The Northern Secretary has formally declared two of the three loyalist ceasefires over.
Making the announcement yesterday that he was "specifying" the UDA/UFF and LVF as groups no longer on ceasefire, Dr John Reid said recent violence carried out by the UDA, and the LVF murder of Mr Martin O'Hagan, were "incompatible with any claims to be on ceasefire".
Dr Reid said the people of the North had shown an immense amount of patience with the organisations but this had now run out.
"There becomes a level and scale and attitude and pattern towards violence that becomes intolerable even for the most tolerant people."
The effect of Dr Reid's decision is threefold. First, members of the UDA/UFF and LVF who were given early release under the Belfast Agreement can now be returned to prison to resume their sentences if they are believed to support that organisations.
Second, under legal measures brought in after the Omagh bombing, the word of a senior police officer and some corroborating evidence is sufficient proof to secure a conviction for membership of the organisations.
The final ramification of Dr Reid's decision is that any LVF or UDA/UFF member found guilty of an offence which took place before the agreement cannot qualify for early release.
Despite these deterrents, Dr Reid said "the powers of internment no longer exist".
"I cannot promise the people of Northern Ireland that people who have been engaged in this violence will now not attempt to flout the law, to resort to further violence in an attempt to blackmail or threaten the government."
Dr Reid said it would be possible for both organisations to mend their ways and have their ceasefires reassessed. However, he warned this would not be a rapid process.
"If any of these organisations show and illustrate by their actions over a period of time that they have decided they are on the wrong course, then of course it is always open for me to look at it again, but this isn't something that will be done lightly," he said.
Dr Reid also said other paramilitary organisations' ceasefires had "imperfections" that were "perhaps natural when we are coming out of a struggle lasting many decades".
He said, however, "the nature and scale of the of the organisations' violence, those that have been specified, is different from any other organisations".