Arms estimates will not be made pubic, Hain

The Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has confirmed tonight that British government will not publish estimates of the IRA…

The Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has confirmed tonight that British government will not publish estimates of the IRA arsenal held by British security forces.

According to a report on BBC tonight Mr Hain said he would not compromise national security by releasing such information.

Two days after it was confirmed that the IRA had finally decommissioned all its weapons, he told the Labour Party conference in Brighton it is time for politicians in Northern Ireland to be courageous.

The implications of the IRA's actions, and the way the British government sees the way forward, will be pressed on the Northern Ireland political parties during a visit to Belfast by Prime Minister Tony Blair later in the year, sources revealed as Mr Hain spoke.

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The Ulster Secretary told the conference that Britain sought to "take the last, painfully difficult steps towards a political settlement that will finally guarantee peace, stability, democracy and human rights".

But he said the endgame to bitter conflict could be the most tortuous. When people had to take the final step - to put aside their differences, prejudices and fears - and had to share with people who were once sworn enemies, it was difficult, he said.

"When people have to face that moment of truth - that's the most painful, the most difficult, time of all," said Mr Hain.

In a clear call to unionists not to hold back he added: "The endgame is the hardest because the two sides may have journeyed miles towards each other, but, when they are just feet apart, they want to draw back.

"We are at this key moment now - and it's time for the politicians of Northern Ireland to be courageous - because we have come such a long way". He described the announcement by General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body of IRA disarmament as "hugely significant".

It provided the opportunity to make the progress which had been worked for so long. "If in January the Independent Monitoring Committee confirmed a complete end to IRA activity "then the time will have come for every person in Northern Ireland, unionist or nationalist, to grasp this opportunity for peace", said Mr Hain.