Sinn Féin has branded an MI5 website that refers to loyalists being "vigilante" groups as "a nonsense".
The information contained on the web page of the British intelligence community says that loyalists originally came into being to protect their communities from republican attacks.
"Loyalist vigilante groups were originally formed in the 1960s and 1970s to defend their neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland against republican violence," the website says.
It goes on to say, "but (they) swiftly developed into terrorist organisations".
An angry Martin Meehan said, "they are trying to turn history on its head. Everyone knows what happened here in the 1960s, but this so-called British intelligence organisation seems to want it recorded another way," he said.
"What happened to Peter Ward and the assassination of John Scullion.
"There was no republican campaign at that particular time."
John Scullion and Peter Ward were Catholics murdered by the UVF in 1966.
UVF leader Gusty Spence and two other men were jailed for their part in the murder of Peter Ward outside a bar in Malvern Street in the Shankill area.
"Then in 1969 it was the UVF who blew up the water pipelines to blame it on republicans and how can you tell the hundreds of Catholic families burned out of Hooker Street, Herbert Street and Brookfield Street that their attackers were vigilantees.
"That side of the Crumlin Road was burned down by B Specials supported by their Orange hordes before any republican campaign.
"These are people who are trying to turn our history on its head."
