The Justice Minister has expressed concern over the DUP meeting with a group representing loyalist paramilitaries to discuss opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
DUP leader Arlene Foster, deputy leader Nigel Dodds and East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson met on Thursday with the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC).
The group is an umbrella organisation representing the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando.
Mrs Foster defended the meeting, saying it was "important that all communities have a voice in the political process".
But Justice Minister Naomi Long responded: "Proscribed terrorist organisations are not a legitimate part of our community. They aren't stakeholders to be consulted."
"They are a malignant force destroying our community. Our job as ministers is to eradicate paramilitarism, not give them a platform or legitimacy," the Alliance Party leader said on Twitter.
Loyalists have voiced anger over Northern Ireland's post-Brexit arrangements under the protocol, which ensures an open border with the Republic of Ireland but means extra checks and processes on trade from Britain.
Graffiti and posters opposing Brexit-related Irish Sea border checks have appeared in some communities in recent weeks.
The DUP and other unionist parties have called for the protocol to be scrapped.
A DUP spokesman described the LCC meeting in Belfast as "constructive and useful".
He said: "This was a constructive and useful meeting where we discussed the opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol within the community.
"We listened to the views expressed and the need for political and constitutional methods to safeguard the United Kingdom single market and ensure there is an unfettered flow of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
At an Executive press conference on Thursday, Mrs Foster was asked if the meeting was appropriate.
The First Minister said: "Absolutely, and I will do so again because it's important that all communities have a voice in the political process.
"I am absolutely a constitutional and political politician and therefore it is important that I listen to all voices in the loyalist and unionist community.
"I was very pleased to meet with the LCC today and to hear their concerns from their own community, to listen to those concerns, shared concerns, about the protocol, about the status of the United Kingdom, about the Belfast Agreement, so those conversations will continue."
Earlier this month the LCC sparked controversy after David Campbell, a spokesman for the group, raised the prospect of people having to "physically fight" to maintain freedoms within the UK.
Mrs Foster at the time said she was "quite shocked" by his comments and reiterated her opposition to any forms of violence, adding: "I believe in constitutional politics."
Last month, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) faced questions over officials holding a virtual meeting with the LCC about the protocol.
Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson accused the NIO of giving "credibility" to loyalist paramilitary groups and undermining confidence in policing and justice.
The protocol came into effect on December 31.
Following a meeting of the UK/EU Joint Committee overseeing the mechanism on Wednesday, Mrs Foster argued the protocol had "completely ruptured the flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland" and called for the UK to "act unilaterally".
European Union leaders have vowed to find pragmatic solutions to any trade disruption resulting from the post-Brexit arrangements.
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