The Conservative Party delivered on its promise to vote against the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Bill last night when the legislation enabling the accelerated release of terrorist prisoners passed its third reading and vote in the Commons.
The Bill was accepted by 215 votes to 116. There were Tory, UUP, DUP and UKUP votes against the legislation.
In a blistering attack on the Tories, the Northern Ireland minister, Mr Adam Ingram, accused the party of "naked political opportunism", putting "party interests over peace".
However, the Shadow Northern Secretary, Mr Andrew Mackay, insisted the Tories remained committed to the bipartisan approach and accused the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, of breaking pledges given during the referendum campaign.
"We as an opposition have never given the government a blank cheque and nor should we," he said. "The bottom line is that every single terrorist prisoner can be released in Northern Ireland without one gun or one ounce of Semtex being handed in. That is not what the Prime Minister said."
Ahead of the vote, Mr Ingram said the Tories would isolate themselves by voting against the Bill despite the fact that 71 per cent of people in Northern Ireland had backed the Belfast Agreement. He said the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, had backed the agreement, and those who had endorsed the agreement would not be voting against the Bill. The Tories would only share the lobby with those who had voted No.
During the committee stage of the Bill, the UK government had signalled two key changes in the legislation. One provided that victims should be notified in advance of relevant prisoner releases, while the other sought to give power to the Northern Secretary to revoke a licence, up to the point of release, if new information about a prisoner applying for release or the activities of any qualifying organisation under the prisoner release scheme came to light.
The government also proposed an amendment to Clause 3 of the Bill linking prisoner releases and co-operation with the International Commission on Decommissioning with the provision to achieve full decommissioning over two years.
Earlier during the third reading debate, the UUP MP for Lagan Valley, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, told the government that his party would hold the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, to the amendments in the Bill, "weak as they are".
Mr Trimble was not at Westminster, but Mr Donaldson told MPs that, while the government must live up to its responsibility to ensure weapons were decommissioned, he was extremely dubious about its ability to do so.
He said it was the terrorists who would "cherry-pick" the Belfast Agreement and they would renege on it. "The people of Northern Ireland do not accept the bona fides of terrorists."
The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, signalling his intention to vote against the Bill, criticised the legislation for not providing peace and stability for people in Northern Ireland.
The speaker of the House of Commons, Ms Betty Boothroyd, has said she would investigate a claim made by the DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, that the official report of exchanges in the Commons, Hansard, had been altered. Mr Robinson claimed that the government of someone acting on its behalf had removed a statement made by the prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, on May 6th linking the release of paramilitary prisoners with decommissioning.