THE British government has been accused by one of its own backbenchers of trying to "bribe" the IRA with concessions ahead of June 10th in order to guarantee a ceasefire and Sinn Fein's place at all party talks.
Only hours after the Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, said on BBC Radio Ulster he did not expect the decommissioning of weapons "to happen instantly" although "it must happen soon", the vice chairman of the Conservative back bench Northern Ireland Committee, Mr David Wilshire, said that his comments amounted to "further appeasement".
"It is yet another attempt to buy off killers," he added, predicting the proposal would not work.
The Labour Party has offered more muted criticism of the government's subtle shift on decommissioning. The chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Mr Clive Soley, said IRA bombers and unionist paramilitary groups could be "marginalised" by the talks process.