Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Claire Sugden has defended the Northern Ireland Executive’s record on tackling paramilitary activity.

Alliance Party MLA Stewart Dickson tabled a motion which said the Executive’s response to the Fresh Start panel report on the Disbandment of Paramilitary Groups in Northern Ireland was “lacklustre”.

However, his criticisms were rejected by MLAs, who supported an amended motion which only called for its recommendations to be implemented and did not include criticism of the Executive.

Ms Sugden said: “I was really pleased that the motion was tabled today. It gives us as a Government a chance to send a positive message to our communities about the need for change, the support we will give to communities and the lines in the sand on criminality.

“I appreciate that Members are keen for details and that, rightly, they want to know what the Executive are doing. We will, of course, provide more details and updates on progress as it happens, but please appreciate that we are not taking a simplistic approach and support us in this work that is vital for all our communities.

“Premature attacks serve only to undermine public confidence in what we are doing, and that serves no purpose.”

In her concluding remarks, she added: “We have come a long way but there is such a long way to go. I repeat: let us not send mixed messages to our communities about how serious we are. I can assure you, Mr Speaker, that, as Justice Minister of Northern Ireland, I am committed, along with my Executive colleagues, and I ask the Assembly and the communities that we represent to play a role in how we can move forward in tackling organised crime and paramilitary activity.”