Unionist calls for further arms moves

Unionists have now returned to work at Stormont

Any return by Ulster Unionists to power-sharing in Northern Ireland should be conditional on further decommissioning, a hardline unionist has said.

Jeffrey Donaldson was speaking a day after three UUP ministers returned to work after resigning from their posts last week in the absence of IRA decommissioning.

Their return followed the IRA's decision to put some arms beyond use on Tuesday.

Mr Donaldson, a critic of the Good Friday Agreement, said that his party's return should be conditional on the IRA making clear its intention to proceed to full disarmament by February next year.

The Lagan Valley MP said he did not share Mr Trimble's confidence that this week's decommissioning was more than a one-off gesture.

I think we do need to hear from the IRA, the UVF, the UDA, that they are going to continue the process

Jeffrey Donaldson

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One on Thursday: "I haven't heard the IRA say any of these things.

"I'm not aware of any unionist having met the IRA and heard these things and I haven't read these commitments in the IRA statement, so I think we do need to hear from the IRA, the UVF, the UDA, that they are going to continue the process of decommissioning towards the objective of complete disarmament.

"The return to government should be conditional upon a commitment to further progress."

Enterprise Minister Sir Reg Empey, Culture Minister Michael McGimpsey and Environment Minister Sam Foster were reinstated by UUP leader David Trimble on Wednesday.

They walked out of the power-sharing executive a week ago over the failure of the IRA to disarm.

Their return followed confirmation by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) that the IRA had honoured a commitment to start putting its weapons beyond use.

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The Democratic Unionist Party is expected to meet the decommissioning body on Thursday afternoon.

Speaker of the assembly Lord Alderdice confirmed on Thursday that the DUP's Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds had been sworn in as ministers of the executive.

Mr Robinson replaces Gregory Campbell as regional development minister and Mr Dodds takes over the social development portfolio from Maurice Morrow.

However, Michael McGimpsey attacked the DUP over taking up executive seats.

"Once again the DUP are crawling into ministerial office," he said.

Jeffrey Donaldson: Critic of the Good Friday Agreement

"Having done nothing to bring about either devolution or decommissioning, they are now enjoying the fruits of the UUP's hard work."

UUP leader David Trimble is to put his name forward in the assembly seeking his old job as first minister if he gets the backing of his party's 110-member executive on Saturday.

Meanwhile, work began on Wednesday on the demolition of two mountaintop lookout posts in Camlough in the republican heartland of south Armagh.

The dismantling of a super-sangar (lookout post) at neighbouring Newtownhamilton police station and an army base at Magherafelt, County Londonderry, began on Thursday.

The progress in the peace process led Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid to pledge a progressive rolling programme of "security normalisation", reducing troop numbers from 13,000 and military installations as the paramilitary threat diminished.

But RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan has warned that although the IRA had come closer than ever before, he could not say the "war is over".

Demilitarisation was a key demand from Sinn Fein during discussions before the breakthrough.

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness said on Thursday that there needed to be more demilitarisation.

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