THE Ulster Volunteer Force has denied it was responsible for the murder of the Catholic taxi driver, Mr Michael McGoldrick, and said its ceasefire remains intact.
In a statement yesterday, the loyalist paramilitary group said that after an exhaustive investigation it could unequivocally and deny any involvement.
Mr McGoldrick was found in his taxi on Monday night near the village of Aghagallon, Co Armagh. He had been shot twice in the head.
Loyalist sources insist the UVF was responsible. They said the organisation's commander in Mid-Ulster, who is known as King Rat, had ordered the killing. The man opposes the loyalist ceasefire and the peace process. He has had several clashes with the UVF leadership and its political wing, the Progressive Unionist Party.
But the UVF yesterday insisted that its ceasefire stood and rejected claims that it was orchestrating street violence. It appealed to loyalists to desist from such activities, although it stressed that it under stood the frustration of the "Ulster/loyalist population" over the parades issue.
The Sinn Fein ardcomhairle member, Mr Martin McGuinness, yesterday accused the UVF of Mr Goldrick's murder and told nationalists to be vigilant.
He claimed that "loyalist death squads" would intensify attacks on the Catholic community and not admit them. "Michael McGoldrick was murdered by the Mid Ulster Brigade of the UVF, but political expediency dictates that they will not claim responsibility," he said.