The DUP has stated that the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is misrepresenting the party's view of the two independent witnesses who testified to IRA decommissioning on Monday, former Methodist president the Rev Harold Good and Catholic priest Fr Alec Reid.
Both the DUP and UUP expressed concerns about the nature of the disclosure of IRA disarmament by the decommissioning body on Monday but while the Rev Ian Paisley adopted a forcefully negative stance and questioned the independence of the clerics, Ulster Unionists saw some potential for political movement from disarmament.
UUP deputy leader Danny Kennedy was particularly critical of Dr Paisley's comments about the clerics. "It is wrong to question the honesty and integrity of the church witnesses to IRA decommissioning. It is deeply regrettable that others have decided to do so. Questioning their bona fides serves no purpose whatsoever," said Mr Kennedy.
The DUP's Upper Bann MP, David Simpson, said this was a misrepresentation. "The DUP has not questioned the honesty and integrity of the two clergymen who were present at the recent decommissioning event," he said yesterday. "In the aftermath of the decommissioning announcement we made it clear that we did not dispute the fact that an event took place and that Rev Good and Fr Reid were present at that event. At each of our press conferences we stated that we were not in the business of questioning the integrity of the IICD (decommissioning body) or the two observers," added Mr Simpson.
"No one is disputing that the two men are faithfully reporting what they saw. The question is did they see it all," he said. "It is time for clarity rather than cheap party political attacks from Danny Kennedy. Unlike Mr Kennedy, who got it wrong in the past, the DUP will ensure that Sinn Féin is out of the terror business for good before treating them as fellow democrats."
Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Conor Murphy, told a fringe Sinn Féin meeting held during the British Labour Party conference in Brighton yesterday that the British government should start persuading unionists that "their future is best secured within the context of a united and independent Ireland".
"The core problem remains Britain's involvement in Irish affairs. But we must plan in a structured way for the ending of partition and the establishment of a truly united country on the island," he said.
Mr Murphy said unionist political leaders must respond carefully to the recent IRA moves. "The IRA's decision to formally end its armed campaign and its decision to put its arms beyond use are genuine initiatives to revive the peace process by conclusively resolving the concerns of unionists. Issues relating to the IRA, which were presented as difficulties for unionists, have now been definitively dealt with," he added.
SDLP Assembly member Dominic Bradley yesterday accused the DUP of deliberately playing up its concerns over decommissioning to try to get concessions from the British government. "The British government must not fall for their kind of rotten politics. It needs to tell the DUP where to go - right back into the Executive with the rest of us," he said.
"The DUP say that their slogan is leadership that's working. But all we have seen from them is leadership that's wanting. They have failed to take a strong stand on loyalist violence. They have failed to work the agreement voted for by the Irish people. They are failing to accept the word of the IICD and the churchmen. They are leading unionism nowhere," added Mr Bradley.
