Video interview with Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, by Noel Thompson for BBC Northern Ireland Hearts and Minds on 5 February 2009. By the beginning of 2009 only the LVF had decommissioned weaponry in accordance with IICD procedures. Other loyalist paramilitary organisations such as the UVF and UDA came under heavy public and political pressure to decommission their arsenal. In this interview Woodward discusses his proposal to extend the deadline for loyalists to hand over their weapons to February 2010. The UVF and UDA later formally decommissioned their weapons in June 2009 and January 2010 respectively. Hearts and Minds was a current affairs programme on BBC Northern Ireland between 1996 and 2012
Date of Release/Broadcast: 5 February 2009
Name of First Interviewee: Shaun Woodward
Role at time of Interview: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Interviewer: Noel Thompson
Purpose: News
Media: Audiovisual
Copyright: BBC © 2013
Link: Watch the interview
Programme/Book/Article: BBC Northern Ireland Hearts and Minds
Time Period covered: 2009
Key Individuals: Shaun Woodward, Eddie McGrady, Hugh Orde, Peter Hain, Dawn Purvis, Rev. Robin Eames, Denis Bradley
Key Words: Decommissioning, paramilitary, PSNI, Police Federation, Red Hand Commando, UVF, UDA, LVF, Eames-Bradley Report