Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows MLA has requested a new security assessment of the Provisional IRA and all other terrorist and paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland. In a letter to the Secretary of State, he called for a review informed by the PSNI and MI5, with independent scrutiny and published findings.

The most recent official assessment, issued on 20 October 2015, concluded that the Provisional IRA continued to exist in a reduced form, retaining a senior leadership and a Provisional Army Council. Burrows is asking for clarity on whether those conclusions remain accurate nearly 11 years later.

Burrows linked his request to recent events surrounding the Drumcree parade in Portadown. He said that when decisions about a lawful parade are linked to risks to the peace process, the public deserves to know the nature and source of those risks, including whether the Provisional IRA retains any operational capability or intent.

The request also comes after the UK and Irish governments received a report by Fleur Ravensbergen recommending a mechanism to move paramilitary groups towards disbandment. Burrows argued that an authoritative, published assessment of which organisations exist and in what form is an essential foundation for any such process.

Burrows stressed that the assessment must apply equally to republican, loyalist and dissident groups. He said sensitive intelligence must be protected, but a substantive public report would replace speculation with evidence.

He has asked the Secretary of State to confirm whether he will commission the work and to set out a timetable for publication.