The British government faced strong opposition in the House of Commons last night to legislation to extend by 12 months, with the possibility of further extensions, the time-frame for paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland decommissioning their weapons.
The Conservatives described as "thoroughly reckless" and "deplorable" the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning (Amendment) Bill and accused the government of having almost gone berserk on concessions to "Sinn FΘin/IRA".
Under the provisions of the Bill, the government is seeking to extend the existing time-frame arrangements, which expire on February 27th next year, for one year, with the possibility of further 12 month extensions each year for up to five years, subject to parliamentary approval.
Moving the Bill during its second reading in the Commons, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, said the government must provide the legal and democratic framework to make decommissioning a reality.
The shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Quentin Davies, condemmed the Bill saying it offered "open-ended" concessions to paramilitaries who had failed to deliver on substantial decommissioning.
Opposing the Bill, the Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said the Secretary of State had made "a very serious mistake" because the Bill did not contain a target date to achieve decommissioning. He profoundly disagreed with Dr Reid's comments that deadlines did not work. He said it was the government's responsibility to achieve decommissioning and it should not be primarily for the Ulster Unionists to shoulder that responsibility.