Three loyalist terrorist groups have started decommissioning their weapons, 15 years after calling ceasefires and just before the deadline expires on a government amnesty.

The biggest move came from the Ulster Volunteer Force, which killed more than 500 people during the Troubles. The Ulster Defence Association, Northern Ireland’s largest loyalist paramilitary group, and the Red Hand Commando, an affiliate of the UVF, have put some guns beyond use.

News of the decommissioning leaked out after secret talks among loyalist groups and months of increasing pressure from the Government.

General John de Chastelain, the head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, is believed to have witnessed an act of decommissioning at a UVF weapons dump in the past week. The method used will remain secret and there will be no photographic evidence, in line with how the Provisional IRA disposed of its arsenal four years ago.

The weapons disposal came before an August deadline imposed by Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, who was criticised for introducing a six-month extension to a decommissioning deadline last December.

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