New taskforce to tackle cross border crime

A new joint taskforce has been set up to tackle cross-border crime.

Ministers from north and south of the border met earlier to discuss the details of the taskforce, which will be led by the gardaí, the PSNI and revenue officers.

The cross-jurisdiction force will aim to tackle criminal gangs operating across the border - including paramilitarism.

Northern Ireland's deputy first minister Martin McGuiness said that criminality is a scourge on the community, and that a united approach is needed to tackle it.

Also attending the meeting at Farmleigh were the North's First Minister Peter Robinson, Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers and the North's Justice Minister David Ford.