The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, has urged the IRA to maintain a peaceful climate during the Assembly elections to provide an opportunity for the restoration of devolution after the November 26th poll.
While the IRA yesterday said there was "little prospect" of political movement until last week's stalled deal was re-activated, Mr Trimble said it was "essential" that republicans pursue their goals by peaceful means during the campaign.
Mr Trimble was speaking in the House of Commons yesterday just hours before the IRA issued its statement accusing the UUP leader of dishonouring last week's deal designed to restore the Executive and Assembly.
"If the sequence which it was necessary for me to put on hold last Tuesday (week) is, at any point in the future, to be resumed and carried through, it would be essential that through the next few weeks during the election campaign that republicans should abide very clearly by the commitments to peaceful means that they made at that stage," said Mr Trimble.
"It is also highly desirable that republicans should engage with the International Commission on Decommissioning to repair the mistakes that were made on transparency and to agree the necessary timetable for completion of decommissioning," he added.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, said he "stood entirely" by his statement that if the public knew as much as he did about the IRA's third act of decommissioning that people would accept it was substantial. Amid British opposition claims that he misled MPs over what he was told by the head of the decommissioning body General John de Chastelain, the Prime Minister said the General had done an "excellent job in extremely difficult circumstances".
"But as both myself and the Irish Prime Minister have said, there was certain information given to us by Gen de Chastelain and I had hoped very much it would have been possible to provide the full information to everybody," added Mr Blair. The Tory spokesman on the North, Mr Quentin Davies, also asked Northern Secretary Mr Paul Murphy during Northern Ireland question time about the extent of detail revealed about the IRA decommissioning to the British and Irish leaders last week.
Mr Murphy defended Mr Blair's version of events about the briefing from Gen de Chastelain. "Both the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister met the general in Hillsborough Castle for something approaching an hour to discuss the issues regarding decommissioning," he said.
"The written public statement from Gen de Chastelain was very short. It is obvious, is it not, that someone who spends that amount of time dealing with an issue is going to form an opinion about what happened that is very different from the bare statement that appeared afterwards?"
"The engagement of the IRA with the International Commission on Decommissioning was an important and significant development," Mr Murphy told MPs.
In response to former SDLP leader Mr John Hume, the British Prime Minister said it was vital that the Belfast Agreement was implemented.
"It is important we carry on working to bring about a peace that is lasting and durable," said Mr Blair. Former SDLP deputy leader Mr Seamus Mallon said all parties must be included in future negotiations so that the people's future would not be determined "by the men in balaclavas and the men in bowler hats".
