The Ulster Unionist Party Leader Steve Aiken OBE MLA has said that a truly peaceful society can only emerge in Northern Ireland when all communities give total support to the Police and help them to put criminal gangs out of business.
Speaking on the anniversary of Lyra McKee’s murder, Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:
“A year ago today Lyra McKee was murdered by a terrorist bullet fired in the Creggan area of Londonderry.
“The horror of her killing hasn’t been lessened by the passing of time and our thoughts and prayers are with Lyra’s family and partner
“It is hugely frustrating that the Police have not been able to secure convictions in connection with this dreadful crime. If we want a truly peaceful society, then we need to act to help deliver it. People need to support the Police and help them to weed out the criminal gangsters that seek to hide in plain sight in too many communities in Northern Ireland.
“The people responsible for Lyra McKee’s murder - like their criminal counterparts elsewhere in Northern Ireland - seek to invoke a political cause to try to give a veneer of respectability to their criminal activities. In reality, they are gangsters whose only aim is to impose their will on communities by the use of or threat or violence. They are simply parasites who need to be put out of business permanently.’’