The crisis in the North is growing, with statements coming from all sides, but who should we believe?

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has insisted the Provisional IRA no longer exists, even in a “benign” criminal gang form alleged in recent days, and that his party has “no special responsibility” over recent murders in Belfast.

There is no basis for the charges made against Sinn Féin by our political opponents and if this descends into crisis it is a direct result of their stupidity and opportunism, says Gerry Adams.

The murder of a father of nine in a suspected bloody feud between former IRA members was a “ruthless and premeditated” killing, a senior detective has said.