British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain has ordered a review of the Ulster Volunteer Force's ceasefire.
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde will carry out the reappraisal following the loyalist group's statement last month ending its terror campaign.
Peter Hain has ordered a review of the UVF ceasefire. Image: Eric Luke.
The report will be complete by the autumn and will also include the assessment of the Independent Monitoring Commission, responsible to scrutinising the activities of armed groups.
Speaking in the Commons this morning, Mr Peter Hain said: "We have always maintained that we will encourage and support those who want to work to a positive agenda.
"The UVF statement on May 3 is a welcome manifestation of a commitment to use exclusively peaceful means.
"It is vital that this positive statement is followed through by actions, and this is why I have commissioned a review of the status of specified and other paramilitary organisations, in line with my obligations under the legislation."
Progressive Unionist Assemblywoman Dawn Purvis, whose party speaks for the UVF, welcomed the development and denied that decommissioning of arms was the key stumbling block.
"It is a positive step in the right direction. I don't want arms to become the issue around this because that's an issue for the organisation and the decommissioning body," she said.
During the conflict in Northern Ireland, the UVF murdered over 500 people. Its campaign also claimed the lives of 33 people in bomb attacks in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974.
PA