Paisley sets sights on 'prolonged assessment' of IRA intentions

Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists today warned Tony Blair that they would require a “prolonged period of assessment” to determine whether the IRA had given up its armed campaign.

Following talks in Downing Street with the British Prime Minister, Mr Paisley said that there could be no return to a power-sharing government in the North until his party was certain that the IRA had given up all its arms and ended its paramilitary activities.

Earlier, however, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, who is also due to see Mr Blair today, said that he was only prepared to give the DUP a “limited amount of space” to decide whether it was prepared to enter into devolved government with republicans.

Mr Paisley accused the British government of having “caved in” to the IRA and given it “concession after concession” even though there was no proof that the organisation intended to give up its armed struggle.

“We are not going to have any discussions about devolution until the requirements Mr Blair set out are fulfilled by the IRA,” he said.

His deputy, Peter Robinson, added: “It will take a long period of time to make sure that they are gone and they are gone for good.”

Mr Paisley said he had presented a list of demands to the Prime Minister in what he described as a "blunt" meeting.

These included assurances relating to the British government’s announcement that it intended to disband the three home-based battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Mr Paisley said it was “outrageous” that members of the regiment had only learned on television that they were to face the sack.

Earlier, Mr Adams warned that republicans would only wait for a limited period for the DUP to decide whether it would enter power-sharing government at Stormont.

“I prefer to give Ian Paisley a limited amount of space to get his head around all of this,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“What Ian Paisley is doing is playing for time. OK, let’s be patient with him but he cannot play for time for ever. If Ian Paisley isn’t going to share power with the rest of us, then we have to move on without him.”