Adams accuses Blair over 'loyalist killing spree'

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams today denounced as unacceptable the British government’s focus on the IRA ceasefire when loyalists have embarked on a ‘‘killing spree’’.

Mr Adams, commenting ahead of the Prime Minister’s statement on the state of the IRA ceasefire, accused Tony Blair of pandering to unionists.

‘‘The reality is that Catholics are being killed in Belfast. There is a planned, organised campaign by loyalists against Catholics.

‘‘The unionists’ response to this is to seek the exclusion of Sinn Fein from our rightful place on the executive and tomorrow the British Prime Minister is making remarks aimed at republicans at the behest of the Ulster Unionist Party and the securocrats within their own system.

‘‘It is disgraceful, it is totally unacceptable’’.

Mr Adams said: ‘‘For the life of me I don’t accept for one moment that the police service and British intelligence agencies didn’t have advanced notice that the Ulster Defence Association was about to go on a killing spree.’’

Earlier Mr Adams held talks with Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid to discuss the deteriorating political and security situation in the province after the killing of 19-year-old Catholic father-of-one Gerard Lawlor by loyalists in North Belfast.

Mr Adams rounded on First Minister David Trimble accusing him of failing to defend the Good Friday agreement.

‘‘What is required is confidence building measures by pro-Agreement parties, by the Executive, led by the First Minister, which makes it clear that sectarianism is wrong and which upholds the primacy of the political institutions as the place to sort out these problems,’’ he said.

He warned that republican confidence in the agreement was waning because of the focus on the IRA and the loyalist campaign of violence.

‘‘Tomorrow’s events at Westminster, while totally unacceptable, are a surreal side-show because those living in the interface areas will find it crazy that the Prime Minister is zeroing in on republicans

when they are victims of a loyalist campaign.’’