 McCrea's sharing of the stage with a militant such as Wright caused uproar, although he argued that he was merely supporting Wright's entitlement to freedom of speech.Ignoring the threat, Wright, in a public show of defiance, formed the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), taking members mainly from the officially-disbanded Portadown unit of the UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade.According to writers John Robert Gold and George Revill, Wright's "mythical stature" amongst loyalists "provided him with the status necessary to form the LVF" in the traditional UVF stronghold of Portadown.