Loyalist leader David Ervine dies

Peter Hain paid tribute to David Ervine

Monday, 08, Jan 2007 12:00

David Ervine, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), has died in hospital in Belfast.

The 53-year-old assembly member for East Belfast was admitted to hospital on Sunday after suffering a heart attack. His family said he had "passed away quietly with peace and dignity".

Tony Blair paid tribute to Mr Ervine, saying: "David was a man who, whatever his past, played a major part in this last ten years in trying to bring peace to Ulster.

"His incisive wit and clear if often controversial analysis of Northern Ireland politics marked him out.

"Brought up in sectarian politics he ended up being a persistent and intelligent persuader for the cross-community partnership, and he will be sorely missed."

Mr Ervine was a strong supporter of the 1998 Good Friday agreement and became a member of the newly formed Northern Ireland assembly later that year.

A former paramilitary, he had joined the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) as a teenager and served time in prison after being arrested with a car bomb in 1974.

After his release, Mr Ervine became involved in the political process and became a leading figure in the PUP, and played a key role in brokering the 1994 UVF ceasefire.

However, this broke down when the paramilitary group split and led to the formation of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). The two groups engaged in a long-running feud and in 2005 the government announced it no longer recognised the UVF ceasefire.

Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain said the late PUP leader was a "talented, courageous and an honest politician" whose loss would be keenly felt within loyalism.

"He had grown away from the past and worked tirelessly to make Northern Ireland a better place. He wanted to solve problems not simply restate them, always looking for a way forward," he said.

Mr Hain added: "He gave loyalists a voice and influence at the highest level and he was crucial in taking loyalism along the often difficult path to a lasting peace."

Mr Ervine was married with two sons.