Political reaction to the Independent Monitoring Commission intensified yesterday with Sinn Féin and the Progressive Unionist Party vociferously criticising its report.
The Northern parties are now in open conflict over the report, and bitter divisions are emerging between the named parties and the governments. Unionists are insisting that the commission's findings prove Sinn Féin's unsuitability for government.
The four commissioners declared on Tuesday that some Sinn Féin figures were also members of the Provisional IRA, and that the PUP had not done all it could to halt UVF violence.
The report lists about a dozen paramilitary murders since the beginning of last year - the bulk of which are attributed to loyalists, and five to the UDA.
The UVF, associated with the PUP, is said by the report to have murdered Mr John Allen in Ballyclare, Co Antrim, and to have been involved in a spate of racist attacks in south Belfast earlier this year.
Yesterday Mr Billy Hutchinson, a former PUP member of the Assembly, rubbished the report and claimed his party had worked strenuously for an end to loyalist violence.
Sinn Féin also maintained its fierce criticisms of the IMC and its first report.
Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, the party chairman, said the report had the potential to do serious damage to the already shaky political process. "Engagements between parties are needed but reports like this pollute the atmosphere of this process," he said.
"Let us just look at this commission. It was set up at the behest of David Trimble to give spurious credibility to the same daggers which members of the police Special Branch have been pointing in our direction for some time. All the British and Irish governments have done by establishing the IMC is to find another microphone, another voice-box for the securocrats, but there is no new evidence."
He added: "This process has been about getting everyone involved, including ex-combatants, in finding political solutions instead of military ones. Sinn Féin devised the strategy and has invested a lot. But it now seems others have abandoned it in favour of a strategy aimed at stopping our electoral growth."
The party feels strongly that the Irish Government in particular is acting out of party political interest in advance of the June elections.
In Dublin, Mr Gerry Adams said there should be no tolerance of criminality, and claimed the allegations against Sinn Féin were a smokescreen for its opponents in the run-up to the polls.
Mr David Trimble yesterday returned to his criticisms of the decision to cancel next week's proximity talks in London.
"It is a pity, in the light of that, that the \ government had cancelled the two days of talks that they had been planning for next week," he said. In an apparent reference to reports that the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had expressed doubts about the value of such talks during a private phone call with Mr Tony Blair on Monday, Mr Trimble added: "I find that very strange, very disappointing, and I wonder what pressures were brought to bear on the government to do that."
In separate developments, the SDLP criticised Sinn Féin over its vociferous claims that the four IMC members were not independent and were peddling recycled intelligence from "securocrats".
Mr Séamus Mallon said: "The IMC is composed of people of international reputation and standing, including people from the south and the USA. Is he saying that Joe Brosnan, a former secretary general in Dublin and top European Commission official, is a British securocrat? Is he saying that John Kerr, a former top American official, is a British securocrat? Is he saying that John Alderdice is not a man of honour? Is he saying that John Grieve, who led the fight against racism in the Met, is not an independent man? These spurious allegations by Sinn Féin only highlight that they have no answers to the revelation in the IMC report of widespread IRA criminal and paramilitary activity."
Meanwhile, SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan met Mr Blair in Downing Street to press the case for an immediate inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane as recommended by the Canadian judge, Mr Peter Cory.
After the meeting Mr Durkan vowed not to let the case be taken off Mr Blair's desk.
The Northern Secretary yesterday announced that the review of the Belfast Agreement, which began in January but has been on hold, is to recommence next week. The Ulster Unionists, who had withdrawn from the review, say they will consider rejoining the talks.