The first day of the new session of the Stormont Assembly today was disrupted by a protest in the public gallery linked to the current Loyalist feud. The wife of the jailed former Loyalist paramilitary commander, Johnny Adair, was one of the women removed from the public gallery. The Speaker, Lord Alderdice, had to suspend the first sitting after the summer recess after Gina Adair and a group of women shouted abuse at members of the Progressive Unionists.
The PUP is aligned with the UVF, which is involved a violent feud with the UFF, to which Adair has links. He was freed early from the Maze prison under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, but was re-arrested a fortnight ago after the feud claimed the lives of three Belfast men. Adair's wife led a protest outside Downing Street on Saturday.
When proceedings resumed, the Assembly agreed to set up a committee to study proposals that would govern the flying of the Union flag on official buildings. The Northern Secretary, Peter Mandelson, has said that he wants the committee to report back with its views by October 16 on proposals that he has made.
