Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble was tonight facing pressure to drive Sinn Fein out of the Northern Assembly despite British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's warning to republicans they would be penalised if there was future IRA activity.
Hardline unionists urged the North’s First Minister to move immediately to exclude Sinn Fein from the power sharing government after Mr Blair and the Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid signalled more "rigorous" standards would be applied in future to the IRA ceasefire.
But the British government’s statements did not appear to satisfy unionists who had pressed for an assessment of the provisionals' ceasefire following allegations of IRA involvement in recent disturbances in Belfast, the Castlereagh police station break-in and with Marxist rebels in Colombia.
Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble expressed disappointment.
The Upper Bann MP said Dr Reid's statement appeared to be "feeling its way" towards a more rigorous approach towards the IRA ceasefire.
"Unfortunately, John Reid was not clear enough and explicit enough in that. I think there is a need in the coming weeks for the Government to spell out clearly what this statement really means," he said.
Ulster Unionist honorary secretary and critic of the Good Friday Agreement Ms Arlene Foster said people in Northern Ireland would not be satisfied with the Government's statement.
"We have taken down statements from them before believing them to be enough and then seen the embellishments that have been made to them. I don't think anyone will have much confidence in this at all," she said.
Democratic Unionist MLA Ian Paisley Junior accused the Government of letting the IRA off the hook for past activities and told the Ulster Unionists that they must now take action against Sinn Fein.
"The ball is now in the court of the UUP camp," the North Antrim MLA said.
"They must now join with the DUP in an exclusion motion of Sinn Fein/IRA. The Assembly should be recalled to do this and we await Mr Trimble's support for this action."
PA