The Loyalist Volunteer Force is expected to decommission weapons within weeks following the British government's recognition of its ceasefire. The paramilitary group's 22 prisoners are now eligible for early release under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
Some observers have said that any arms handover by the LVF will put pressure on the IRA to follow suit, a suggestion rejected by Sinn Fein.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, said she had decided to "despecify" the LVF on the basis of security information. "I am now satisfied that they have established a complete and unequivocal ceasefire and since May 1998 have demonstrated that that ceasefire is being maintained," she said. She welcomed the "significant contact" the LVF had made with the international decommissioning body.
Dr Mowlam also reviewed the position of the "Real IRA" and INLA, both on ceasefire, but decided their status would remain unchanged. While she welcomed the "Real IRA's" ceasefire declared in September, it would have to be "demonstrated in word and deed" over a longer period. She was also not yet persuaded that the INLA's August ceasefire was complete and unequivocal.
"This decision, like all the others, remains under constant review, and I look forward to the day when events on the ground are such as to enable me to change my assessment." She again called on the Continuity IRA to "recognise the reality of the situation" and declare a ceasefire.
Pastor Kenny McClinton, who is liaising with the decommissioning body on behalf of the LVF, said it was ready to hand over a "small but very real" amount of weapons within weeks. He said the LVF was demanding the IRA reciprocate by decommissioning arms on a 1:10 ratio, recognising the greater size of the Provisionals' arsenal.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, welcomed the recognition of the LVF ceasefire. "I have been pressing for this, as the LVF ceasefire is as genuine as that of the IRA and other paramilitary groups," he said. "I hope this positive step will lead to the start of decommissioning."
The Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, said he hoped that all the paramilitary groups would quickly establish permanent ceasefires.
The DUP secretary, Mr Nigel Dodds, urged the LVF to hand over weapons. "Such a step would expose the intransigence of the IRA and others," he said.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, supported the recognition of the LVF ceasefire and welcomed indications that it was to begin decommissioning.
However, a Sinn Fein Assembly member, Mr Alex Maskey, expressed scepticism about the LVF's intentions and said the organisation had no credibility.
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, claimed that the killing of a Catholic, Mr Brian Service, and a gun attack on a bar in west Belfast had been "directly linked" to the LVF.
The LVF was formed by anti-ceasefire loyalists who broke away from the UVF three years ago. Led by the Portadown loyalist, Billy Wright, it soon embarked on a campaign of sectarian murder.
Its first victim was a Catholic taxi-driver, Mr Michael McGoldrick, shot dead in Portadown during the 1996 Drumcree standoff. Wright was murdered by the INLA in the Maze Prison last Christmas. Although it carried out a series of retaliatory attacks against innocent Catholics shortly afterwards, the LVF quickly fell into disarray and a ceasefire was announced in May.