Three men from the Shankill Road area of Belfast are being questioned by the RUC about the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane 10 years ago. They were detained by a special team of detectives under the leadership of the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Mr John Stevens.
Mr Stevens was invited to Belfast by the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, to reinvestigate the murder amid increasing allegations of security force collusion. In June Mr William Stobie was charged in connection with the murder. He has been released on bail.
The Stevens team tried and failed to force the Sunday Tribune Northern editor, Mr Ed Moloney, to hand over the original notes of an interview he conducted with Mr Stobie.
The UDA's political wing, the Ulster Democratic Party, condemned the arrests and accused the Stevens team of deliberately harassing loyalists.