Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“The Chief Constable’s comments about the continued existence of the Provisional IRA were hardly surprising. He merely restated what the report published by Her Majesty’s Government in 2015 told us. It is nonetheless significant to note that the situation has not changed. We learned then that the PIRA Army Council continues to exist and remember the Government panel report told us that it oversaw the entire Republican movement including Sinn Fein.
“This raises a number of profound questions for the PSNI and Unionists who would contemplate entering any power sharing arrangement which includes Sinn Fein/IRA.
“The PIRA remains an illegal terrorist organisation. What, therefore, is the PSNI doing to bring its members to justice?
“Secondly, why are any Unionists prepared to enter coalition with Sinn Fein/IRA when we know that the terrorist organisation which brought so much death and destruction to Northern Ireland continues to exist?
“In 2007 the DUP went before the electorate seeking a mandate to enter government with Republicans but only after “a complete end to paramilitary and criminal activity and the removal of terrorist structures.”
“More than a decade later we know that the PIRA continues to retain its structures. The question they now have to answer is why are they seeking to go back into coalition with Sinn Fein/IRA with “no preconditions”?”