British to scale down Army watchtowers

THE British government last night confirmed it would move swiftly to scale down army watchtowers following yesterday’s historic IRA statement.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain also confirmed that the British Government will bring forward legislation in the autumn to smooth the return of IRA paramilitaries to Northern Ireland.

The return of the so-called on-the-runs forms a crucial part of the Good Friday Agreement and will also see the Irish Government come forward with new proposals before December.