The Loyalist Volunteer Force, which killed a Catholic man outside a Belfast nightclub on Saturday night, is not operating alone and is receiving political direction from "seemingly respectable politicians", according to Mr David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party.
"I am absolutely convinced that the LVF do not operate alone and indeed are assisted by more than one group, and I am not talking about paramilitary group assistance," he said. Mr Ervine made the comment at a press conference last night to announce that the PUP would be returning to the talks process today.
When asked if he was referring to senior politicians, Mr Ervine responded: "I think we had best leave it at that."
Mr Terry Enright (28), a father of two from west Belfast, died after being shot by two gunmen outside a nightclub close to the centre of Belfast on Saturday night. He was working as a doorman at the club, which is owned by a sister-in-law of Mr Ervine. Both Catholics and Protestants work there.
Mr Ervine said yesterday he had "absolutely no doubt" that the club was attacked because of his family's connections with it and that it had been done to damage his "political philosophies and attitudes".
The murdered man, who was married to a niece of Sinn Fein president Mr Gerry Adams, was employed full-time as a cross community youth worker in west Belfast. He was also an active member of his local GAA club. He had started working at the nightclub some weeks ago to make extra money to pay for renovations to his home.
His wife, Deirdre, issued a statement yesterday, saying: "The gutless killers who gunned him down have killed somebody very special. Unlike them, he was working tirelessly to bring about peace, community harmony and a better life for all, especially young people."
Mr Enright is the third Catholic man to be murdered by the LVF since the killing of its leader, Billy Wright. Shortly before that it killed another active member of the GAA in north Belfast.
Mr Billy Hutchinson of the PUP had worked with Mr Enright and described him as a friend. He said he was "gutted" by the killing and Mr Enright had worked "to ensure that young people didn't get into trouble".
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said the murder came from "a brutal and destructive hatred" that had no place in the future which the talks process was working to create.