A leading loyalist politician was freed last night after being questioned for two days by police investigating the murder of a schoolboy in north Belfast.
Billy Hutchinson, a former Stormont Assembly member and a leading member of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), was among seven people detained over the killing of Thomas Devlin more than two years ago.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said he had been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.
Three other men and three women arrested in north Belfast by officers from the Crime Operations Unit on Friday and Saturday remain in custody, said a spokeswoman.
Thomas Devlin (15) was stabbed to death in August 2005 as he walked home along the upmarket Somerton Road with friends after buying sweets at a local filling station.
When the Catholic schoolboy was nearly home he was knifed up to five times in the back by two male attackers. One of his friends was also injured.
Much of the police murder inquiry has centred on Mount Vernon, a loyalist housing estate on the northern edge of the city.
Before the latest operation, 12 people had been held as part of the inquiry, but no one has yet been charged with the murder.
Mr Hutchinson, a convicted UVF murderer, is now a community worker in the Mount Vernon area. He played a leading role earlier this year in the UVF's decision to stand down from paramilitary activity.
When Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was criticised for providing funding for community work in the loyalist area this year, Mr Hutchinson spoke out saying the whole community should not be demonised because of the killing.
PUP leader Dawn Purvis said she had been "absolutely gobsmacked" at her party colleague's arrest. Speaking while he was in custody, she added: "It is my understanding that he has not been arrested in relation to the killing of Thomas Devlin but that he has been arrested in respect of things he has been saying recently."
Ms Purvis said she found the arrest questionable. "If the police wanted to talk to him why didn't they go to talk to him at the community house, why did they feel the need to arrest him?"
Following Mr Hutchinson's release last night, Ms Purvis said questions still remained regarding the need for his arrest. She said: "I would like some answers as to why the police felt the need to arrest him at all and why that information was leaked to the media.
"Allegations such as those made towards Billy Hutchinson could be extremely damaging. I am glad that he has been released without charge."
- (PA)