IRA 'still involved in crime and spying'

The IRA has not given up all paramilitary activity, according to the International Monitoring Commission.

In a key step towards the possible restoration of devolution, the long-awaited assessment has confirmed the republican group has not been involved in direct acts of terror.

However, the independent commission declared that the IRA is engaged in criminality and surveillance operations.

Speaking in the Commons, Tony Blair conceded that while the IMC believed the IRA had taken a strategic decision to end the armed struggle, concerns about violence and criminality remained.

"Let me make it clear once again, all criminal activity has to cease, that is absolutely crucial," the prime minister said.

"But I think it would be quite wrong [to suggest] that there hadn't been very significant progress or that the statement that the IRA gave last July was not highly significant."

Disturbing

The report seems to confirm the police view that the republicans were still involved in organised crime, a view at odds with comments by Northern Ireland security minister Shaun Woodward.

But it said: "There are a number of signs that the organisation is moving in the way it had indicated in the July statement.

"Although some other signs are at best neutral and a few are more disturbing, most are in a positive direction.

"We are of the firm view that the present PIRA [Provisional IRA] leadership has taken the strategic decision to end the armed campaign and pursue the political course which it has publicly articulated.

"We do not think that PIRA believes that terrorism has a part in this political strategy."

The report did raise concerns over continued intelligence gathering.

"This is an activity which we believe is authorised by the leadership and which involves some very senior members," it said.

"While some of it may be for defensive purposes, it is predominantly directed towards supporting the political strategy.

"It involves among other things the continuation of efforts to penetrate public and other institutions with the intention of illegally obtaining or handling sensitive information.

"This raises the question of whether the commitment to exclusively democratic means is full and thoroughgoing, or whether there remain elements of a continued subversive intent going beyond the boundaries of democratic politics."

It concluded that the position of the IRA "is not entirely straightforward".

Response

Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain welcomed the report as "very encouraging".

He said ahead of talks with Sinn Fein next week that it was a good basis to look to restoring devolution on.

"It is very encouraging. It is a positive report which shows that the IRA is moving in the right direction: there are no murders, there is no recruitment, there's no bank robberies," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There's enough evidence of progress to make the political talks which we are starting on Monday meaningful and serious and the beginning of a process of genuine engagement.

"But I don't expect a picture of perfection and I never did because it's a very difficult business closing down such a complex operation and there still is evidence of criminality and we need to drive that out.

"I don't expect the executive to be up and running tomorrow but I do think there's every reason, given the direction of travel, for everybody to sit down and discuss where to go.

"The assembly has been out of business for over three years now and this can't continue for too long in the future. We really do need to get purposeful politics running in Northern Ireland."

However, Sinn Fein attacked the IMC's credibility, with party chairman Mitchell McLaughlin claiming the body relied on biased information from the British security forces.

The report rejected claims from security sources that the IRA had not decommissioned all its weapons.

Normalisation

In July 2005, the IRA announced that it had formally ordered the end of its armed campaign.

This statement was further backed up in September when the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning said the organisation had put all of its weapons beyond use.

In its last report in October, the IMC reported that, although it was too early to draw firm conclusions about the IRA ending all activities, there were encouraging signs to show the organisation was moving away from its armed campaign.

The IMC was set up by the British and Irish governments in January 2004 to monitor the activity of paramilitary organisations.

It also monitors the "normalisation" of security measures in Northern Ireland.

Its four commissioners come from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Britain and the US.