The British government is to review the status of banned paramilitary organisations in Northern Ireland, it was revealed tonight.
Even though the Northern Ireland Office said they included all armed groups, officials insisted tonight the IRA was not one of them.
There are 14 proscribed loyalist and republican groups.
The IRA handed over weapons and stood down members in July 2005 after 30 years of violence.
In April 2006 the British and Irish government-appointed Independent Monitoring Commission said the IRA was committed to following the political path and engaging with the police.
Its renunciation of violence was a key factor in unionists’ decision to share political power with Sinn Féin at Stormont. It faces calls for an end to its ruling army council before policing powers can be handed down to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Other proscribed armed groups being reviewed include the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force, which is working with weapons inspectors from Gen John De Chastelain’s Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), and dissident republicans.
The latter groups have made several attempts to kill police in counties Tyrone and Derry in recent months.