POLICE in Derry yesterday confiscated three weapons which were on display at an exhibition about the Troubles in the city's Tower museum. A spokesman for the RUC said the guns were taken into custody "for safe keeping pending a confirmation of the full legal requirements of their display". The three items, one of which was a Kalashnikov rifle held by a model depicting an IRA man, formed part of a new section in a permanent exhibition on Derry. The display has been the subject of unionist criticism.
According to the exhibition organiser, Mr Brian Lacey, the confiscation was just a matter of procedure to ensure that there were no anomalies in relation to ownership. "There is no aspect of illegality pertaining to these items. "They were not acquired from an illegal organisation," he said.