biggest robbery in Northern Ireland since the IRA Northern Bank job."

ENDS