Northern Executive rift worsens as Adams accused

The rift at the heart of the North's Government appeared to deepen today when the DUP accused Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams of withholding information on the whereabouts of the "Disappeared" victims of the Troubles.

While the West Belfast MP has faced the allegation before, the sight of senior DUP members repeating it on the floor of the Assembly suggested a resolution to the long-running stand-off between the two main parties in the power-sharing administration was as far away as ever.

The Cabinet has not met for more than four months amid deadlock over a series of outstanding issues, such as a timetable for the devolution of policing powers and legislative protection for Irish speakers.

During a debate on the continuing search for the bodies of people abducted and killed by republicans during the conflict, North Belfast MLA Nelson McCausland accused Mr Adams of being the Belfast Commander of the IRA in the 1970s and of setting up specialist units which killed and disposed of so-called informers.

While relatives of the Disappeared looked on from the public gallery, DUP chairman Maurice Morrow later backed Mr McCausland's claims.

However, the Sinn Féin president strongly refuted the allegations before adding that the IRA continued to assist in the process of finding the remains.

The bodies of 15 Catholics killed by republicans during the Troubles were buried in secret locations.

Following the setting up of a special commission to locate the remains in 1999, four bodies have been found.

Mr McCausland said Mr Adams had information about the Disappeared and called on him to tell the truth.

"Of course Gerry Adams has always sought to distance himself from the whole gruesome episode but the fact is we don't believe him," he said.

"The violence is over and for that we are glad but is it not time for Adams to show some remorse for these crimes, is it not time that he showed some remorse for the evil inflicted on so many families by the organisation that he commanded?"

Mr McCausland then noted Mr Adams' recent call for a truth commission to deal with outstanding issues relating to the Troubles.

"He says he wants the truth. Well then today perhaps he will tell us what he knows about the Disappeared, perhaps he will tell us what he knows about the perpetrators of those crimes for they are the people who know where the bodies are buried and it is only their information that can see the bodies of the Disappeared brought home for a proper burial.

"I would hope that today we will not simply pass this motion as a formality but that we might see some results from it and that those, particularly the member for West Belfast [Mr Adams], will do what he can and tell us what he knows so we can move in that direction."

Mr Adams denied the claims laid against him.

"Before I speak to this motion, which I am supporting, I want to deny and refute the assertion made by the member for North Belfast [Mr McCausland]," he said.

"I want to commend and support all the families that have suffered a grievous injustice and who have campaigned with dignity for many years to locate the remains of their loved ones and I want to welcome them here today.

"I want to acknowledge once again the grave injustice inflicted on these families and to express my deep regret about this."

He thanked those involved with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains and said that many republicans who did have information about the Disappeared had passed it on.

"For its part the IRA has apologised for the grief it has caused, it has acknowledged its intention, in working closely with the special forensic investigating team, has been to rectify this injustice and it has accepted full responsibility for its actions," he said.

"I know this is of little consolation for the families involved; they want and they deserve a Christian burial for their loved ones."

He added: "I also believe that the IRA has provided full disclosure of all the information available to it and republicans continue to work diligently on this important heartbreaking issue."

Speaker of the House William Hay (DUP, Foyle) said he had some concerns about the remarks made during the debate and would be seeking to review them.

The motion was tabled by SDLP Newry and Armagh member Dominic Bradley who said there was a need to refocus attention on the issue.

"What they (the families) are simply asking for is the right to afford a Christian burial to their loved ones," he said.

"Surely in this day and age in a Christian and civilised country that is not too much to ask."

One of the relatives who travelled to Stormont was Anne Morgan, whose brother Seamus Ruddy, 33, was abducted by the INLA in France in 1985.

The family has had its hopes raised and dashed on a number of occasions after tip-offs failed to bring a result.

"I was present in 2000 at a dig in France for Seamus and I was also present this summer, in July this year, and being there again I thought I don't want to be led up this garden path," she said.

"I really feel it isn't fair that we should be led up the garden path, it isn't fair that they [the INLA] don't give us information and it isn't fair that we can't give Seamus his rightful Christian burial.

"It's unbelievable that people who are living in our society, who are members of the Northern Ireland community, that they still will not allow us any chance of peace and being able to put the bodies where they belong, which as far as I am concerned is in Irish soil in Northern Ireland."

During the debate the case of Lisa Dorrian, the 25-year-old Co Down hairdresser who went missing from a caravan park in Ballyhalbert in 2004, was also raised.

Loyalist paramilitary elements have been accused of involvement in her disappearance.