An anti-agreement unionist rally at the Armagh Orange Hall last night heard calls for unionists to unite to defend the RUC in the face of the Patten proposals on policing.
Mr Roger Hutchinson, of the Northern Ireland Unionist Party, said unity was essential. "No single voter, no single politician, no single unionist party can win this battle, we need the whole unionist population to stand together if we are to have any hope of success."
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, now realised that he would be "destroyed electorally" if the Patten report was implemented, Mr Hutchinson added. Mr Andrew Hunter, the Conservative Party MP for Basingstoke and Mr Peter Robinson, the deputy leader of the DUP, also addressed the rally.