SDLP leader claims IRA "still active"

SDLP leader Mark Durkan has said that he considers the IRA are "still active".

The revelation came following an hour-long meeting between Mr Durkan and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams on Tuesday morning.

After the meeting Mr Durkan said that just because the IRA claimed that they had not been involved in incidents they should not be believed.

The Deputy First Minister said: "The fact is that the IRA remain active. They always have remained active at different levels since the ceasefire and we have always known that. The issue is recently that there have been a number of events that have given particularly concern that the IRA were involved either directly or indirectly – those concerns are there."

Mr Durkan said that he had no problem with the Secretary of State making a determination on the status of the IRA ceasefire, but said that he did not consider it the job of the Assembly to call for such a determination.

He said that all the parties should collectively examine what the required standard in terms of the peace process should be at a meeting of the implementation group.

Following the meeting Mr Adams, downplaying the recent motion in the Assembly, maintained that the IRA ceasefire was still intact and that the current furore was a "glitch".

(SP)