The RUC Chief Constable has said he sees no softening in the IRA's position on decommissioning. Mr Ronnie Flanagan said the "critical mass" of the republican movement remained strongly opposed to any form of arms handover.
In an interview with the London Times yesterday, Mr Flanagan also warned of the threat posed by the Continuity IRA. He said the paramilitary group was being aided by the "Real IRA". The dissidents numbered dozens but posed "a significant threat".
He said the Provisional IRA was failing to make any discernible preparations to decommission. At an IRA convention a fortnight ago, the army council was granted greater authority to act on its own initiative, but he did not believe it would change IRA policy on an arms handover without clear support from the broader movement.
But he said: "Continuous positive movement in the political process, coupled with international pressure, will weigh very heavily in IRA thinking."
Mr Flanagan accused Sinn Fein of manipulating public meetings of the Independent Commission on Policing.
He rejected the party's demand that former paramilitaries be eligible for the new police force. "I simply could not envisage myself working in a policing organisation alongside those convicted of terrorist crimes," he said. RUC disbandment was not feasible.