Relations between Britain's Labour government and Sinn Féin were at their lowest ebb last night after Prime Minister Tony Blair confronted Mr Gerry Adams over the Northern Bank robbery.
During more than an hour of tense talks at his country residence at Chequers, Mr Blair told the Sinn Féin president he "accepted fully" PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde's view that the IRA was responsible for the £26 million raid. And Mr Blair warned Mr Adams there would be no "inclusive" political settlement in Northern Ireland unless the IRA ceased all paramilitary and criminal activity.
Yesterday's meeting between the two men - their first to discuss the political fallout from the raid - also produced further impressions of a closing of Anglo-Irish ranks against the republican movement. As Mr Adams and his party's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, left Chequers, it was announced that Garda Commissioner Mr Noel Conroy would join Mr Orde to brief Mr Blair and the Taoiseach about the robbery and police investigation at next Tuesday's Downing Street summit.
Number 10 last night confirmed Mr Adams's assertion that the question of sanctions against Sinn Féin, and of "alternative" political ways forward, had not been discussed during yesterday's meeting. It was also accepted that Mr Blair had not used an expression suggesting Sinn Féin would be "locked out" of Northern Ireland devolution unless all IRA activities ceased.
But the tenor of the Number 10 statement issued immediately after yesterday's meeting reinforced Mr Blair's earlier message that inclusive political agreement would otherwise prove impossible to achieve.
Confirming that the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach would be briefed on the robbery by the PSNI Chief Constable and Garda Commissioner on Tuesday, the statement said: "The Prime Minister told Sinn Féin that such activity was incompatible with the Good Friday agreement and the peace process."
It continued: "[ Mr Blair] said that while he still wanted to find a way forward which included Sinn Féin, it was his duty as Prime Minister to underline in the starkest terms that it would not be possible if paramilitary and criminal activity continued to be carried out by the IRA.
"A complete and verifiable end to all such activity by the IRA would be essential if progress towards an inclusive agreement was to be possible."
A defiant Mr Adams confirmed: "He [ Mr Blair] said, based on the report he had had, that he believed the IRA was involved, and we stated our belief in the IRA's denial."
Mr Adams insisted they had not spent their time solely discussing the bank raid. "That issue was dealt with and we moved on to the important issues which need to be sorted out."
He insisted that he and Mr Blair had not had "a row", and when asked if their meeting had been "confrontational" replied: "No. The British Prime Minister put his position as you would expect him to, and we put ours as you would expect. We know each other well enough over almost a decade to be able to argue these matters out without having a row.
"He [ Mr Blair] did say there had to be an end to criminality and we pointed out that we are not involved in criminality and we reject absolutely any suggestion that that is the case."