North: Troops cut plan challenged

The British government faced new pressure today to reveal plans for troop reductions in Northern Ireland amid claims all Royal Irish Regiment battalions were to be disbanded within the next three years.

With republicans demanding a major military scaledown, hardline Democratic Unionists claimed the British government has agreed a programme of mass redundancies.

North Antrim MLA Ian Paisley Jr claimed high-ranking officers have disclosed that all Home Service battalions will be phased out between 2005 and 2006.

He said today: “I challenge Secretary of State Paul Murphy and the army GOC to come clean on these revelations regarding the Royal Irish Regiment.”

Under the blueprint for restoring devolution drawn up by London and Dublin, troop levels are expected to plunge from 14,500 to around 5,000 once a reduced terrorist threat has been assured.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern have been pressing the IRA for clear assurances that their war is over before they will agree to release the plans.

But Mr Paisley claimed the Royal Irish’s three Home Service battalions deployed in Northern Ireland will all be scrapped.

Sinn Féin claims the regiment's origins can be traced back to the Ulster Defence Regiment and the controversial B Specials before that.

“Soldiers will be told they are getting redundancy packages but effectively this will be disbandment to suit a Sinn Féin demand,” Mr Paisley claimed.

“This is nothing short of a hideous surrender.

“Senior officers and rank and file soldiers alike are absolutely furious that they are being sold out to terrorists as part of a deal to make the Royal Irish redundant at a time when their overseas colleagues have been so gallant in Iraq.”

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble also raised the issue during a meeting with Mr Murphy.

But a Northern Ireland Office spokesman insisted no detail about the regiment was included in the governments’ papers.

“There is no mention of the Royal Irish Regiment in any of the documentation,” he said.

A British army spokesman insisted the claims were mere speculation.

He added: “The Ministry of Defence is determined to proceed with further normalisation measures as soon as the level of threat allows.”