THE British government is in continuing contact with Sinn Fein, despite some Tory and Ulster Unionist calls for a suspension of talks in protest at the current spate of killings in the North.
Westminster sources last night said contacts continued, although no dates had been fixed for further meetings between Sir Patrick Mayhew, the Northern Ireland Secretary, and the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams.
And it seemed clear the government would disregard yesterday's call from its own backbencher, Mr Andrew Hunter, for urgent consideration of the suspension of contact "with Sinn Fein IRA".
Meanwhile, in Dublin the Tanaiste said the situation in the North was "worrying" and that the opportunity which existed for peace must not be "frittered away."
"The murders which have taken place cannot be justified by anybody, from whatever quarter," Mr Spring told RTE. No one should neglect their responsibilities in relation to making progress.
"We all felt after the communique from London on November 28th that we had a great prospect of making progress, of overcoming the impasse we had."
The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr David Trimble, said that, while he could understand the British government's reluctance to do what some would see as terminating the peace process by ceasing contact with Sinn Fein, its policy of meeting the party would become "untenable" if the current spate of murders in Northern Ireland continued.
The decision by the Dublin Government to cancel some IRA prisoner releases was a good step, "but I don't think we can stop there if this persists," Mr Trimble told RTE.
Mr Hunter, chairman of the Conservative backbench Northern Ireland committee, said: "The Provisionals' involvement in the current spate of killings makes nonsense of their complete cessation of military operations' claim. Taken with their reign of terror through punishment beatings, it ridicules their professed commitment to exclusively peaceful means.
Mr Hunter's comments followed a similar call from the deputy leader of the Ulster Unionists, Mr John Taylor. Speaking on BBC radio, he called for "a clear signal given by Her Majesty's government to the IRA, in the same way as the Dublin Government did so resolutely before Christmas, that they will not entertain IRA Sinn Fein whilst they continue to murder people in Northern Ireland".
But while there was no public response from the British government sources pointed to a conflicting statement front Mr Taylor's colleague Mr Ken Maginnis.
Mr Maginnis, the UUP's security spokesman, was implicitly critical of Mr Taylor. He said to abandon the talks would not be understood by the international community which would blame the British for being intransigent.
"It is important that we don't give Sinn Fein/IRA the very excuse that they have been looking for," he said. "To withdraw would be to give Sinn Fein the opportunity to say to the international community, `Well, you see the government was not sincere, it stopped the talks'. That's what the international community would see.
"Rather the British government should be saying, `We are talking to Sinn Fein and we have to talk to them first and foremost, and exclusively, about this series of killings which is being carried out by a group within the IRA that relates directly to the army council," said Mr Maginnis.
The SDLP and Alliance, while condemning recent suspected IRA murders, have stated that dialogue must continue with Sinn Fein. In response, Sinn Fein accused the UUP of not having the courage to engage in all party talks.
Mr Mark Durkan, the former SDLP chairman, said that violence from any quarter should not be allowed to veto political dialogue. It must not be forgotten that the IRA ceasefire only occurred because people were prepared to talk while violence was taking place, he said.
However, he was severe in his condemnation of the recent killings of alleged drugs dealers and of the "mealy mouthed" response from Sinn Fein in refusing to condemn these murders.
"We will be making it very clear to Sinn Fein that we attach very little credibility to idle riddles about there not being an iota of evidence that the IRA are involved, or to statements to the effect that Sinn Fein don't engage in politics of condemnation," he said.
Mr Gerry O hEara, the Sinn Fein Northern chairman, said unionists would use any excuse to avoid engaging in inclusive dialogue. They should show political courage by engaging in talks.
"It is time David Trimble, Taylor, Maginnis etc considered establishing their own bona fides with the nationalist community by showing their willingness to participate in a genuinely democratic process based on equality," said Mr O hEara.
The Alliance Party leader, Dr John Alderdice, while trenchantly condemning the recent killings, said that to withdraw from talks would hand Sinn Fein a propaganda weapon with which they could complain they were being unfairly ignored.