The alleged Provisional IRA attempt to abduct dissident republican Mr Bobby Tohill will dominate political proceedings at Stormont again today when the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and Northern Secretary Mr Paul Murphy chair the review of the Belfast Agreement.
The DUP and Ulster Unionists have called for Sinn Féin to be expelled from the review while the SDLP said the Independent Monitoring Commission must arbitrate on whether the IRA was behind the attack on Mr Tohill in Kelly's Cellars bar in Belfast city centre on Friday night.
Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness has insisted that the party has no case to answer over the incident. "There is no prospect whatsoever of Sinn Féin not participating in the review talks," he said.
Politicians were due to discuss Strand One issues internal to Northern Ireland at Stormont yesterday but instead the concentration was on the allegations that the IRA attempted to abduct Mr Tohill.
Mr Murphy, outside of the review, held what was described as a "plain speaking" 20-minute meeting with Mr McGuinness to discuss the allegations against the IRA.
Mr Hugh Orde, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), who insisted on Saturday that the IRA was responsible for the thwarted abduction also met Mr Murphy to discuss the issue last night. He repeated to Mr Murphy that the incident was "PIRA organised and PIRA executed", according to one senior source.
The allegations again will be high on the agenda when Mr Murphy and Mr Cowen meet at Stormont today where they are due to hold talks with politicians on North-South and British-Irish matters. The UUP and DUP are determined however to maintain the focus on claims that the IRA is in breach of its ceasefire and that therefore Sinn Féin should be thrown out of the review.
UUP leader Mr David Trimble said he would refuse to discuss normal review matters until the major issue of IRA involvement in continuing paramilitary activity was addressed. He refused to be specific but hinted he might withdraw his party from the review if the issue of IRA activity was not properly dealt with.
"It is pertinent when we look at what happened over the weekend that we say 'where is the referee?' And isn't it time that people were shown more than just a yellow card?" added Mr Trimble.
The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, said he had urged Mr Murphy to suspend Sinn Féin from the review. "Unless the secretary of state shows in a very tangible way this kind of activity is not acceptable, the IRA will assume it can carry out such activity and can get off with it, that they can have their cake and eat it," he said.
Mr McGuinness said he would make no comment on the allegations that could prejudice the prospects of a fair trial for the four men charged in connection with the attempted abduction of Mr Tohill.
He asserted that Sinn Féin would not be forced out of the review. This point was supported by one senior British official source who said there was no mechanism within the terms of the review by which Sinn Féin could be expelled from the talks. New DUP member, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, said there were Westminster mechanisms by which Sinn Féin could be put out.
"We are totally and absolutely opposed to all forms of violence," said Mr McGuinness. "That is our position and the leader of our party, Mr Gerry Adams, on the 21st October last year in a very important speech pointed out a peaceful direction that he wanted everybody including republicans to travel in." Mr McGuinness indicated that at a time of conflict resolution such incidents as that involving Mr Tohill were inevitable.
"In the outworking of any peace process and any society emerging from conflict that there will be a massive responsibility on political leaders, who have already recorded great success . . . to also recognise that there is still a job of work to be done," he said.
SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan said: "Nobody seriously believes that the Provisional IRA did not carry out the attack." He said the chief constable's statement was "far more credible than evasive denials" heard from others.
