The leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, Mr David Ervine, yesterday warned that his party might pull out of the Assembly in the absence of a collective stance against IRA activities. He also said he feared republican politicians were not in control of the movement.
By Suzanne Breen, Senior Northern Correspondent, and Monika Unsworth
While the PUP party was "rabidly pro-agreement" and had never argued for the exclusion of Sinn Féin, he and his party colleague, Mr Billy Hutchinson, were left with very few options, he told The Irish Times. "The situation is extremely serious," he said. "Unless there is a collective approach to Sinn Féin, with both Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern turning them back at the doors of Downing Street and Leinster House I cannot see how confidence can be rebuilt."
Mr Ervine said he was seeking an urgent meeting with the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, but even if that were granted he would be sceptical about any information he received.
"I thought that the politicians were in the ascendant in the republican movement, but that is obviously not the case. I feel that Mr Adams is not on top of events, but rather that he has to do some serious firefighting inflicted on him by the arrogance of people within his movement," the PUP leader said.
Mr Adams met the Deputy First Minister, Mr Mark Durkan, yesterday at Stormont, the latest in a spate of meetings between the parties. The Sinn Féin president is known to be disappointed that a sense of crisis hangs over the peace process so soon after the most recent act of IRA decommissioning.
Speaking afterwards Mr Durkan said he believed the IRA was still active. Significantly he also said there were credibility problems among some within the British intelligence services.
For his part Mr Adams insisted that the eight-year IRA ceasefire remained intact.
Mr Peter Weir, Assembly member for North Down, an opponent of the Belfast Agreement and a long-standing critic of his party leader, Mr David Trimble, who was expelled from the UUP last year, said he was delighted to be joining the Rev Ian Paisley's DUP.